Flicking feathers

This is the pickup and laydown practise drill for flycasting. Cleanly picking up flyline from the water and delivering it to a back target is one of our essential fly fishing skills. This exercise allows us to play with different line length adjustments as well as angles. More videos and casting tutorials are available at www.sexyloops.com

 Another one I wrote for sexyloops.com Since getting back from Okinawa there's been little in the way of fishing going on for me. First I was avoiding wet wading the rivers until the holes I'd rubbed in my feet had healed a bit and then we got hit with a typhoon which scuppered any hope of getting out. This let me catch up on some reading and luckily coincided with a new book arriving. Kirk Dietrich's excellent Tying Bugs. I've been facscinated by warm water bugs since I first saw them in a fly tying book I was given as a kid. They were so different from anything you saw in Scotland at that time. Bulging, leggy monstrosities of cork and feather. Even the names grabbed the attention; Boogle Bug, Sneaky Pete and the Round Dinny. I loved them instantly. When asked about American fly tying many people probably think of things like Catskill dries maybe Wullfs, but these aren't that unique really. But bass bugs? A unique style of fly that is pure, audacious Americana. Whe

This scruffy number is a great choice for carp. It can be tied in different sizes and weights to cover a range of different fishing situations from subsurface "shoppers" in still waters to tailers in fast river riffles and everything in between. When visiting a new water or your not sure what they're eating, the shaggy soft-hackle woolly worm is a good bet. In fact it's as close to a universal carp fly as you'll get! To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up. Materials list Hook: Kamasan B200 size 6-14 Weight: Lead wire (adjust weight to suit) Thread: Uni 8/0 Tail: Rabbit, marabou or wool Body: EP shrimp dubbing mixed with Senyo's shaggy dub Rib: Small wire (any colour you like) Body hackle: Whiting hen neck Shoulder hackle: Any hen hackle or partridge Amazon.com Orvis guide to Carp Flies https:

  The Mr. Wiggly is a fantastic topwater choice for smallmouth bass in low water or when fishing pressure has made them wary of louder, more intrusive poppers. This blue version is great if there are damsels and dragonflies around, but tie it in any colour scheme you like. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up. Materials list Hook: Varivas 2500V-SE size 4 & 8 Thread: Uni 6/0 Tail/legs/wings: Grizzly flutter legs/silli legs Body: 2mm foam Underbody: Spectra dubbing Renzetti vise: https://amzn.to/3NQuvEq Tiemco ceramic bobbin holder: https://amzn.to/3IkDOeP Renomed scissors: https://amzn.to/3NL5oCT Loctite gel: https://amzn.to/3OYmrCG Cement applicator: https://amzn.to/3OT4ENx Amazon UK Loctite gel: https://amzn.to/3bIw4qC Applicator: https://amzn.to/3AvHF6I

  The girdle bug is about as simple as they come, but it's been catching fish for decades and will often be a better choice than more modern or realistic options whether fishing for stonefly feeding trout, smallmouth bass, carp barbel or others. You should have this fly in your box! To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up. Material List Hook: TMC 5262 or similar size 2-10 Thread: 140 denier Weight: lead wire similar in diameter to the hook wire Body: Chenille Renzetti vise: https://amzn.to/3NQuvEq Tiemco ceramic bobbin holder: https://amzn.to/3IkDOeP Renomed scissors: https://amzn.to/3NL5oCT Loctite gel: https://amzn.to/3OYmrCG Cement applicator: https://amzn.to/3OT4ENx Amazon UK Loctite gel: https://amzn.to/3bIw4qC Applicator: https://amzn.to/3AvHF6I

  Don't be fooled by how simple this fly is, it's absolutely deadly for all kinds of still water species. The classic colour is black, but you should also carry these in olive, brown and claret. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up. Material list Hook: 3-4x long streamer hook (e.g. TMC5263) size 2-8 bent to shape Weight: Lead wire Thread: 6/0 to match body colour Tail: Marabou Flash: Fine crystal flash (optional) Body: Dubbing or yarn Hackle: Soft hen hackle to match body colour. Renzetti vise: https://amzn.to/3NQuvEq Tiemco ceramic bobbin holder: https://amzn.to/3IkDOeP Renomed scissors: https://amzn.to/3NL5oCT Loctite gel: https://amzn.to/3OYmrCG Cement applicator: https://amzn.to/3OT4ENx Amazon UK Loctite gel: https://amzn.to/3bIw4qC Applicator: https://amzn.to/3AvHF6I

 Another oldie from www.sexyloops.com I just got home from my week in Okinawa, to say things didn't go as planned would be about right. My mate Takaaki decided to join me but had never been saltwater fly fishing and although I like to fish alone, I was pretty glad of the company over the week. Things started out encouragingly if not exactly well. Conditions were great on day one, a slight breeze and barely a cloud in the sky. After breakfast I walked the 30 yards to the beach and saw a decent trigger tailing in the shallows, flicked a squimp in front of him and gave it a small strip, got the eat and hooked up within 10 minutes of finishing breakfast. Unfortunately within about 13 minutes of finishing breakfast the trigger had bitten me off. A wee while later I jumped on a bike and went to another flat for the last hour of the flooding tide got a shot at a pair of bar jacks but didn't get the eat. Ten minutes later a ray came along with 3 mid sized GTs on it's back. It was a