update on eyes

well my post yesterday seemed to be quite popular from the amount of mail i recived last night and this morning and i humbly that everybody for there imput , in fact drew price from dp on the fly did a post on his blog (the links on yesterdays post) a fantastic read and looks like there was an easier way of doing it

im always looking to learn new ideas and mabey adapt ideas that somebody else has had thats what its all about feeding off each other and bouncing ideas around with fellow anglers so thanks drew your a star mate my new clippers shown below

id also like to say a massive thanks to bob mills who sent me this message which was to good just to leave on the comments page , thanks for taking the time to write bob

* hold the eye the same way but don't recommend scissors for a bunch of reasons - cost, flying sticks, etc. Just go to a hardware store and ask for "cutting pliers." You've probably seen this tool before in any standard tool set. They are strong and sharp and meant to cut metal so they stay sharp indefinately. They can be found for $10 or maybe less - cheaper than a pair of tying scissors - and will last forever for this purpose. I also find that the sticks don't fly when I use them since you slice through it instead of popping it off like with scissors. The hardware store is actually a good place for other strong, useful tools for tying. I even have a large bolt cutters I have to cut the shanks on hooks for when I articulate a fly for a longer body but only want one hook and need to cut one off at the bend. A $25 bolt cuter will cut through a TMC 8089 like butter and you won't be messing up your nice plier cutters. Cutting shanks is also how I practice casting off the water - you can cut a hook just above the bend and you can then cast a real fly around saefly, which is much better practice than using yarn when it comes to fluffchucking. You can strip it in across grass without it digging into the ground - you can even bring a cup of water and get it wet to practice distance casting with those big pike/musky patterns that are totally different to cast when soaked.

Back on the cutting pliers for the eyes - here's a link to what they look like - most of us probably have one in the garage! - Bob

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&safe=off&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGIE_en&biw=1118&bih=584&q=cutting+pliers&bav=on.1,or.&wrapid=tlif129862123991110&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=1397157728230063383&sa=X&ei=Y2NnTfSFJoWdlgf3xpH_AQ&ved=0CJsBEPMCMAY

thanks again folks

working with plastic eyes

somebody over on the pike fly fishing associations forum was asking the other day on the best way to clip the stalk on the back of ep plastic eyes , as the way he was doing it meant bits were flying off all over the place he had tried nail clippers but also struggled with those so i took a couple of pic's to show how i do it and trust me i reached this point from a lot of trial and error

of course you could just stick the stalks together and use then clouser style I've done that before and works fine but its not so good having those stalks if you just want them for sticking on the side of your flies

the first thing is to have a dedicated pair of scissors to do this job as they will eventually get blunt and rubbish for cutting other materials , so the first thing i do is have the scissors almost flush to the back of the eye but not quite , as i like to leave a small lump as an anchor point for the adhesive or epoxy

i then place in the palm of my hand and you'll find that you will have a slight downward pressure as you apply pressure to cut , this will hold the eye in place and stop it going flying across the room . the stalk will still fly off but you will be left with the eye in your hand .

*safety warning* always use short blade scissors these are a lot easier and safer to use than long blade ones and keep your head out of the way of the flying stalk

another cool tip is that if you use the black pupil / clear back eyes like the first picture you can add your own shading to the back with perm markers or as i like to use nail polish

*update* freind and top vermont guide drewprice has just done his own write up on how he does his eyes you can find it here DPONTHEFLY

mcfluffchucker

(a cave in Scotland)

a day afloat at last

Myself and Stevie slight finally after a few false starts over the weeks because of snow and ice we finally made a day on the lake of menteith , we were very confident on the day as although it was supposed to be a bit wet in the morning the conditions were to be more favorable from around 11.30 we were out fishing we really did’t care we just wanted to be out any fish would be a bonus but we were confident as the place hadn't been fished since November and it had been iced over pretty much since then so we did have high hopes …….

We were the only boat out that day as all the other boats were on shore so it was quite a feeling as we motored over to our first spot which usually produces fish , with trepidation and clutches checked for the impending screaming bone fish like smash and grab we cast , and cast again and again and again , nothing not even a pluck OK so that was 20 Min's spent casting around the boat with various retrieve styles I watched what Stevie was doing then did something completely different with the retrieve to see if there was going to be a preferred method they wanted but I thought a change in spot may be in order , so we motored just a short 2 Min's to another known area that really should have produced .
the rain then started not buckets but a fine drizzle rain that soaks you right through as soon as it started my spirits dampened I have been out a lot of times on menteith and have never caught a fish when its been raining this isn't particular to menteith either I never catch predators in the rain anybody else like that I don’t know but for me I grimace when it starts especially on a place like this but I did have the knowledge that it was supposed to stop around 11.30 and be a quite mild day so I was still hopeful of getting something


