Well not really – but we bought the pelt from one – Among many hides we found one that was more than perfect for our salmon flies – and we managed to have a selection of flies ready for the upcoming season – exclusively sold in a collection of 10 flies that will suit your early season fishing or for days with high water –

Exclusive offer 

The 10 flies come in a handy plastic box …but without hooks

Daniel Wells is an experienced steelhead angler that has moved to Massachusetts where he has found sport in the striped bass fishing in estuaries, the surf, and a unique fishery, The Cape Cod Canal. Daniel soon realized that the Cape Cod Canal is one of the toughest environments to fly fish, but he found out that it could be done with very heavy Skagit gear. Daniel has been trying to design flies that are specific for the Canal with the focus on waking flies as the canal is moving around 4-5 knots and can have excellent surface feeds when the timing of fast current and sunrise coincide.

Still, in the infancy of Daniels development of these flies, we were proud to deliver some of our riffling hitch tube that Daniel has designed some of his initial striped bass surface flies on. Flies that are light and relatively easy to cast on double hand salmon gear.

We can only say we are looking forward to your season and hope that your fly design has spawned more striped bass anglers to pick up the double hand rod and try out your surface flies… To contact Daniel in regards to his wake fly design – You may contact him through his Instagram profile here    

Hej fluefisker og velkommen til endnu et Fishmadman nyhedsbrev.
Denne gang er vi stolte af at kunne præsentere noget ganske unikt.

Fluefiskeri efter laks er til en vis grad stadig en gåde – Lystfiskere vil bruge utallige timer på, at fiske til tilsyneladende uinteresserede fisk, der har forladt et grådigt a la carte liv på havet for at vende tilbage til deres fødested, uden at have brug for eller ønske om næring.
Pludselig – og uden nogen fornuftig forklaring – stiger fisken fra bunden for at få fat i din lille flue.

Er det sult, hukommelse om fødevarer eller bare frustration, der udløser denne irrationelle begivenhed? Vi kan ikke rigtig forklare det, men fiskens adfærd har ganske sikkert at gøre med de byttedyr, laks har jaget i millioner af år.

Følg med os til havs for at se hvad der er på menukortet hos fiskenes mest krævende og frustrerende gastronomer.
Sjældent set billeder …

Sjældent sete dyr

Det har været en øjenåbner for os at afdække oplysninger om laksens spiseadfærd til søs – og vi håber du vil være lige så underholdt, når du ser billeder af disse sjældent sete dyr.

Laks er opportunist

En gennemgående fællesnævner i alle rapporter og vidensbyrd, vi har læst om laksens spisevaner -er at atlanterhavslaks er opportunistiske jægere, det spiser den mad, der er tilgængelig på et givet sted og tidspunkt.

I de kystnære farvande ved Newfoundland, spiste laks hovedsageligt sild, lodde og tobis, mens laksen i Labrador, havde  unge torsk som en vigtig del af kosten.

Gadus morhua. Almindeligt navn: Torsk

Her en trio af meget små torsk
Foto Claude Nozères, World Register Of Marine Species.

I årene med fluefiskeri, har jeg og Per Fischer, mødt nogle dedikerede mennesker, der arbejder for bevarelse af fisk og fiskevande. Tom Derry fra Oregon, er en af disse mennesker. Tom er direktør for en privat fond, der arbejder for at genoprette bestanden af vilde steelhead, og de elve de kommer fra.

En dedikeret sportsfisker

Vi har lært Tom Derry fra Native Fish Society at kende gennem vores fælles passion for overfladevand fluer og top-vand fiskeri – Netop overfladefiskeri efter steelhead er Tom´s store passion.

Vi har medvirket til at genoprette flere vilde fiskebestande – Catch & Release har været en vigtig del af dette arbejde.

