SBS Flash fly

Tested these flies with a friend last weekend and was more than happy with it or as my friend said:This is a killer fly.
Anyway,nothing is that good that you can´t make it better so After some thoughts I decided to change the tail part of it and now I´m completely happy with it.
After a small test in a bathtub I´m ready to put up a SBS post of it,I am so sure this fly will work.
This fly is inspired by surprise,surprise Niklaus bauers Pike tube which you can find on youtube.
This fly is not something that I have created,inspiration sources from here and there has slowly become to this,hopefully this SBS post will be usefully for you too.

1.I use a L-size tube.



2.Add a bunch of bucktail,leave about 1,5 cm:s free space back for the hook.



3.Here comes the new part compared to the older versions.Put some thin bunches of Big Fly Fibre as a tail,remember,THIN bunches.





4.Make a tying loop about 20 cm:s long.



5.now its time to blend some flash,choose some of your favorite colors,the important thing here is to choose one bunch of flash which is a bit stiffer than the three others,it makes the fly fluffier.



6.Use a comb to blend the material well,this is a important moment,blend them well,otherwise you have one color on one side and the other on the other side,and it will not look nice.



7.take about 50% of the bunch and cut in two bunches.



8.Add both bunches in the loop.The full length nearer the tube and start spin.use a needle or like me a comb to now and then solve out all knots and mess now and then,it really pay off with better movement.







9.Now it looks more like a fly rather then some Christmas decoration.



10.Time for a second loop,much shorter than the first one,10 cm:s will be good.
Take a small bunch of flash and half it or in this case one bunch of one color and a second bunch of some other color and cut it half and half and put it in the loop,once again full length near the shank/tube.Even if this loop is short I recommend to solve it out while spinning it.





11.At this moment I use to go through the whole fly with sharp scissors to solve out every loop for maximal movement and after that it´s only some kind of head left to add.of some reason I like to add a XXL-cone on my flash flies and have not regret it.It doesn´t make the fly sink like a rock,it balance the fly pretty nice because on these tubes the hook is more back on the fly as usual.








Ready to rock....

The first cast curse

So,what can I say?This has happened before some times but let´s still hope that it´s not true but anyway,went out fishing with a friend last Saturday,started from my home in Sipoo about 7.30 am.
The weather was nearly perfect for fishing,air temp around 11 degrees, a southwest wind 4-5 m/s,cloudy and no rain so no wonder why we had some skyhigh expectations for our forthcoming 7-8 hours.

We had to go and get my brother and his family from the dock so we had to start from some spots near it and both of us had a dream start,Pietro landed a S sized pike on his first cast and I also had my first landed fish in couple of minutes,also a S size but the game was on,we kept going for an hour or so but no contacts and sonn we had to go and get my brothers family and we also felt it was time for some coffee.

After the coffee break we went out fishing again started from a spot not often used near our cottage but after a while we gave up mostly because of the wind and decided to find a place with less wind and after some minutes of driving we arrived to sheltered bay and with my first cast I had a small Jack following my fly to right behind the boat and the he lost his interest in it and disappeared.
We fished this spot for a while but no contacts at all so we moved further to the next spot but all action there was also a small bugger following the fly(or a lure,can´t remember)so no need to waste more time here either.
My feelings was somewere between desperated and frustated at this moment and for a desperate last try we decided to try on a totally calm spot and have to say that it looked promising because we both heard and saw pikes were eating but unfortunately only real fish this time,we tried to serve them both lures and flies but nothing seemed to be good enough for those picky ones.

The clock was ticking and soon we have to give up with only the two fishes landed which is beyond belief in my opinion but left room for some speculation.

Even if the fishes refused to Co-operate we had a nice time,always good to meet new friends and test some new flies and I´ll have to say my latest flash ties worked fine,nice movements in water and I really belive in them,they will definately get more time in water later on.











As you can see I am living some kind of flash moment right now :)

BTW,my brother landed a nice 93 cm pike on the same spot we finished with Pietro just some hours before.....

Waiting for better bites.

Have barely healed from the chock from last weekend.The Fishing was a total pain in the ass.
Went out with my brothers boat 8 am with my expectations quite high,Small breeze,cloudy,water level about + 30cm:s and some small rain showers now and then.
Water temp was between 14 to 15 degrees (celsius)So truly expected at least some co operation from under surface too.
After couple of hours the winde get a bit stronger and at least a couple of small jack´s visited the boat but the result of seven hours fishing was only five landed fishes so except the fresh air and all other blaa blaa it was nearly a disaster.
Don´t know why it´s getting harder now when weather and water temp going to better direction..

Next weekend will be a new try,hoping for some better luck and if that´s not enough I have also some new ties to get in front of the judges faces.

Finally I did it

Did what,well before I tell you I have to say that it has been in my mind for some years but have not been brave enough to just go for it.
Now closing in on fifty I thought it was time to let go and walk in to Tattoocafe in Tikkurila southern Finland and some hours later I walked out with this:



So now I am officially a pike angler.
Was a bit nervous first but found soon out that I was in good hands.