on the plus side 11.30 came and went and the rain stopped I had a couple of pulls on my perch pattern which got my spirits up although it may have been a daft rainbow who are prone to doin that sometimes but It lifted my spirits to think it was a pike and Stevie thought he had a few pulls as well , we stayed in the area for a short while then headed to another spot that although does produce the odd bigger fish its more known for fish up to around the 10 lb mark which are always good sport and I was confident in this area for a few fish .
we motored around the area for a bit trying some great drifts but nothing not even a pull in this area which I thought was quite surprising so with this being quite a large area to fish we did spend a fair bit of time here and numerous flies Stevie also showed me a fantastic new staking method which involves hidding a fly behind your back then spotting a fish and throwing it dead quick in front of it he calls this method “ouchyabuggerthatbloodyhurt”

so with nothing happening here and in another area we decided to head back to the area where we had some interest made sense really as there was nothing going on anywhere else so we would concentrate some time is this spot I think it was second cast Stevie hooked into a lively jack and boosted confidence no end , I had though that with the lake being ice free for only a week they may still be a bit comatose or there was a big load of baitfish shoaled up in the deeper water but there definitely seemed to be be more fish here than anywhere else .

I had been using all the usual suspects throughout the day perch patterns, fire tigers , red and whites , flies with rattles and flies without etc etc and I was well pleased with the way these flies worked in the water absolutely gorgeous , so I decided when as last time I was in the fens when it gets tough pink and white can save the day , so I changed to a special 8 inch pink.white sf fibre and slink and flash baitfish and cast it out on a full fast sinking line as I suspected they may be on the bottom conserving energy I was right as my fly came into view I saw a donkey of a fish turn just behind the fly this was one on menteiths legendary big mamma's and I had missed the chance because I think the fish was just curios that image of that massive tail will stay with me for a long long time what could have been

And so with no more fish to show we eventually headed back to the boat house with heavy hearts but it wasn’t all bad I mean how can we be disappointed in such stunning scenery and we were already planing our next trip maybe next time just maybe

its going to be massive

the predator film of the year this is going to be massive

shortly avalible from piketrek in the uk

http://www.pikeflyrod.com/57-fishing-films-dvd-s

"brad bohen is a legend , awesome musky man and thoroughly nice guy"

dave mcfluffchucker

Film maker Robert Thompson follows the "Musky Tribe" through an Autumn musky hunt using fly gear, PIKESABER included!

See what these guys get up to and how they live their lives! Starring Brad Bohen and Brian "Lucky" Porter, two of the most respected angling guides currently working in the United States, this film is a tribute to the perseverance and dedication shown by these two top professionals who are at the top of their game.

Filmed by Robert "Tarantino in a boat" Thompson, this movie successfully captures the drama and sheer excitement that drives us all to go fishing for predatory species with fly tackle.

Absolutely superb quality and entertainment.......if there's only one angling film you buy this year, you won't be sorry if it's this one! AWESOME!

It's not all about pike fishing.......we can all learn a whole lot from watching this film. Tackle and techniques are very similar to our own and don't forget that the Americans have been sport fishing with flies for a lot longer than us lot over here!

The dedication and perseverance shown by these guys should serve as a lesson to all who wish to catch big predatory species on fly tackle; you get out of it what you're willing to put in!

It's all in the mix......the highs, the lows, the excitement and the boredom.....every emotion and experience laid bare for all to see.

If you fail to be moved by this film, you really ought to re-appraise what it is you get from your own fishing, affinity with these guys is what it's all about......

"probably the most enjoyable angling film that I've ever seen...I couldn't take my eyes off it for a second!" Uncle Greg

watch the trailer here

http://www.thirdyearflyfisher.com/stillsmusky.html

or

http://www.flyfishingfilmtour.com/

we love it

mcfluffchucker

(a cave in scotland)

time to hunt pike

finally the weather looking good going to be the only bugger on the lake well apart from my boat partner , the place is full of sharp teeth green predators that have a liking on this particular water a perch snack , so I'm ready with the sabers one loaded with a sinking line one with an intermediate that's all that needed , the sinking line isn't really that important its just i need to try a few new boyants out the inti is really all i need this time of year

so box is ready , gear is loaded boxes of flies chosen , yup i really do have to choose what flies i take as you can imagine i do have quite a few to choose from , luckily on this venue i know it quite well and i know what to take to get fish (although it never pays to be to cocky) but i take enough cover most situations , whats harder for me is to head out onto a new venue blind , although i must say i never head out totally blind to any venue i always check out at least what baitfish are in there that's half the battle the other battle is finding where they are especially on larger venues but that's another story , for tomorrow I'm ready

i decided i needed some more perch patterns well i didn't really but you know what its like before you go on a trip mmmmmm better just tie up another 20 dozen just in case

theres gazzions of perch patterns out there and everybody has got there favorite version , and this just happens to be one of mine , i tend to tie different versions some slim some chunky ,no two are 100% the same in my box as ill always mix it up a bit maybe with a different colour eye or a different shade of pen colouring , i like to keep it fresh .

