Roach

Roach
Originally uploaded by wavingastick

Here's a not-so-good shot of one of the nice roaches I caught this weekend. I will try to post the pics I make to my Flickr photostream.

The Game

This weekend I found myself wondering about what it is that I like about flyfishing so much.
It isn't the worlds biggest secret that what I love to do the most with a flyrod in my hand is fishing for brown trout with a dry fly. Unfortunately the reality is that I just cannot do that for the largest part of the year. But is that a reason to toss the rods in the corner during the times in between?
Off course not!

Last Sunday I had a really good time scooting around a new stretch of water and catching the biggest roach/rudd of the year a few hours later. Yesterday I had a fishless pike-trip in Friesland, the part of the Netherlands where I grew up.
As a boy I spend hours, days and weeks on end fishing in the afternoon, coming home late for dinner and fishing again in the evening on the nights I didn't get grounded.
Wondering about the mysteries that lay beneath the surface.
Addicted, that's what I was.
Hooked...

and to this very day.
It's not so much about what fish I'm after.
It's not so much about where to fish.
It's the game.

Hollow Fleyes

With my trout season being over for this year and after almost recovering from the depression that follows it, I grabbed myself together and dusted of my streamerbox.
Today I want to bring to your attention a few examples of a a family of flies called Hollow Fleyes invented by Bob Popovics.

... apart from having a strange kind of fancy for goats Bob is also a very creative fly tier that has given the world a few pretty cool and very effective flies. A lot of these flies and the concepts behind them can be found in his excellent book "Pop Fleyes". If you don't already own a copy of this book, go get one. And if you already did, get an extra one just in case, because these books have a tendency of disappearing in thin air once you borrow it to somebody else....

So...  Bob like goats. A lot! Well...  the boy goats to be precise. Bob ties a lot of his flies with bucktail. It's a very versatile material that possesses certain qualities that cannot be imitated by any other material. The Hollow Fleye is no exception. The whole fly is made out of bucktail. At first glance this looks familiar and indeed there is a resemblance to the Deciever but there a few big difference in the way the fly is tied.
To be technically the Hollow Fleye isn't so much a fly, it's a concept that enables the tier to make flies with little material and a big profile. The shape of the fly can be controlled very precise by the tier.
What Bob came up with is very simple to understand and the technique is pretty easy by itself but it will take a few flies before you will be able to really have full control over the outcome.

The name comes from the fact that you are trying to outline just the silhouette of the fly and leaving the inner bit empty; Hollow.... simple.

The basic principle of the technique is to reverse the tying and then pulling back the fibres. I will explain:
After you put the thread onto the hookshank you get a bunch of bucktail which you ty in round the hookshank with the tips of the bucktail pointing forward! After the bucktail is tied in securely you get something to push the bucktail backwards, an old pen will do just fine. After you've pushed back the bucktail you should now have the fibres pointing backwards. With the pen still pushing the fibres you grab the bucktail with your hand and take away the pen, you build a small ramp of thread directly in front of the bucktail. This ramp will push back the bucktail. If you make a small ramp the bucktail will flare widely and if you make it big the bucktail will be almost glued to the hookshank.  So, the shape can be controlled completely by the tier depending on the size of the ramp and the threadpresure. Cool or what?

After you finish this step you can put on another bunch of bucktail a bit further on up the hookshank and repeat the procedure. Most if the times I use three of these layers. If you tie of after these steps you will have a functional fly, but it will look even better if you put it under hot running water for a while and let it dry. The fly will now have a very realistic fishy shape which it will hold all by itself.

Once you're familiar with the technique you start adding your own ideas to it which is what I did with the Hollow Fleyes you see in the pictures below. Mine all have eyes and a small epoxy head. Some are weighted with a few beads put in between the layers of bucktail and I also made them with a grizzle hackle tip, which I kind of like. I am sure I will think of a few more variations.

Well there you have it: The Hollow Fleye, give it a try

The long awaited rod review

So here it is, a rod review of the infamous Diamondback Classic Western.
I heard lots of rumors about the rods and blanks by this brand and I have been scorching the internet trying to find a blank for a while, but never had any success. And then I went to Norway again this summer and got a great tip (thank you, thank you Preben, I ordered a piece of marble to make you a statue....). After trying the latest (and last) incarnation of this rod this summer I knew there was absolutely no way out of this.
I just H*A*D*D*A*H*A*V*E*O*N*E!!!!!

After contacting the factory directly I am now the proud owner of the very last brand new nine foot 5weight Classic Western that was for sale on this planet. Pretty sure about that last bit.
And I am happy, happy very happy with it.
It has been a while since I got a factory build rod, 'cause I like building my own so much.
And because of that, the factory model already is on it's way to being a so called "custom" rod.
First thing I did after I got the rod out of the tube was cutting of the hook-keeper. I hate those things. They get in the way of your index-finger and the thing about attaching a fly to it, well.... I guess I do just fine with  the stripping guide on the rod.
After operation hook-keeper I dug out the sandpaper and started sanding down the grip into a shape I like and had some thoughts about maybe replacing the reelseat for something a little lighter.
And then I started casting.
And then I cast some more
and some more
and...

