Huge ebay blowout!

I posted 27 auctions on ebay with hundreds of different kinds of flies. Freshwater, saltwater, pike, bass, trout, steelhead and more!

Here is one of my auctions: http://www.ebay.com/itm/120949057943?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_1287

Check them out while you have time, there are loads of people watching them!

Happy bidding :)

Skagit Master 3

Steelheaders be on the lookout for this cool video! My friend Hannah Chloe Bedford is in it, well done girl!

Sand Eel

It has been really crazy around here and I haven't had time to make a blog post in about two weeks, ugh! Sorry about that!

Today I received a care package from my friend Bob Popovics. He sent me packs of his new FLEYE FOILS, and let me tell you they are really cool! On the paper they appear to be nothing more than stickers, but one placed on a streamer and then covered with acrylic and cured they "POP"! Pardon the pun Bob ;)

Upon receiving the FLEYE FOILS I promptly tied up this sand eel, which I wanted to share with you.  The dressing is relatively simple; the trick to keep surf candy style patterns looking awesome is to not over dress them.  If you have any questions please do send in a comment, I love hearing from everyone.

I hope you enjoy this fly and do yourself a favor and check out these great new products!

Sand Eel

Hook: Standard saltwater (the one pictured was tied on a size #2)

Thread: Danville's mono

Belly: White Unique hair

Lateral line: 3 strands of pearl Flashabou

Underwing: Chartreuse Unique hair, very sparse

Wing: Olive Unique hair

FLEYE FOIL Medium sand eel style

Coating: TUFFLEYE Flex

Wanted: Trout & Salmon flies of Ireland book

This is a post that I made several months ago.

During my last international move I managed to loose the book Trout and Salmon Flies of Ireland by Peter O'Reilly. I'm on the search to replace it and there is a caveat... it's out of print! This has driven the price of this title through the roof. So! I am asking everyone out there to let please let me know if you have a copy that you are willing to sell or trade for flies. Or even if you know someone that has a copy for sale or trade. I greatly appreciate any help in tracking down an affordable copy of this book.

Thanks!
Nikki

The Clown Clouser

The Clown Clouser

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I use to be a tournament bass angler! Memories of jigging tubes and walking zara spooks for big bass still invade my dreams and at heart I think I will always be a tourney angler even if I never participate in a another tournament again. During those days, I used a variety of jerkbaits, and one particular jerkbait that always produced -- when of course the fish wanted it, that is -- was the Clown by Rapala. This jerkbait worked for bass, pike, muskie, walleye and anything else that would hit a jerkbait-style lure.

I can remember many stinkin' hot summer days when nothing would bite, only to have the clown talk one or two fish into taking a nibble. And during a tournament on a hot summer's day, one or two fish may have just been enough to take first place!

Skip ahead a few lifetimes and here I am:  a dedicated fly angler.  There are times when I think back to my tournament days and I am reminded of Rapala's Clown jerkbait. And well, I figured I may as well get busy and tie a few to see how they work! 


Since my intended targets for this fly are bass and walleye, it was a no brainer (at least to me) that this fly would be tied Clouser style. This is a variation on the clown colors; it is not an exact replication. After playing around with a few dressings, I have arrived at this particular dressing as the one that is most preferred by bass and walleye. 

Tie a few up and let me know how you get on with it!

Happy tying!
Nikki


The Clown Clouser
Hook: Saltwater 2 - 4/0
Thread: Danville's Flymaster Plus 210 Denier, Red 
Eyes: Large lead chartreuse 
Tail: Yellow Finn Raccoon with yellow holographic Flashabou
Sides: Blue Finn raccoon tied on each side directly behind the lead eyes
Belly: White Finn raccoon
Wing: Yellow Finn Raccoon with yellow holographic Flashabou
Collar: Red EP sparkle brush

FLEYE FOILS are coming!

A guest blog by Bob Popovics

I'm sure you all can imagine how happy I was when Bob Popovics agreed to guest blog at Flies of Fancy!  He needs no introduction, but I'll give him one anyway.  Bob has been fly tying for decades and has brought to the fly fishing world many innovative flies, like the Surf Candy, that have since become standards in everyone's fly boxes.  He continues to develop new products that shape the fly fishing world, and today he's blogging about his latest creation -- FLEYE FOILS.  