mixing things up can be quite interesting just take a look at the fly above and below they look very similar but although they are the same size and same build there is differences the fly above has orange around the gills and more yellow shading than the fly below the fly below has a red UV gill and red shading , also this fly has a built in rattle and also a touch of red at the tail root OK so only subtle differences but who knows does is make a difference only the fish know that and when you look at it a perch is a perch I'm happy with them and confidence in what your using helps out no end

and so to my crazy redneck brother over at pike adventures I'm sure you all know that he had a bit of an accident with an upside down bottle of half frozen beer and his keyboard well he is at the moment waiting for a new one as soon as hes got it up and running I'm sure its going to be interesting as he has got some cool story's from Florida looking forward to it

so catch up with my antics from tomorrow and hopefully a few fish and remember pike are a delicate fish put them back gently and treat them well and preserve our sport , the only taking you should be doing is with a camera

tight lines Friends

Dave mcfluffchucker

(a cave in Scotland)

went and did it

i posted yesterday that i was going to stripe a couple of patterns that i had made with gliss and glint plus from www.deercreek.co.uk so i did it and very happy with the result correct way to go i think with those

I'm particularly happy with the patterns below nice mackerel patterns sure they will do the business for saltwater bass and maybe larger tropical saltwater species these will also be available as a very limited edition through www.deercreek.co.uk so if you want them contact nick to reserve as I'm not sure when ill be doing another batch

same with these sandeels these are highly mobile sandeels and will be deadly for saltwater species in the UK like bass and Pollock again very limited edition and should be available from nick anyday over at www.deercreek.co.uk

sometimes it is quite nice to take a step away from pike and predator flies and do something slightly different and I'm really happy with the way these sandeels have turned out i do a lot of research on some patterns looking at colour variations of the bait fish I'm planning to make so its not just a case of chuck it on a hook and hope for the best so you know your getting something that some care has gone into the making of it .

i also do this for private orders , i like to find out what the local prey fish are to where they will be fishing I'm not talking tell me your best fishing venues but what the predators are feeding on and that my friends is why my flies catch people a lot of fish because I've been doing it a long time and know what they like and the right questions to ask anybody wanting to buy flies

so that was just a quick update on yesterdays post sorry if I've rambled on catch ye all early next week

mcfluffchucker

(a cave in Scotland)

gurglers and ditch pickles

so yesterday was a bit of a play day really with not a lot to do before i went to work i decided to just do some messing around with some patterns and colours the nick at www.deercreek.co.uk had sent me some cool colours of gliss and glint plus so thought id just mess and see what happened , actually as it worked out i was quite pleased with the outcome of the pattern below as its a couple of colours i wouldn't have thought about putting together , I'm still wondering if i should put some stripes on it or not mmmmmm maybe just for the hell of it i will to see what it looks like i have a feeling it may work

bit more of a simple long lean high tie to maximise the movement of the materials in the water this blue colours is really nice i suppose a black stripe on this would turn in into a bit of a mackerel bait fish could be good for the saltwater

so nice i ended making 2 of them , looking at them now i think i will stripe these


still mucking about i decided to play with an upside down high tie made from bucktail now although not technically a weed free fly i think it will be somewhat weed free be an interesting one to try , quite large as well tied on a 5/0 hook maybe good for getting in amongst the snags time will tell

pretty much the same fly as above but tied like a normal high tie but I've just added a touch of olive bucktail looking good i think cant go wrong with a bit of bucktail now and again

THE DITCH PICKLE CLASSIC 2011

my mind just before i headed to work started to focus on my trophy acceptance speech for this years ditch pickle classic which in case you don't know is lake Champlain's only bass fly fishing championship i am going over as part of the Scotland/piketrek team which will consist of er me , well actually that's not 100% true as ill be giving my bro ken capsey temporary Scotsman status for the event

so when i was over there last year i discovered the deadliness of the gurgler on the surface for bass man those things go crazy for em and there fun to fish as well as they splat across the surface the takes can be mental , i have to thanks my Friend in Portugal jose for sending me some ready cut foam you a star mate , I've also got a about a zillion ant bodies as well which I've got to make as they are great on the rivers for the smallies

gurglers are really fun to make and to fish ill have a box full to go over with some without weed guards and some with and loads of different colours as well , but this isn't going to be the winning fly the fly that catches the biggest and the most fish oh no I've got a couple of proto types that I've sent to someone who's already caught some bass on , I'm not going to put the picture up of it because it will give the opposition a heads up gurglers will play there part in my game plan


id like to thank Brian and co for organising the event its going to be a blast and the grill up after the tournament will be as good as the pickle itself , and i look forward to seeing some old Friends and meeting some new ones see ya soon fellas