Top-Water specialist Tom Derry

En passion for fiskeri

Tom er vokset op i Oregon, hvor nogle af verdens bedste steelhead elve løber.
“Mine tydeligste erindringer er fra fiskeri med min far og farfar. Fiskeriet har været en livslang lidenskab for mig, og de seneste år har min interesse rettet sig mod at genoprette de vilde fiskebestande i den nord vestlige del af USA.
Jeg har arbejdet for Native Fish Society i tolv år, som for vores afsnit der hedder: Wild Steelhead Funding. Mit job er at sikre finansiering til vores elv programmer samt lobby virksomhed, der skal påvirke beslutningstagere. Jeg mødes og fisker også med masser af lystfiskere, der ønsker at bidrage økonomisk til vores arbejde med at redde de vilde bestande af fisk. En sidegevinst af mit arbejde er selvfølgelig, at jeg har mulighed for at fiske nogle af de bedste fiskepladser i verden”

En fisk er for værdifuld blot at fange blot een gang

Med bestande af laks og Steelhead på mindre end tre procent af hvad de historisk engang var i Nordamerika, arbejder Native Fish Society for at fremme og håndhæve catch and release fiskeri, som en måde at sikre sportsfiskere at kunne fortsætte deres fiskeri efter disse fantastiske fisk, uden at påvirke bestandene.
Et citat fra fluefiske legenden Lee Wulff siger det hele; “En fisk er for værdifuld til at fange blot een gang”.

En passion for fisk

Native Native Fish Society arbejde for at stoppe habitat nedbrydning før den starter, går i dialog med kommercielle og rekreative grupper, der høster af fiskebestandene, forbedre passage for fisk eller arbejder for fjernelse af vandkraftværk, samt påpeger de negative effekter og påvirkninger udsætninger af fisk kan have.

Du kan også deltage – Besøg Native Fish Society hjemmeside og lære om arbejdet de gør. Hjælp til ved at sprede viden om organisationer som Native Fish Society, der arbejder for at redde vores fisk.

Besøg Native Fish Society

Fluemønstret du må have i din flueæske!

Efter du har set billederne og læst historien om, hvad laks spiser i havet – forstår du måske bedre, hvorfor Frances fluemønstret er blevet en af de absolut mest populære laksefluer nogensinde –

Denne særlige rejeflue bruges i elve på tværs af Nordatlanten – i både alvorligt tunge gulerod-udseende versioner og insekt-små varianter.
Vi har arbejdet for at få nogle meget små størrelser klar til vores laksesæson – Alle bundet omhyggeligt til mindste detalje – NØJAGTIG, som vi vil have dem.

Micro # 18 Frances flue i munden på en oktober laks.
Vi har bundet fluer på Partridge X2B # 18-16 og 14 kroge, og i tillæg til disse fjerlette fluer har vi også lavet en version på et absolut lille rør.  Disse fluer er bundet på vores version 3.2 millimeter rør – perfekt til små Owner ST trekroge eller Owner Chinu enkeltkroge

Hvis alt andet fejler

Der er noget magisk over disse micro Frances fluer – De synes at fremkalde hug-refleks i laks på en sådan måde, at nogle fluefiskere sværger til dette dværg-mønster til det meste fiskeri – Andre fluefiskere, jeg kender, har en kasse med denne flue, som – den sidste chance – hvis alt andet fejler. Jeg bruger gerne miniature-Frances fluer;  når elven falder bort hen under sensommer, hvor fisken finder plads i små huller og fordybninger. – Jeg binder også konsekvent denne flue på, når jeg fisker efterårslaks i skotske elve. – De sene blanklaks kan ikke modstå disse små reje efterligninger.

Prøv dem i denne sæson.

Vi gør vores bedste for at holde vores sider på Fishmadman interessante og underholdende.
En side, vi har arbejdet på dette forår, er vores side om rør til fluebinding.
Vi håber, at udvide siderne igennem 2015 – 16 med en række løsninger for dig der binder laks og Steelhead fluer med etappe-bygget vinger

Vatpinde er lige så forskellige, som de fluebindingsrør du finder i fluebindingsbutikker – men du kan faktisk være heldig at finde nogle, der akkurat passer til dine behov.