Tomppa,the guy who made this pic was simply awsome,I saw very soon that he knows what he´s doing and now watching it I have to say that I just love this tattoo and now with my first one I´m already planning the second one,also it has to do with pike.


Have also made some new ties for the forthcoming autumn season,not sure what´s on my weekend menu.
Hopefully fishing but it all depend on my thumb,still aching a bit but it´s nothing new anymore,i can live with it.
If I don´t get out fishing there will be a trip to Ideapark in Lempäälä near Tampere were it will be a big happening for pikeanglers,including spinnerbait,jerkbait and of course fly fishing for pike,stuff to buy etc.etc

Here´s some new ties waiting to be judged by some nice slimy big guns:











All of them tied on a Sakuma manta 546 long shank sized 6/0 which is right now my favorite hook.
The first one is also my first attempt to tie a tandem fly,as a trailer hook I have used a Tiemco 600 SP #3/0

Without a happy end...

Went out fishing on Saturday morning 6.30 am with a good mood,had thoughts to open my flyfishing season seriously for the year,had some new ties with me,the weather was fine for fishing.
Water level had rise +40 cm which use to be a good sign,water temp was moving to the right direction,still 16 degrees but anyway.
Wind 6-7 m/s blowing from east,flurrys up to 12 m/s added with some rain showers made my expectations raised close to maximum but first two hours was mostly for washing lures and flies so we decided to take a break at my cottage.
After several liters coffee and some sandwiches we went out fishing again and of some reason we decided to fish some new places and hey we had some excellent fishing in number but the size was small,a little bit difficult to flyfish in that wind but not impossible.
I was very happy for my fishingfella,he surely had a fishing time of his life,nice to see a young lad enjoying fishing that much.
before we even noticed we were pretty far from our dock fishing a windy side of an islet when it suddenly happend....

I was releasing a small jack from my friends lure when he (the fish)decided I wasn´t doing it quickly enough and decided to give me a helping hand in form of putting some razorblade sharp teeth in my thumb.before I even realised what happend I noticed that blood was spraying from my left thumb and even if I have had some wounds before I knew that this was far more seriously then before.
Worst of all,remember some posts ago when I wrote about a friend who was in the same situation that I was now ? You don´t.... well I wrote that from now on I will carry a small first aid kit with me for situations like this,well did I..... correct,no I did not.
So putting thing´s together:Far from the dock.A heavy bleeding guy as skipper with a young guy that probably can´t find my dock from here





Have to admit I was feeling a bit concerned but could think that we have to leave immediately back and while I was driving I started to feel more concerned because I was a bit dizzy caused my bleeding and nothing to eat or drink for a while.
If possible my thumb was bleeding more and more.





Also started to worry about getting the boat attached to the dock and then what ?
Hospital or what...
At this stage my friend took the leadership and decided to call 112(our local 911)and ask for advice.They promised to send an ambulance to the shore to meet us and after some minutes I was in a situation were two nice women took care of me so no need to complain :)







My friends dad had also arrived down to the shore and he took me to the hospital because those two women decided that I was need for a couple of stitches so we went driving to Porvoo hospital 30 minutes away.



Was at the hospital for almost four hours,dont wanna go to all details but I went away pretty pissed of and with no stitches which was my own decision after all wait here and wait there,got my thumb bandaged and that was good enough for me.



I´m really hope that you have learned something about this post.Even a nice session can turn very nasty in just a second,I hope that I learned to ALWAYS carry a first aid kit with me when I´m going out fishing,please make sure you doing it too,hopefully it will never be needed but it´s good to have when you do need it.

Golden oldies with a dash of new spirit

Had an easier day at work today so at my lunch break I had the chance to check my older posts since 2010 and oh boy my fishing has made a BIG change since those days.
At those time I fished even for Trouts at streams and used spoons and more regular lures,but i also took my first steps in fly fishing for pike which has came my most beloved way of fishing.
Soon I felt day dreaming of those old days and remembered one moment that showed me the direction...It´s a fly called Replot stinger,tied by Simon Graham.

It was the first pattern I tied so that I felt comfortable,a fly that could deliver some buggers for me,I had tied several flies before but Replot stinger was the first "real" pike fly for me.
It helped me a lot when Simon at the fly fish fair in Tampere showed me how to tie it.
Still have the pics left of the first ones.







The next fly to show the direction was a fly called Hoover tied by Niklaus Bauer.I tied also some of them but got only one left.





There has been different patterns now and then but all my flies are mostly inspired by those two patterns,some difference in materials but same style anyway.

Here´s some of my latest ties which you could almost call: Back to basics.




And some new in the Semper Fi family.





Has tied some flies now when the water temps sinking and the autumn season starts seriously.Nice to be ready...for once :)



Was also fishing last Sunday and landed some fishes but I don´t wanna talk about it anymore,it was pain in the ass,simply as that,managed to take a nice photo anyway.