Welcome, Bob!

It's been a long road to get this little project started. 

Back in January, I met Ibbi Mesinovic at the Marlboro Fly Fishing Show.  He showed me something I might be interested in.  A foil!  Neat little item.  Very shiny, shape was cool, and had little tying tabs in the front to easily attach to the hook.  One foil to each side of the fleye was also right!  This looked very similar to a wish I had many years ago, but because the cost to get it started was too much, I scrapped the idea. 

But Ibbi's idea was a better one.  The tying tab was cool, but already done with Tab-Eyes; the shape was fine but needed to be re-shaped, but because it was one side at a time, I was impressed.  My idea so long ago was all-in-one to wrap around a hook.  That was the epoxy era.  NOW, we are deep into the light-cured acrylics and a wraparound foil would not be so good since it would likely shield the light from certain spots and not allow for proper curing of the gel.  With epoxy this would not have mattered.  

I asked Ibbi if he would make these to my specs, and he agreed.  I drew up a few ideas over the next month and finally the FLEYE FOILS are ready to be sold.  Three baits are featured, the Bay Anchovy, the Silverside, and the Sand Eel.  Three to four sizes in each.  Easy and quite fun to tie! The fly is a simple basic, pre-epoxy frame but with Fleye Foils on the sides.  Using the acrylics was easy because I could slide the gel between the foils from the top and bottom, cure it, and put a finish coat on top of all of it and DONE!  The belly sac was there, the stripe was there, and the eye was there!!!  Even a mouth and gill lines were there.  The Surf Candy was looking very smart all dressed up, and so easily tied! 

I hope everyone has a good time using the FLEYE FOILS and maybe they'll even bring out the fun in making something so easily that looks so good.  I sure had fun getting all this together and I am excited that people will enjoy it, too.  Bob Popovics

FLEYE FOILS can be purchased at TUFFLEYE

And the winner is.....

The winner picked by Rafflecopter was Entry #37, Mel M. Mel said that she is going to use these tubes for steelhead and redfish.  Awesome choices!  :)


A big thanks to everyone who entered! Flies of Fancy and McFluffchucker are teaming up for pike fly giveaway in June! Keep an eye out for that!


Once again, congrats to Mel on winning this giveaway. Send us pics of the steelhead and redfish you catch on your new flies, Mel! 


Nikki

May Minnow Madness!

Baitfish, minnows, little fish, whatever you want to call them, bigger fish eat 'em.  That's the food chain.   Baitfish imitations are a standard in your arsenal, regardless of whether you bait fish, gear fish, or fly fish.

I've been working on a series of baitfish imitations that improve upon the standard baitfish fly.  In my opinion, a fly of this nature:  1) should be durable; 2) shouldn't foul easily (or at least not often) and 3) should have as many triggers as possible to entice fish to strike.

After much time spent at the vise and on the water, I have come up with a series of flies that should cover most of your baitfish situations.  I call it the Hard Head series.  They're tied on a #2 Daiichi saltwater hook.  The head has an epoxy finish.  There are five minnows in the series; these will cover nearly all your baitfish imitation needs worldwide.  And before you ask... although you may not have seen them, the elusive chartreuse minnow is bountiful in your home waters.  ;-)

All month long you can take advantage of this months special on our Hard Head Minnows! Visit our website Flies of Fancy to Order!

Hard Head Chartreuse 

Hard Head Gizzard Shad

Hard Head Minnow

Hard Head Mackerel

 Hard Head Silverside

Alaskan Pike Film!

This is the trailer for the film "A BACKYARD in NOWHERE" and it looks wicked cool! Caution: there are a few f-bombs tossed around!

Enjoy!

Claret wiggly nymph

Hook: #8 heavy wire wet/nymph.
Weight: Lead wire 0.4mm.
Thread: Danville’s Flymaster 70 Claret.
Tail: Black rabbit zonker fur.
Rib: Copper wire, brassie size.
Abdomen: Claret hare’s ear dubbing.
Shellback: Turkey tail.
Legs: Black spandex or any silicone rubber legs.
Thorax: Claret hare’s ear dubbing.
Head: Claret thread.