Se vores side om rør til fluebinding

Hello fly fisherman and welcome to another Fishmadman newsletter

This time we are proud to present something quite unique.

Dry fly regards from Per & Jesper

Fly fishing for salmon is to some degree still a riddle – and anglers will spend countless hours fishing over seemingly uninterested fish that have left a greedy, a la carte life at sea to return to their place of birth, fully nourished and with little or no need or desire for sustenance…Suddenly – and with no reasonable explanation – the fish will rise from the bottom to grab your small fly.

Is it hunger, a memory of food or just frustration that triggers this irrational event – We cant really tell but it inevitably has to do with the behaviour and characteristics of the food salmon has been feeding on for millions of years –

Follow us to see the treats on the salmon menu carte as we delve deeper into the mind of this most demanding and frustrating of gastronomes.

Rarely seen images…

It has been an eye-opening experience for us to uncover the information on salmons’ feeding behaviour at sea – and we think you will be equally entertained when you see the images of these rarely seen critters.

Salmon are opportunistic feeders

A common denominator in all the evidence we have read about salmon feeding behaviour is that Atlantic salmon are opportunistic feeders that will eat the food at a given location and time.

Common cod is on the menu

In the coastal waters of Newfoundland, salmon feed mainly on herring, capelin and sand eels, while in Labrador, young cod was an essential part of the diet.

Gadus morhua. Common name: cod.

Here is a trio of small cod.

Photo with a curtsey of Mr Claude Nozères, World Register Of Marine Species.

Over the years of fly fishing, Per Fischer and I have met some very dedicated people working with fish conservation. Mr. Tom Derry is one of them. Tom is a director in a private not for profit foundation that works to restore runs of wild steelhead and the rivers they live in throughout the Pacific Northwest in North America.

A dedicated angle

We have come to know Tom Derry from the Native Fish Society through our mutual passion for surface flies and top-water fishing.

We have recovered some wild fish populations while practising catch and release; it’s the right thing to do!

Top-water steelheader Mr. Tom Derry

A passion for fishing

Growing up in Oregon, Tom´s passion for fishing is fierce.
My earliest memories are of fishing with my Dad and Grandpa. Fishing has been
a lifelong passion of mine, and in recent years my interest has turned to help recover wild fish populations throughout the Pacific Northwest. I have worked at the Native Fish Society for twelve years as a River Steward and Director of Wild Steelhead Funding. My job is securing funding for our River Steward program and advocacy work. I have met and fished with many anglers who want to give back financially for all the pleasure fish, and fishing has brought them. A side benefit of my work is that it has allowed me to fish some of the best waters in the world. “

A Fish Is Too Valuable To Catch Just Once

With Salmon and Steelhead populations at less than three percent of historical numbers throughout the Pacific Northwest, the Native Fish Society also promotes and enforces catch-and-release fishing to ensure anglers can continue fishing with minimal impact on the fishery. A Quote from Lee Wulff says it all, “A Fish Is Too Valuable To Catch Just Once”.

A passion for fish

Native Fish Society works to stop habitat degradation before it starts, challenge commercial and sport fisheries that over-harvest, improve passage or encourage the removal of hydroelectric dams, and highlight the negative impacts from hatchery programs. .

You can participate too – Go to the Native Fish Society homepage, nativefishsociety.org, and learn about the work they do. Please help to spread the news about organizations that work to save our fish.

Visit Native Fish Society

A must have fly pattern for salmon!

When you have seen the images and read the story on What salmon eat on high seas – You might better understand why the Frances fly has become one of the most famous salmon flies ever made – This special-looking fly is used widely on rivers across the North Atlantic – in both cumbersome carrot-looking versions and tiny variants – light as insects.

We have been working on getting some tiny ones ready for the upcoming season – All tied meticulously with a notion for the details we like in this pattern.

Tiny # 18 Frances fly in the mouth of an October salmon.

