Recently I got hold of a bunch of Whiting Soft Hackle with Chickabou patches – more precise the Coq De Leon hen saddles. All of these had markings resembling the partridge body hackles – and some were dyed in subdued pastel colours. I immediately saw the possibilities for making some beautiful soft hackle spider wet […]
Trout season is over (in freshwater at least), and I am slowly turning my attention towards pike, perch and other predators. Tonight I am tying Bob Clouser’s Deep Minnow in white/chartreuse and white/root beer color combinations. Bob Clouser pretty much reinvented the bucktail jig, and turned fly fishers on to the idea. At first glance […]
This season I’ve had some great fishing adventures, and one specific fly type has made my day under a lot of different situations. The Booby Fly is a life saver, when trout play hard to get. I have written a book about my ideas and experiences with this fly type – and… finally… it is […]
Today I received a package with Sunset Amnesia running line. I’ve been interested in trying that classic flat monofilament out for years, but never really got around to actually ordering the stuff. Well now it’s here, and I have done some lawn casting with different fly rods and shooting heads. I am freaking excited about […]
The fly tackle business is a battlefield where every tackle company (just like the mad lab mouse Brainy) is trying to gain world domination. World domination, I guess, should be gained by making the best products and delivering the best service and customer support. But more and more often I get a feeling that the […]
I have a confession to make. I can look through this year’s new, shiny catalogues from just about any fly tackle manufacturer (most of the catalogues are online nowadays) – and I don’t feel hot under the collar… or anywhere else. The newest, lightest and fastest sticks don’t trigger my GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) anymore. […]
The days when fish don’t seem eager to commit suicide (ok… they probably would be released anyway:0) – are the days when you really have to experiment with your fishing techniques. It can be inspiring, frustrating and educating… depending on your mindset on the actual day. Well… I had a pretty frustrating day on the […]
Here is one for the squirrel tail theme. Do you remember Callgirl, Streamtease, Pin-up and Playboy. Well if you grew up in the sixties and seventies you probably do. My first rod and reel was a spinning outfit, and at that time spinning tackle didn’t get any better than the products made in Svängsta, Sweden. […]
This fall I’ve been fishing a large lake with a healthy population of brown trout. Since these trout primarily are predatory, large streamers are the order of the day. I’ve had some success with my Rusty Strip Minnow but wanted a fly with a touch of even more provocative colours. Being a sucker for traditional […]
Firetail Booby I invented this pattern more than a decade ago. I was inspired by flies like Jack Gartside’s Soft Hackle Streamer and a lot of the colourful steelhead flies. What I wanted was hot colours and flash, but I also wanted it to be a little bit subdued. The solution was to hide the […]