This fly has proven to be one the most productive carp flies that I have tied. It works in clear, stained, off color or muddy turbulent water. As far as I can tell the only thing that matters is if you fish it or not!

I tie all of mine exactly the same regardless of the depth or size of water that I will be fishing, and for carp size #8 standard shank seems to be the winning size. Once I complete the fly I liberally coat the shellback and head with hard as hull. This adds durability to the fly, although between the fish, snags, brush and trees I typically go through about a half dozen each time I go carp fishing…view full tutorial.

Tube Fly Giveaway!

Welcome to Flies of Fancy's first giveaway!  

The winner gets these four tube flies

One Purple Foxy Lady  (top left)

One Skagit Minnow (top right)

One Pink Foxy Lady (bottom left)

One Olive Whistler (bottom right)

Just follow the directions below to enter.  Winners will be announced on May 7th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Flies & flus!

Unfortunately, I got hit with the family flu this week and so I've not been working much. I tied a few flies last night to post in place of a proper posting. My apologies!

Just to give you a sense of how out of it I've been, last night, after tying the watermelon, I forgot to put away my grizzly cape.  This morning, I found it shredded under the couch... thanks to my crooked little dog.

I have a canoe to look at this week which is exciting. We are going to be having guest bloggers very soon at Flies of Fancy, which is rock & roll. And we are going to be having a giveaway next week so keep an eye out for that!

Your sick tying chick!
Nikki



Gold PB&J

Hook: Standard Saltwater
Thread:  Olive
Tail:  EP or similar fibers with gold angel hair
Body:  EP or similar fibers with gold angel hair in a dubbing loop. After wrapping the body, brush the materials out very well and trim to desired shape.

Pink PB&J

Hook:  Standard Saltwater
Thread:  Hot pink
Tail:  EP or similar fibers with gold angel hair
Body:  EP or similar fibers with gold angel hair in a dubbing loop. After wrapping the body, brush the materials out very well and trim to desired shape.

Watermelon

Hook:  Standard Saltwater or tube (Right: tied on hook, left tied on a tube)
Thread:  Chartreuse
Tail:  White Icelandic sheep fur with pearl angel hair
Body:  Alternate using the following formula: Top: chartreuse Icelandic sheep with chartreuse angel hair, topped with 12-15 strands peacock herl with one magnum grizzly feather each side. The feather should flare out. Icelandic sheep fur on bottom. Repeat this process at least three times working your way towards the head. Use red Icelandic sheep fur in place of the white at the head.
3D or lead eyes optional

Dena Page on fish pie and catch & release!

When I first met Nikki, I didn't know anything about fishing. My sole experience with fishing was
summers at the neighbor's lakeside vacation home, feet dangling off the dock, and someone
braver than I handing me a fishing pole with the worm already on the hook. And those rare times
some poor little bluegill happened to actually eat my worm, the pole would be handed over to
that braver person to remove the fish. I'm inclined to say we killed those fish and an adult cooked
them, but I have no clear memory of that. But I didn't know there was an alternative to killing
them, so we must have.

In the last decade, my fish-sense has grown exponentially. First of all, I know it's a rod, not
a pole. And I know that worms are not the only type of bait. In fact, I've absorbed enough
information about artificial flies that I can name many of them on sight, recognize materials, and
even identify the type of fish it can catch. Sometimes. But that's not bad considering I still don't
actually like fishing.

I'll tell you what I do like, though. Eating fish. When my freezer's empty, I ask Nikki to bring home
a freshly caught fish, visions of fish pie or fish-n-chips dancing in my head. And this has actually
led me to learn about fish preservation.

I've learned about catch-and-release. I've learned that in some regions, catch-and-release is THE
rule of fishing, while in other regions catch-and-release is seemingly an unknown concept, and
I've learned about the shades of gray between those two catch-and-release camps.

I now know that when she tells me about a pig of a fish she caught, if I actually speak the
words that pop into my head unchecked -- "Why didn't you kill it and bring it back for dinner?" -
- the answer I'll get is "Never keep the big fish." The big ones are the ones who have proven
themselves, have spawned the most, have survived the longest and have contributed the most to
our fisheries. They're wily; they know how to avoid getting caught. They'll go on to live many more
years and produce many more fish. And besides, their meat isn't so tasty.