We have tied the flies on Partridge X2B # 18 – 16 and 14 hooks, and in addition to these feather-light flies, we have also made an absolute miniature tube fly version tied on our 3.2-millimetre tube – perfect for small treble or single hooks

If all else fails

There is something magical about these tiny Frances flies – They seem to evoke the biting behaviour in salmon in such a way that some anglers swear to this dwarf pattern for most of their fishing – Other anglers I know keep a box with this fly as a last resort – if all else fails – I like to use the dwarf Frances flies when the river drops away during summer and fish stop and stay in slowish water – I consistently tie this fly on when I fish autumn salmon in Scottish rivers – Those late silver runners can’t resist these tiny shrimp imitations.

Try them out this season –

We try our best to keep our pages on Fishmadman exciting and relevant.

One page we have worked on this spring is our page on tubes used for fly tying.

We hope to extend the pages during 2015 with a range of solutions for you who tie salmon, and steelhead flies in the Intruder style or with wings built in stages.

If you want us to display a special technique or style in a tube, fly tying – Write to us, and we will get right on it.

Cotton swabs are as different as the fly-tying tubes you find in fishing shops – But you may find some that could fit your needs.  See the page on Fishmadman.

See our page here

Take advice from the old hand on the river – He knows the hurls and swirls of the water and will also know what style of Bombers to use that particular day

The Bomber Story

The Bomber was initially designed as a commotion fly for fishing in the headwaters of the Miramichi River in New Brunswick. It is Mr Elmer Smith who takes the credit for the first Bomber – Initially, Mr Smith intended the Bomber to be fished sub-surface; he later thought it to be well suited for dry fly fishing and had various versions of the fly made. Today, the Bomber is the number one dry fly for most salmon anglers, and it is tied in multiple colours and sizes.

Photo of Father Elmer James Smith, the exceptional salmon dry fly pattern designer. Information and image from Miramichi Salmon Museum – Doaktown, New Brunswick, Canada

The story goes: that Mr Smith got his initial inspiration for the Bomber fly after seeing a salmon rise to the cigar butt he had just thrown in the river…

The Bomber style

Every river I have been to has had its fashion of flies – Patterns cut into shape by local anglers adjusted to suit the hurls and swirls of their river – Obviously, It is well worth looking into such aspects as pattern designs and choice of colours – Sometimes it is tiny details that make all the difference between failure or success.

Styles and colour on Bomber flies vary much across Canada and in between rivers – Anglers will also carry different versions of their Bomber to suit the specific height of water – a specific pool

West & East

The Bomber is very popular with steelhead anglers in the West and Atlantic salmon anglers on the East Coast of North America. Whereas the East Coast anglers use the Bomber as designed and intended, – Anglers fishing Steelhead have changed the overall design to enable it to wake better. Some will even shape their Bomber to work with a dive-and-pop-up motion.

Above: Caught on a Tube Bomber ™ – A modern lightweight version of the famous Bomber pattern from the ’60s.

Wake style Bombers

Right: A Rusty Brown Bomber (done the tube way)

A traditionally styled commotion Bomber from the West coast of Canada devised by steelhead guide John Hazel in 1979. Read more

Note the strands of Mylar we have put into the wing and tail. We integrate this material on most of our surface flies – it helps us detect the flies out on the turbulent river – and aids us in finding the fly in low light and even direct sunlight.

Tribute to the mighty Skeena River in BC – The holy grail for steelhead wake fly fishing – Photo by Mr Loren Irving

Babine River style

These three sizes 6 – 4 Bombers come from the fly box of Loren Irving from Bend, Oregon, and were some of the first he tied some 20 years ago. They were inspired by his fishing partners Frank Cammack and Jim Bussard, two veteran steelheaders from Bend as well. According to Loren, these flies were used in Northern BC Rivers: Bulkley, Skeena, Kispiox and The Babine.

Right: These flies were used in a documentary film produced in the mid-90s by Pierce Clegg, who then owned the Babine Norlakes Lodge, to show the tendency of BC Steelhead to very actively come to the surface to Bombers and waking flies.

As his friend Jim Bussard suggested, Mr Irving favours the Green Butt Bomber and switches to a Brown Bomber as a follow-up fly.

