Flicking feathers

 Another old  one I did for www.sexyloops.com Tales of the unexpected  A couple of weeks ago, I'd never have thought of swinging streamers as a viable option for carp on fly. It's almost the opposite of everything I've learned targeting carp on the fly; fishing blind instead of sighting targets, feeling the line rip out of your fingers instead of watching the fish to hit the eat before the fish spits the fly.  But last weekend I made a discovery while fishing for maruta, a sea running species of Japanese cyprinid. The run has been a bit late this year but they eventually appeared in numbers and blasted straight up the Tamagawa to spawn. The main way of fishing for maruta is a swung fly, similar to how you'd fish for salmon.  This year I caught a grand total of zero maruta, but on 2 separate days I caught multiple carp on a red streamer being swung on a sink tip. The first fish I assumed was some kind of fluke, then 2 casts after the release the line zipped away and anot

 Another old one from www.sexyloops.com With the cherry blossoms blooming all around Tokyo signalling spring, I've been tying a lot of panfish flies as I get ready for the warmer weather. I stuck a few pics and how to videos online and the responses have been pretty mixed. I'm not surprised that some of the flies have been divisive-some of them are, frankly, pure filth but I have been a bit surprised by how many people are dismissive of panfish as a target.  Yes the can be very easy to catch, and are abundant within their range, they're aggressive but they're not always stupid and they're beautiful little and sometimes not so little fish. Yes trout are pretty -the disdain for the bluegill comes mainly from trout anglers it seems-, especially small panfish-sized ones can also be very easy to catch.  For me there's at least as much angling skill in going along a bank on foot or in my zoomy bubble boat (float tube) identifying structure, making a nice presentation

Another old article from www.sexyloops.com  Now that spring is in full swing, the cherry blossoms are opening all over Tokyo and the carp  are mostly finished spawning it's time for me to start hitting the rivers in search of mud bones.  So yesterday I went to a river near my apartment to see what I could find.  This place is where I caught my first carp on fly about 10 years ago, starting my obsession  with the species and my 60 day a year carp habit that lasted till some time in 2017. Since  then I barely fished for carp and I definitely lost my edge.  Last year my return to carp was a humbling experience and it felt like 2 or 3 fish days were an   impossible task, let alone the 6-10 I had become accustomed to expect. So the question is  why?.... Well I lost my sharpness; being stealthy, getting close, reading fish and hitting eats  had all - predictably - deteriorated.  The last few months have been an interesting time as I've been re-honing my skills and  questioning things

  This super simple little fly is essentially a perdigon variant that is super quick to tie and catches trout everywhere. Try it in various weights or colour variations. To support the channel and be eligible for giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Jig hook 12-20 Weight: Slotted tungsten bead Threads: Uni 8/0 rusty dun/olive (use other contrasting colours you like) Tail: Coq de Leon Rib: XS coloured wire Abdomen: Lighter thread Thorax: Darker thread

  Instructions for a flashy little midge pattern that works great in both rivers and still waters. To support the channel and be eligible for giveaways head to www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: TMC 2488 14-24 Thread: Olive uni 8/0 Weight: Rainbow bead Abdomen: Mixed flash strands Rib: Thread tag Thorax: Dark rainbow spectraflash dubbing

  Another old article from www.sexyloops.com Is chicken eugenics the enemy of good fishing flies? I think it is, and the fly tying fashion that is going hand in glove with "improved" genetics is creating a, possibly, vicious cycle.  The improvement in genetic dry fly hackle makes many things easier and for some flies like the Griffiths gnat or stimulator is a vast improvement on what was available before. However, I am not sure if the downside of these hackles has really been acknowledged. Yes they have longer stems that are thinner more flexible and less likely to break, but they also have a far denser count of barbs that are much stiffer and consistent than what you'll find on any Indian or Chinese hackle. On the face of it, this all seems good and makes flies look quit crisp on the vice but is it as good as it seems?  I remember a period in the late 80s or early 90s when the "trick" of trimming the underside of a dry fly seemed to be the top tip in every dry

  The peeping caddis needs no introduction, here I've tied my version using an instajig or offset tungsten bead which gives a hook up presentation but allows you to use a longer hook shank than a typical jig hook and slotted bead, which I think gives a better cased caddis. To support my channel and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: 1x or 2x long nymph hook (I used TMC 3761) Weight: Offset tungsten bead Thread: Rusty dun 8/0 Uni Peeping grub: Fl chartreuse ice dub Legs: Partridge or hen hackle fibers Case: Natural hare's ear or similar

  another old post from www.sexyloops.com I've recently spent a lot of time looking at pictures of winged termites and hoglice (sow bugs for our American friends) trying to dial in some better imitations than I've seen so far. For termites there's not a lot out there so there's a lot of messing around trying to get something that will look edible to a wild gourami. Because of Paul's input on gourami being very hard to fool and termites being a new imitation, I'm giving it much more time at the design and willing to allow the individual tie to be much longer than a trout fly would take-if my new hoglouse takes more than about 3minutes to tie, it's not acceptable when a Ray Charles will do largely the same job most of the time. So why bother? Well, it's a combination of things for me, a bit of confidence, a bit of giving them something different and just the enjoyment of spending time playing around at the vice, picking out the key features that I think wi

  This simple dry fly is a good choice for any of the small mayfly species. not only that, it's a quick easy tie and can easily be modified on stream to sit flush with the surface. To support my channel and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Dry fly 12-20 Thread: Uni 8/0 Tail: Coq de Leon or hackle fibers Abdomen: Superfine dubbing Hackle: blue dun cock Thorax: Superfine dubbing

Another of my early pages for sexyloops.com Recently I've been thinking a lot about how I explain things on video or while teaching. This naturally got me thinking about how fly fishing media explains stuff, and the more I read, watch or listen to the more I'm convinced that not all of it is really designed to help.  For example, I recently watched a video about streamer heads- something that is actually quite simple to understand and describe. However, the explanation given was convuluted and full of what seemed like deliberate use of technical sounding (but inaccurate) jargon. This really turned me off, and I made me think that either the "teacher" didn't really understand what he was teaching or was trying to prevent actual learning, small wonder that beginners are often intimidated when confronted with this style of instruction. Compare this to excellent streamer videos from people like Kelly Galloup or Nicklaus Bauer that are simple, matter of fact and easy t

An early article of mine from sexyloops.com "How do I get better at tying flies?" Practise! Probably the most common question I get asked when tying at club nights, shows or through the YouTube channel.  Unfortunately, my answer is rarely what the questioner is looking for.  There aren't really any shortcuts-you need to practise, pay attention to what you're practising and be critical of your work. "But I tie lots of flies, I'm practising all the time!"  That's not really practising. If you really want to improve something in your tying work on that. When I started learning to tie flies and I wanted to learn a technique, say slip wings for dries or elk hair caddis wings, I would tie sets of wings down a long shank 8, cut them off and start again until I was happy they were all good enough. Then I'd tie some split wing dries for my box and they'd all be good enough.  There are any number of videos and images around the internet for you to use