When she tells me about the little fish that she threw back in, I know why she didn't bother saving
them. Besides the math involved -- one little fish won't even feed one hungry person -- this little
fish has a long life ahead of it, during which it will spawn many, many times, repopulating the
waters so there will be many years of good fishing ahead.

And when she shows me the medium-sized fish she caught and brought home and tells me
about all the others she put back, I know well enough not to ask why she only brought one. We
don't need to be greedy. We should only kill what we know we'll eat. If we killed something and
then didn't eat it, it's a senseless kill. So one fish at a time, and it gets frozen carefully, often in a
water-filled bag -- a different type of fish preservation -- so it doesn't get freezer burned before it's
dinner.

And during spawning season? Forget it. There's no way she'd kill a fish during spawning season.
It's too short-sighted. Why kill a fish who was potentially just about to make thousands of more
fish for next year?

So my freezer waits for the perfect fish, caught at the perfect season. And when the stars align…
I get a perfect fish pie.

Fish Pie

• 2 lbs of fish (can be a mix; should be at least partly light fish like pollock)
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic crushed and chopped fine
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• Dash of pepper
• Dash of Hungarian paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• Handful of parsley
• 2 carrots chopped
• 2 large onions chopped
• 1 cup of peas
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Milk or half & half
• 3 tablespoons corn flour or tempura flour

Mashed potatoes

• 4-6 large potatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• Dash of pepper
• Parsley
• 2 crushed garlic cloves

In a pot sauté the onion and half of the parsley in the olive oil. Once the onions are translucent
add the fish and all of the spices and continue to sauté for another minute. Add the carrots and
the milk (or half & half), enough to cover the fish. Bring to a near boil then simmer for half hour.

Peel and chop the potatoes and place them in a pot of boiling water for approximately 10
minutes. Once they are soft, strain the water, add salt and pepper, butter and beat with a mixer to
make mashed potatoes. Set aside.

Strain about a cup of the milk from the fish mixture and add in the corn flour and mix it until it
forms a paste then add it to the pot and stir until it thickens. Once it has thickened, pour the
mixture into a deep baking dish and cover the top with the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle parsley,
paprika and garlic on the mash and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown at 350°F

Shea's Bucktail Deceiver

My daughter has been enamored with fly tying since before she could walk. I recall one afternoon when I was sitting at my tying desk working away when suddenly there were tiny fingers and someone was standing beside me watching.

Yup, it was Shea! She had pushed a wooden box I kept feathers in over to my

desk and climbed on top of it and managed to balance herself so she could

watch me tie. She was only twelve months old!

Over the years she has spent time at the desk herself with bobbin in hand, tying

away. In the early days she tied flies with scraps of materials. It was very cute!

She is now nearly eleven years old and can tie very nice flies! She created

the egg pattern she named "Three Scoops Please" which was a huge hit this

steelhead season.

Pictured below is her two most recent flies, Bob Popovics' Bucktail Deceivers!

Both are tied on a small HMH tube and are completed with a Eumer large brass

cone. She did a brilliant job for her first attempt tying tube flies with cone heads!

Well done, sweetheart ;)

Pollock!

Earlier this week, I found a few CDs with pictures from when I lived in Ireland. I was very excited to see that among pictures of family and friends there were also a few photos of fish. Very exciting! Here are two pictures of pollock that were both taken on baitfish flies. Pollock are one of my favorite fish to target; they are strong fighting fish that make deep dives when hooked. I have broken at least two rods that I can remember on fish that were above 8 pounds. Much like carp, when you get them near shore and are ready to lift them out of the water they typically have one last run in them. If you have the line clamped tight and you are not expecting this last run, it can spell disaster if you have a large fish hooked.

Schools of pollock will attack just about any baitfish that swims close by. A selection of streamers in sizes 2 through 1/0 will cover most situations. The two color combinations that I have had the most success with are red/yellow and blue/white. 