These are Bombers styled to be fished as wake flies – or swinging bombers – fished across the river on a tight line, making them drag in the surface.

If you want to learn more about steelhead fishing and flies from this famous region – we recommend you buy the Babine Book from Frank Amato Publication

This type of wake fly will wake effortlessly. It is tied on tube and the leader goes through a hole in the belly of the fly – Great action on the water. Use any hook or hook setting you like

Here is the famous Moose Turd Bomber by Bill McMillan – done the Fishmadman way on our Riffling Hitch Tube.

The Moose Turd Bomber is an excellent example of the transition the Bomber has taken through the world of wake flies.

Doing the Moose Turd Bomber on a tube the Fishmadman way – with the entrance hole for the leader down on the throat of the fly is a very dependable way of getting a fly pattern to pull to the surface and wake –

These flies are lighter than traditional wake flies tied on long shank hooks. The fly will act differently than normal hook-tied wake flies.

Using tubes and short-shank hooks will also stop problems with leverage – so often seen with conventional long-shank hooks.

The tiny hooks used on these flies inflict less damage to fish jaws than that of big long shank hooks – With these flies, we do not aim to set the hook in the structure of the jaw – we want the hook to connect with the firm skin in the mouth of the fish.

Above right: Here we have done the Rusty Brown Bomber in the Fishmadman Riffling Hitch Tube way – A simple way of making different flies wake without buoyancy.

Buy these special Wake-Bombers

Tube Bombers made for dead drift.

Dead-drifting is the morbid name for a dry-fly fishing technique anchored in trout fishing traditions where the fly is left motionless, drifting over known lies.

A very efficient way to connect with Atlantic salmon

Above: The Smurf Tube Bomber ™ This particular blue is a favourite colour for several dry fly rivers in Northern Norway. Buy the flies 

Fishmadman made the first tube salmon dry in 1995 we tied the classical Bomber patterns and other salmon dry flies on very thin tubes. With this approach we created light dry flies with a very different hook-hold than that of the traditional salmon dry fly. The conversion from traditional Bombers tied on hook to tube is 20 – 33 % decrease in weight

Colours

Left: 3 Smurf Bombers: This distinct blue-coloured Bomber is a sought-after fly-pattern by Atlantic Salmon and anglers from Canada and Northern Norway. One could only guess why the colour combination on the Smurf Bomber works exceptionally well on some rivers: Maybe the blue skyline often dominates when fishing during summer. Maybe it is because the salmon can focus on light with short wavelengths like; green and bluish colours… when it enters the sea. It could also be that the contrast colour of the Smurf Bomber sticks out like other contrast Bombers

Smurf, Green and White Bombers blend right into the landscape

This HIG-VIZ Green Bomber ™ has proven effective to us in the last seasons – As it is with the colour of the Smurf Bomber, it does not mimic any particular insect, but it blends right into the background at the river. The river we fish in is lined with green birch trees. Branches are hanging over the water.

No. 1 Nordic Bomber

Undoubtedly, the white Bomber, with Grizzle or all-white hackle, is the favoured salmon dry fly among Atlantic salmon anglers in the North of Scandinavia – The wide open landscape – Broad, shallow rivers with clear water is the perfect element for the light-coloured White Bomber.

The White & Orange Bombers

Yet another colour variation of the Bomber is the White and orange Bomber. It is well suited for rivers with lots of foam cloths where a White Bomber might disappear into. Here tied the Tube Bomber way.

Black Bomber

A must-have Bomber in your collection – Like many other black flies, the Black Bomber will work during bright weather and a cloudy day.

The material to use

The Body on the Bomber is often tied with hairs from White Tail deer, some with Caribou hair – others use even more coarse hair from Elk. The hackle is an integrated part of the fly pattern. Some anglers prefer dens hackle. Others split the hackle to get a lighter appearance. Some bombers will be tied with the hackle pointed towards the head – others pointing backwards – Tail and wings are often made from calf tail, but depending on fishing style and river, other hair from squirrel and deer hair could be used. The wing on the Bomber could be tied split or as one single wing pointing forward.

