Friday, April 27, 2012

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.


Monday, April 23, 2012

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

Monday, April 16, 2012

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



Wednesday, April 11, 2012

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

Monday, April 9, 2012

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 ;)





Tuesday, April 3, 2012

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