Deceivers, whistlers, sliders, hollow ties, epoxied flies, not epoxied flies, pollock are not biased; they'll hit patterns without discrimination! And so fly selection is not as crucial as presenting the fly at the appropriate depth. The fly needs to get down quickly, so a lead core sinking line is the best option. Armed with a fast sinking line, a selection of baitfish patterns and a stripping basket you will be prepared for battle.

When pollock are close into shore, they prefer the deep rocky reef and cliffs that overhang on the water. They school up underneath these areas and ambush their prey. Cast out and allow the fly to sink to the appropriate depth then retrieve in short strips or long fast pulls. To find the right depth, I would count down the sink line until I found the depth the fish were at. Takes often occur right at your feet a few feet below the surface of the water, and rest assured that these takes are very hard. It is extremely exciting to be pulling your fly out of the water for a cast only to have a pollock that was chasing your fly leap out of the water and take the fly in the air! That is an awesome experience!

Just to note, pollock are cousin to the cod and are lovely tasting fish! Their flesh is a bit softer and more flakey but nonetheless gorgeous for fish and chips or fish pie. They were a favorite in my household and I really do miss fishing for them! So if you're visiting or you live in Ireland or the UK, do put some time into fly-fishing for these fish, you will not regret it! I miss being in Ireland and fishing for these fish, so write and tell me your pollock stories! 

Tight Lines!

Nikki

The Gurgler

It's springtime! The water temperatures are rising. The bass are beginning to move; it's time for their spawn. Active, hungry, aggressive smallmouth bass:  Can we say fun, fun, fun!

Jack Gartside's Gurgler is a great top water pattern, especially for locating active bass. I tie this pattern in white, chartreuse and black, and I typically tie on an overwing of natural grizzly hackle. The black works well at night and early in the morning, and depending on where you are fishing it may even entice a walleye for some top water action.

I dress my Gurgler a bit differently than the original as I opt for cactus chenille for the body; Jack palmered a hackle feather for the body. I have also tied huge bulky versions on wide gap stinger hooks to imitate frogs with great results!

Heavy thread wraps may cut through the closed-cell foam so be mindful of this when working with this material! Measure a piece of foam that is twice the length of the hook shank and tie it on the length of the shank. Once you complete the body, fold the foam over and secure it directly behind the eye of the hook. I add a few drops of head cement to the foam crease for added durability.  The portion of foam that extends above the hook shank is the part that will cause the commotion in the water. If you want a slider action in the water then simply whip finish after tying down the foam at the head. If you would like the fly to have more popping action, then make wraps in front of the foam. These thread wraps will cause the foam to be angled.  Whip finish once you are satisfied with the angle of the foam.

When fishing this pattern I retrieve it in three different ways:

1. Jerk the rod tip while doing a figure of eight or slow stripping retrieve of the line.  This causes the fly to skip and spit water.
2. Jerk the rod tip and strip one to two feet of fly line simultaneously. This action will make the most noise and disturbance.
3. Cast out and simply lift the rod tip slowly, causing the fly to skim across the surface of the water, making a wake.

I vary the retrieves until the fish let me know how they want it!

It is worth mentioning that this pattern is a multi-species fly; it will catch many different fish that are willing to hit a top water fly. Tie it in the appropriate size for the species that you are targeting and have fun!

Seriously…. what is more exciting than watching a fish explode on a top water fly?

Hooking and landing it I suppose!   ;-)

The Gurgler

Hook: Standard fresh or saltwater hook

Thread: White

Tail: White Bucktail, twice the length of the hook shank. Pearl angel hair on each side with one cock grizzly hackle feather on each side of the tail.

Popper: Closed-cell foam

Body: Pearl cactus chenille

The Melon Ball!

Here is a nasty huge beastie that is awesome for big pike, muskie, cobia, off shore and if you're heading to South America it's a great fly for golden dorado! Just vary the colors for the fish you are targeting. I cast this fly on a 10 wt rod with either floating or fast sinking line. I suggest submerging it in the water to get the entire fly soaking wet before fishing it, this much fur my otherwise take a while to get totally soaked to the point of sinking on it's own.

