Recent comments

SoCalAngler,

No, you aren't missing anything, but just found an example of the inconsistency of tying thread sizing... the whole motivation for me doing this article and table in the first place. The threads are clearly not the same - different physical thicknesses - and still you will see them listed as the same Denier.

In my eyes the only proper way to categorize thread would be physical thickness, breaking strength, material (nylon, poly, GSP) and fiber layout (spun, braided, parallel, fused etc.). That would avoid such confusing cases.

Trust the physical thickness in the table. I have personally measured almost all threads. And trust your experience when it comes to breaking strength (it's difficult to measure consistently). The Veevus threads are generally pretty strong.

Martin

Submitted by SoCalAngler on

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With regard to Veevus.....how can they have different aught sizes (ex. 6/0, 8/0, 10/0) which are distinctly different sized threads, out of a material of the same denier? The math doesn't work here. Am I missing something?

Andrés,

I will try to reply for Martyn. I can see that the hook is fairly large for the size of the fly, and my guess is that size 8-10 will work fine. The Kamasan hooks are thin wire (B170) and heavy wire (B175), and can be hard to find in smaller sizes than 10.

Martin

Don,

I see no reason why it shouldn't. It's a great allround fly, which is definitely worth trying on almost any river.

Martin

Submitted by don stauss on

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how would the usual fly work on the Mettawee river,thanks Don

FYI Overtons Wonder wax is now available. I saw it at the Edison Show this year (2020)Hold on to your wallets the price tag is steep $16.99 a tube. Same color tube. Not making any promises but this is a promising thing.No I did not take the plunge. But I was wondering if there is any feedback on it now that a replacement is available. Thans

Submitted by Erik van den Berg on

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What a delightful short movie. Clearly made by someone who truly appreciates what saltwater seatrout fishing has to offer. Really inspiring1

Pierre,

That's not quite true... the flies have been tested in water and do land and float as intended.

And they will stay in shape like other deer hair flies such as EHC's, CDC&Elks, Comparaduns, Funnel Duns and even muddlers, which do not collapse in water in spite of using flared deer hair much the same way as these flies. This will especially be the case if the flies are prepared with a little floatant such as Muceline or CDC oil, which is recommended for many deer hair dry flies anyway, and also mentioned in the article.

Sure enough, these flies aren't "proven classics", which have taken thousands of fish, but the concept will work as intended, we're sure.

Martin

Submitted by Pierre on

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...in practice, att the river will not work. Why? Because the deer hair fiber does not have the elasticity of the fiber from the hackel normally used in parachutes. After a few casts it will be gathered as a comma ... I'm sorry I have to be a negativist. Sincere! It looks fantastic only in pictures and in dry condition. :)

Luka,

It does indeed have a similarity to Fran Betters' fly - and to the Comparadun as mentioned in the article - but there's still a major difference in technique. While Fabien's wing/hackle is made by wrapping horizontally around the deer hair, the wing on the Haystack fly is lifted and spread out by wrapping around the hook shank behind and in front of the wing, creating "dams" and forcing it to rise vertically and spread out.
With Fabien's technique, you can tie a very skinny fly and still get a nicely spread out hackle/wing, while the Haystack style will require a rather beefy thorax and create a fan shaped rather than a dome shaped wing.

But admitted, nothing is really new in fly tying, and all new and contemporary techniques are often based on methods that have been tried before and used in many variations.

We still thought this was sufficiently novel to earn some coverage.

Martin

Submitted by Luka on

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This is almost identical to the Haystack and variations of it which were all tied by the great Fran Betters for the (real) Au Sable River in New York. The Comparadun and Sparkle Dun are simply shameless near-copies of it, with the only changed thing being the tail.

Submitted by tony polley on

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the “perfect hackle” ... great video example and explanation.... many thanks

David,

Most of the scissors covered in the article are very widely available, and should be particularly easy to get a hold of in the US! It's mostly us in Europe and Asia who have a hard time getting stuff... Sure, the ones from Romania are far away from the US (but unfortunately also discontinued now), but the ones from the UK should offer no problems. The rest should be available online or in shops in the US.

In the case of all of the brand name scissors there are links to either manufacturers or distributors, and I'm sure they can all supply names of resellers - brick and mortar or online - which you can use.

Regarding the points, there are several options. The razor scissors are basically all very thin in the points, but not all cut equally well close to the tips. It's best to test before buying if possible. The Squizzers are made for really fine work, and Loon's Ergo Arrow Point Scissors as well as the Renomed scissors are all very good in the tips.

Also remember that you can improve the tips your existing scissors by using the method shown by Wayne Luallen in the video Tool Tip: Sharpening Scissor Tips in our Tying Tips series.

I hope this helps.

Martin

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