Well.. you can probably guess where this is going right?
Yep, it was already pretty dark when I went home and concluded that this blank is very very good.
If a rod can make you forget what time it is, it must be something special, which is exaclty what it is.
It loads beautifully and does everything you want it to do with ease. And with that I don't just mean trying to cast a hole in the horizon, but all slack-line and curves and funky casts that you need when you're out fishing and being able to make this and this presentation can be the difference between succes and a fruitless night out on the water. Oh yeah, and apart from all of the above its looks are something that has to be seen to be believed. That just about wraps it all up and makes it very easy to conclude that this entry is going nowhere. This is not a rod-review.
It's a lovesong....

The adventures of Chocolate Diamondback Pussy - part three (The waiting game)

I can still see it very clearly. Me being stuck under the branches of some tree hiding for the rain. Hoping for the weather to clear up before it's half past 10. Watching the river and hoping for a trout to show itself. This, ladies and gentleman, this is called the Waiting Game!

Flyfishing for brown trout with a dryfly actually involves quite a bit of doing nothing. Well, that's not entirely true. Nothing means: not stumpin' around and blind-casting like there's now tomorrow on the riverbank in my way-to-visible wading-jacket. Trout don't give a shit about fashion-statements. Their primary concerns involve a safe place and having some nice food since once it's there.

The entire philosophy behind this kind of fishing is based on the principle that there is no reason to show yourself, or make a cast without a good chance of catching the fish you've set your eyes on.
Staffan imprinted illustrated this with the quote that ".. every trout has a gun..".

Apart from being stealthy there are a few more things you need to know before you're on your way to the status of legendary trout-slayer. I won't bore you with to much technical talk right now, because I want to take out some time to fill the natural desire to impress that is inside every one of us.
I know everybody can think of people that have reached this expert status; far out of reach for the rest of us mortals. But I am here to tell you that it isn't.
During my time on the riverbank I've had quite some time to think it through and I think I've cracked it. So here we go. How to become a legend in a few easy to follow steps.

Step no.1 Always fish alone.
This gives you freedom to go where you want and there's nobody who can tell about you hooking the trees five casts in a row, stepping on a fish or dropping your sunglasses in the river and.... well, the list goes on and on.

Step no.2 Make sure you are always the last one to return back to camp.
This is a very important one. If you want to become a legend you need an audience. If you are the first one to return, you ARE the audience. So stay out for as long as you can and keep them waiting for a while. This also cleverly taps into the doubts that every fisherman has about the right moment to stop. Every last cast is never just one cast is it? Well, if the rest of the camp has been hanging around the fire for an hour or so and you're still not there, they start to wonder why and start doubting if they left to early and if you by any chance know something they don't.

Step no.3 Only talk when you have to.
Once again a very easy one to remember but difficult in real-life. But, as long as you keep your mouth shut it is impossible to f@#k up. If you get questions asked keep your reply purposely vague. Most people already know what they would like to hear, so a vague recollection of the facts as they unfolded will do just fine. The audience will fill in the blanks themselves.

Step no.4 Do not make pictures of the fish you catch.

It is hard to resist the temptation, but remember that pictures don't lie, that's your job. In the end you're better of without a camera but with a good story. It also helps to casually mention that pictures are are not important to you. Remarks like this, if timed right, really help in building your status. Remember that a true legend doesn't need proof of his own greatness. 

If you follow these guidelines you will have a statue on village-squares across the globe. Invitations for interviews, photo-sessions and tv-shows will be on you doormat by the dozen and all the girls.... Well.... 'Nuff said.

The adventures of Chocolate Diamondback Pussy - part two (Cooking flylines)

Cooking flylines..... is it real? Well, to tell you the thruth that's exactly what I thought when I heard about it for the first time. But it is really true. I did it

and I can tell you that it actually makes quite a bit of difference to the feel of the line.

In the weeks before my friend Staffan told me about it making your flyline so much better. Turning it into what you've always wanted it to be.
Now, I like a good joke as much as the next guy, but I was pretty sure that he wasn' t joking around on this one. So, after we got back for the Northern part of Norway (more about that later) four guys stripped their line from the reel while one of the other guys put the kettle on. For those still in doubt here' s the recipe for the  infamous "Spaghetti di Rena":



1. Heat some water in a big pan until it is almost boiling.
2. Put in a powder that is used for dying synthetic materials (RIT dye).
3. Put in your flyline for a while and stir it, while checking if you like the color.
4. After a few minutes, when the color looks all right take out the flyline and rinse it with clean water (we used the river for this)
5. The next few minutes you will probably be very busy untangling the flyline. Stop the worries about being had in a big way. You are very close to "enlightenment".
6. After you get out all the tangles you can spool the line back onto the reel and cast with your freshly customized line and life will never be what it was before.......



The positive effects are the complete absence of memory in the line, it feels very smooth while casting, it is as slick as you' ve always wanted your flyline to be. I was stunned! According to the experts the change in properties comes from the hot water AND the chemicals in the dye. So get yourself some RIT
and try it for yourself!

The adventures of Chocolate Diamondback Pussy - part one (down south)

On a saturday morning a week or five ago I started up the car and drove about 1500km in a northerly direction. Norway was my destination. In the end I spent about five weeks there and met a lot of incredible people, had some good -and some not so good- fishing and learned a lot.
Today I start a series of pics and comments having to do with this trip.

Here' s a few from the first few days I spent in the Southern part of Norway

Unexpected

As a result of a phone-call with one of my fishingbuddies I ended up fishing this evening after work.
An unexpected but very welcome and pleasurable experience is what it was. The days are really starting to get longer now and it was great to be out and see the light fade into darkness on a regular thursday-evening
around ten o'clock.