I named this fly The Melon Ball because of the fl. yellow and the fl. red hair looking so much like the colors of a honeydew and water melon. In the past I used palmered marabou in place of the Finn raccoon, both work equally well. The overall length is approximately 9 inches and has so much action in the water that I want to eat it!

Here is the dressing!


The Melon Ball
Tube: HMH large cut to 3 1/4"
Thread: Fl yellow for the body, red thread for the collar and head.
Tail: Fl. yellow Finn raccoon strip twice as long as the tube. 6 Yellow cock hackles with 10-15 strands of firetiger holographic flashabou.
Body: Fl. yellow Finn raccoon strip palmered in touching turns. Leave enough room a the head for the collar.
Wing: 6 Yellow cock hackles with 10-15 strands of firetiger holographic flashabou.
Collar: Switch to red thread. Fl. red Finn raccoon strip wound three time with touching turns.
Eyes: 3/8 3D holographic pearl eyes, set with zap goo. If the eyes get chewed off, glue a new set on!

Tight lines!
Nikki

Poon fly

I have been asked to post a tarpon fly, here ya go!

This fly is tied in the Keys style of tarpon flies and the one pictured below is dressed on a 2/0 hook. I tie it sparse and after much time at the bench tweaking and testing on the water it has become a fantastic pattern.

I suggest sharpening the hook point at the vise before tying the fly and periodically on the water as well. You want to be sure when you hook up you can get the hook to stick, tarpons mouths are extremely hard to penetrate and a sharp hook is essential! I list the Owner Aki hook as the first option in the dressing simply due to this hook having grown to be used by many as "The" tarpon hook. Whichever hook you may choose to tie the fly on provided it is a strong saltwater hook with a sharp point will work fine.

Tie the tail as far back on the shank near the hook bend as possible and once you are happy with the position of the bucktail make a few parachute wraps to "kick" the tail up a bit. This will also aid in the tail not fouling during casting. When applying the epoxy I make sure to cover all of the tread wraps, the eyes and the base of the white hackle feather slightly. The fish are simply brutal on the flies and this will help create a more durable pattern. And as always, be sure you are happy with the shape of the epoxy before you hit it with the UV light.



Poon Fly
Hook: Owner Aki or Daiichi 2546 in the appropriate size.
Thread: Hot pink
Tail: The tail is comprised of four parts, they are listed here in tying order. A small clump of un-stacked white bucktail that is slightly longer than the shank of the hook. A few strands of pearl krystal flash tied on top.  A small pinch of pink Icelandic sheep hair on each side, half of the length of the bucktail. One natural grizzly hackle feather on each side.
Collar: 2 White cock hackles tied on and wound wet fly style.
Eyes: 3D Holographic eyes, size to match the fly.
Epoxy: UV knot sense covering the eyes and all of the thread wraps.

Tight lines!
Nikki

Smelt tube

Tube: Small tube (I used an HMH for this pattern but it can be substituted for any tube)
Thread: Claret Danville’s 6/0
Weight: Lead wire wrapped 3/4 of the tube, leave room at the front of the tube for the head. A cone can be used in place of the lead wire weight.
Tail: 4-6 strands of Silver holographic flashabou.
Rib: Silver large oval tinsel or large wire
Body: Silver holographic ice dub in a dubbing loop.
Wing: Pearl ice wing.
-One white marabou blood feather wrapped hackle style.
-Small clump of pink Icelandic sheep hair.
-Small clump of purple Icelandic sheep hair.
-Two Medium dun saddle hackles: tie one feather on each side of the wing, do not trim but ends.
Collar: Dun saddle hackle but ends, wound wet style.
Cheeks: Jungle cock flank feathers
Eyes: Jungle cock nail feathers
Topping: 10-15 strands of peacock herl

3D Holographic eyes optional… view full tutorial

Fly fishing for carp!

This video is so well done, the music, the cinematography, all beautiful! I hope you enjoy watching and listening as much as I did. Keep an eye out for the spectacular cast at around the two minute mark.