The iconic cigar-shaped body of the Bomber is essential, and we strive to shape our flies with a well-defined insect look-alike body. We use White Tail Deer for our Tube Bomber flies – harvested in late fall to get big buoyant hairs.

When available, we use caribou belly hair – We get this extraordinary material from Finnish caribou – Animals are harvested when the hair is big and thick – Quality caribou hair is soft, spins quickly, floats well and is easier to trim than White Tail deer hair – something essential when doing small bombers.

We have been lucky to get a small stock of this fabulous material. See it in our shop 

Large flies

The salmon in Northern Europe is not super-interested in vast versions of the Bomber. However, this is not always the case with Newfoundland salmon, particularly the big salmon running the Humber River. We do various series of big deer hair flies for anglers fishing this river, a.o the famous guide and angler Terry Byrne. Terry once told us that he had seen Humber salmon rise and grab squirrels swimming across the river.

Above right: a regular beast of a Bomber with a 60-millimetre (2.3 inches) body tied on an → extremely long Carrie Stevens hook # 2/0 streamer hook – Probably the worst possible hook to put in the mouth of a jumping salmon.

Left: In contrast with the earlier crowbar of a Bomber –  A XXXL Tube Bomber ™ made for big salmon on the Lower Humber. The body of the fly is 49 millimetres (1,9 inches). This is fitted with a TMC/TRP Spearpoint hook.

Killer Whisker

The Killer Whisker: a compact alternative to the Bomber pattern – Shares many of the features of the Bomber. It is an apparent dry fly to be tied on a tube.

See how to tie the Killer Whisker

Small flies

During summer, salmon turn into versions of trout – and often just as picky when it comes to details and size of flies. Small and micro versions of the Bomber can become very productive. As with medium and bigger Bombers, smaller Bombers are also styled according to local code; even fine details can determine if you hook up.

Left: a grills size Bomber tied with caribou – The styling and colour that this particular fly has is favoured by many anglers fishing Newfoundland

Right: A Miniature # 14 CDC Bomber (10 millimetres) from Fishmadman a tiny Bomber when the situation demands small flies fished with stealth

August salmon caught on Micro CDC Bomber. The cigar-shaped profile of the Bomber fly is a central point in this fly pattern and well worth putting time and effort into shaping – Our solution using little bundles of CDC for wing and tail makes a dry fly with excellent float-ability Buy CDC Micro Bombers  


Salmon Bugs

What are Salmon bugs?

Bugs are small miniature salmon flies, for the most part, made with a deer hair body. Tied on # 8 – 12 single hooks. Either low-water salmon hooks with an up-eye or stronger down-eye trout fly hooks. It is a fly designed to be fished as a so-called dead-drifting fly on the surface. Just below the surface or across the river as a form of hitch/commotion fly, bugs may also be fished below the surface as a traditional wet fly.

Many Bug patterns have distinct fluorescent tags, diminutive tails, and dito hackles related to other famous low-water wet flies like The Undertakers and the Black Bear flies.

Using deer hair as body material in salmon and trout flies is a North American tradition deriving back to famed patterns like The Muddler Minnow and the Bombe series of flies. It is the venerable Reverent Elmer James Smith from New Brunswick in Canada, who, in the 1960s and 70s, initially tied the flies that we have come to know as salmon Bugs. With the success of his famous salmon dry fly, the Bomber, he designed a much smaller and sparsely dressed derivative of the Bomber fly known as the Bucks

Micro Wake Moose Turd Bombers

Right: Anglers pursuing Atlantic Salmon with dry flies like Bombers will often fish the fly at dead-drift and not wake it as steelhead anglers do – But small patterns of the Bomber can be efficient when awakened, and we have designed miniature versions of the Moose Turd Bombers made by Mr Bill McMillan – done on our Riffling Hitch Tube. 

See these miniature Moose Turd Bombers in the Fishmadman Shop.