Dave

(a cave in Scotland)

move with the groove

those outstanding upright citizens and thoroughly lovely blokes over at www.pikeflyrod.com sent me an email the other day along the lines of "ah up me duck (derbyshire dialect means hello sire and how are we today) want to try some giant fish gills , well er is the ditch pickle classic 2011 going to be won by a Scot's man , hell yea .

so i get these fantastic looking monster gills through the post and in the words of bevis the redneck cooooooooooooooool , so i set to work , you see as soon as i had them in my grubby little hands i knew what i could do with them and headed straight to the vice .

and a new flee is born the rockhead mk 1 , although I've called it rock head its not really a heavy fly , i know it looks like it but its an illusion created by the fact its a big fish gill a large eye and I've coated it with a thin layer of piketreks mr bond

i say mk one as theres something else I'm going to do to this fly that's quite funky stay tuned next week

as you can see I'm quite rubbish at close ups but you'll get the general idea

OK so the first 2 rock headz are born these are the mk ones the mk 2 will be done next week and if all goes well you will have the fly equivalent of a big jerkbait but with none of the weight who said you cant do big flies for pike baaaaaaa

did a few normal ties this week as well as ill be heading on to a great pike water next week and Stevie my fishing partner will accuse me of cheating if i catch fish on a fly and don't have any for him use i say use i think the term is permanent fixture in his fly box .......:-)



so these are pretty basic flies tied on 6/0 piketrek hooks and coming in at around 7 inch's long with some funky redness under the head to get em going how can i go wrong

so with that i head into the sunset for a few days enjoy the ride and see ya all soon i got some flies to tie and fish to catch

mcfluffchucker

(ditch pickle classic 2011 outright winner )

a cave in Scotland

sandeels part deux

i have this terrible habit of falling into orvis on the way to work , doesn't help i have to get 2 buses and my bus stop for the second bus is right next door almost , well my wife doesn't let me have money anymore as she likes to make sure the children have at least one hot meal a week but she does give me lunch money unfortunately this is usually enough for a pack of tiemcos or some fly tying related stuff but hey at least the weights falling off ......:-)

sandeel material

so I'm not like a hook tart or anything and I'm really loving the piketrek hooks they are really outstanding for the dosh but as i was in orvis the other day and i didn't quite have enough on me for what i needed i decided to do a comparison with the tiemco hooks to the piketrek ones and i must say i was pleasantly surprised at the outcome but i have plenty of testing to do yet

sand eel heaven

I'm back on the sand eel trail because i know that there is also variations on colour so decided to do some white belly's on these and change the flash for some lime crinkle flash and mess about with the eye type and I'm actually delighted the way they turned out these are all 3/0 and around the 4 inch mark

the couple of strands of crinkle flash give it a nice subtle flash the head is piketreks Mr bond I've left the flies head first in the UV lamp for a full 5 Min's , as I'm mass tying them ill coat and stick it in there and move on to the next one and the Mr bond really does go rock solid and with no browning at all i just love the stuff , it has some great properties also , if you want it quite runny to get right into the fibres stick it on top of a radiator for a few Min's or a small cup of hot water , if you want it thick for precision work tick it in the fridge for a couple of Min's truly brilliant stuff and cheap as anything see more by click the link below

MR BOND UV CURE

so with my daft redneck brother ken capsey having spilled beer on his laptop its really too funny to write about (give it a few days and ill post the story) I'm left to ponder some patterns for my trip to top water heaven and largemouth lunkerville in July and i thought to myself i think these sand eels would do pretty well on one particular lake we fished and I'm sure these will have the horses going nuts so going to tie a shed load more not that i lose flys in fact last year i didn't lose one fly but best to be on the safe side .............and no doubt a few will make there way into rednecks box

so having tied a few up i started thinking pickerel , you see ken has this pond he fishes which has a pretty healthy population of them and some are a good size as well so with these just being a mini pike i scaled up a bit on the size but not full pike snack size and to give a tasty looking morsel , its tied the same way as the sand eels with the exception that I've added some red DNA fibre into the head and added a bigger eye still basically the same fly though and i think it will do the job

this week i seem to have got rocket up my backside and long may it continue maybe its because its warmer in these parts maybe its because I'm on the pre plan for my stateside trip and getting stuff together (more on that in the next few days) but at the moment i gotta say life is good

take care fellow brothers of the art

Dave Lindsay

(a cave in Scotland)