Enjoy!
Nikki

Fly Earring Giveaway

Here's a chance to win a lovely pair of earrings tied by Hannah Chloe Bedford! Fly Earring Giveaway

The Executioner

Here in northeast the spring steelhead run is in full swing and in the UK and Europe the salmon season is also happening. A great fly that is well worth tying is the Executioner. Tie it on hook sizes appropriate to the waters that you will be fishing. I have seen dressings of this fly where a black cock hackle is palmered over the body, a great way to create a fuller body for the fly. Typically I use red Danvilles flymaster (70 denier) thread to tie this fly and use the floss as I indicated in the dressing below. You can of course tie the entire fly with hot orange thread or floss. The Executioner is such a great and versatile pattern, it can be fished on floating or sinking line. It's also a very good low water pattern. Tie a few and let me know how you get on, or better yet send me a pics :)

The Executioner
Hook: Salmon or spey, single or double. (I tied the one pictured here on a Alec Jackson Spey #3)
Thread: Red
Tag: Fine oval silver tinsel
Tail: Yellow cock hackle fibers
Rib: Oval tinsel
Rear body: Glo-bright floss #4 or hot orange floss
Front body: Flat silver tinsel
Shoulder hackle: Black cock
Wing: Black squirrel or black fox tail
Cheeks: jungle cock
Head: Glo-bright floss #4 or hot orange floss

FLY-FOCUS Trailer from Marcus Sies

Beautiful film!

Fly Tying Tutorial – Extractor Dabbler

Fly Tying Tutorial – Extractor Dabbler

Hook: 6-12 heavy wet
Thread: Black
Tail: Red golden pheasant feather
Rib: Small oval gold tinsel or small gold wire
Body: Flat medium gold tinsel
Shoulder Hackle: Lemon yellow
Throat Hackle: Red golden pheasant feather
Wing: Bronze mallard dabbler style
Eyes: Jungle cock (optional)

The Extractor was created and tied by Michael Rogan of Ballyshannon, and a large number of people still refer to the fly as Rogan’s Extractor. It is a superb fly but sadly, for one reason or another, it has fallen through the cracks and is not as commonly used as it once was. Which is a real shame as the fly will produce fish on those awful days when nothing else will work. After all, Mr. Rogan did name it the “Extractor”!

The fly that I am presenting here is tied dabbler style (the dabbler created by Donald McClearn of Co Down, Ireland), the original fly is dressed standard wet fly style. Either way, the dressing calls for the yellow hackle to be long and “sweeping back”. Regardless if tied traditional or dabbler style it still is a beautiful fly. view full tutorial…

Trout and Salmon Flies of Ireland by Peter O'Reilly

During my last international move I managed to loose the book Trout and Salmon Flies of Ireland by Peter O'Reilly. I'm on the search to replace it and there is a caveat... it's out of print! This has driven the price of this title through the roof. So! I am asking everyone out there to let please let me know if you have a copy that you are willing to sell or if you know someone that has a copy for sale. I greatly appreciate any help in tracking down an affordable copy of this book.

Thanks!

Loads of crazy good things happening!

The past two weeks have been really crazy, and except for the flu, it has all been welcomed craziness! 

I have made progress on getting the web site updated with a shopping cart so you guys can actually buy my flies.  YAY!  It's a work in progress so keep checking back as I will be adding more photos and new flies.  When the site is "mostly complete", I will be adding destination flies presented in a very nice fly box that will last long beyond your trip!  Yeah… I'm all about quality ;)

Over the past few weeks I have been asked by two friends to write a regular column for their sites.  (Thank you both; you rock!)  I do so dearly love writing and photographing flies and tying steps and I will be adding these kinds of posting right here as well.  Just give me a bit of time to get caught up with everything!

In addition to tying, writing and photography, I have accepted a position with Wingshooting and Fishing Latin America as a fishing destination consultant!  I am really excited to be working with clients, helping them make the choice of where to take their fishing (or shooting) holiday this year.  Check us out: http://wingshootinglatinamerica.com/ 

Please let me know any thoughts, ideas, general feedback, etc. that you have about fliesoffancy.com.  I love hearing from everyone and I welcome feedback, so don't be shy!

Until next we meet, I'll leave you with a picture of a finished order of custom Blue Foxy Ladies that I recently completed for a customer.  We met at the riverside early in the morning on this past Saturday and he was hooked up in no time.  The steelies are loving this one!

Happy tying ;)

Nikki