Read about the history of tube flies and problems with leverage

Material details

The tube

Dry flies on a tube are designed like most other tube flies, with a nylon tube running through the fly and a hook guard situated at the rear of the fly.

The tube we used is produced to our standards – Straight (you don’t want to tie a fly on a tube coiled up on a spool) – Tubing has a low melting point and will quickly form a collar when heated.

We use the tube in a 1,8-millimetre version for bigger flies and a 1,4  mm. for the smallest flies

The hook guard

The hook guard will support the hook and must be made from superior soft-quality tubing.

We have had our type of PVC-free tubing produced. This tube is designed to withstand a lot of mechanical wear. It is also a tube with a short memory that can be used over time without losing its hold on the hook.

Last, the tubing we use on our flies is made from plastic that does not draw in water while submerged. Some tubing, like silicone tubing, could draw up to 15 % water – Not so important to the angler using wet flies – but quite important to the dry fly angler…

Buy tubing and the right needle 

Tinsel

We use Peter Veniards Pearl Mylar in the wing and tail section – We also learned that the Mylar strands made a significant difference to anglers fishing landlocked salmon with our Monster Tube Caddis ™ – The flies worked better when the Mylar still was attached to the flies.

Deer hair is deadly.

People ask us why we don´t make our Bombers with foam or other floating material. We have tried with various materials: Cork, Balsa-wood, Styrofoam, EVA foam and at some point, I even did a fly with a small glass cylinder, but none of it worked properly, and we soon returned to flies made from deer hair… There do not seem to be any shortcuts on this project…

Why is deer hair so special? First, deer hair (like most other hair material) can naturally attract and deceive trout and salmon… Eating an animal with a pelt isn’t that disagreeable with fish.

One very special Bomber Belonging to a UK angler I know – This fly has, over time, become better because of Wear and tear and multiple coatings of Muslin – All adding up to a translucent appearance that seems attractive to salmon.

You and I all have our favourite wet flies in the box. Flies that seem to fish much better than other flies. They might be torn up and dull looking but will produce fish on the bank time after time… It is probably this ruggedness and bland looks that holds the secret to your success with this particular fly. If you look closely, you will find that the fly has become somewhat altered from usage. It could be little strands of wool coming undone – Hair splitting up from casting and fish teeth tearing at them – fading colours, etc. All are adding up to a more translucent appearance.

Dry flies made with deer hair will also improve with time – If the deer hair becomes hollow! When used over and over again – Something I will try to prove through a picture of detail – The detail section is from the image above of the super-bomber

Note the hollowness of the hairs that gives the fly this see-through appearance … as seen on the close-up of the deer hair body…. By the way, anglers have offered our UK friend lots of money for this particular super-fly… It is not for sale…we have been informed…

Tube Bomber ™ : Big dry flies with no weight or problems with leverage

Above: White Tube Bomber ™ well up the leader with this hooked Atlantic Salmon – This makes de-hooking easy – And the fish can’t use the long fly as a lever

Hooks to use with the Tube Bomber

We recommend a short shank wide gape hook at the end of the Tube Bomber  – This will give you a perfect hook-up. You can change to single, double or treble hooks according to your choice, the flow of the river or the rules of the Riverkeeper.

Read more on the hooks we suggest for the Tube Bomber …

Tying The Tube Bomber ™

Start by heating the end of the tube near a naked flame thereby creating a small collar on the tube.  – This collar will prevent the hook guard from falling-off during energetic casting. Note of warning! Not all types of tube will melt and form a collar when heated – most tubing will catch fire etc. – It is the melting point of the material that is of importance – If you use the right quality tube such a collar will easily form

For small/medium diameter tube flies or metal tubes with inner-lining tubing – Bottle tubes, but more than anything this needle is designed for big and small tube dry flies like the Tube Bomber. Shaped to fit our 1.8 mm. tube with an inside diameter (Ø) of 1.1 mm. The total length is 97 mm. A needle that will enable you to tie big tube dry flies. See the special needle in our shop