Read the letter in Scandinavian (This time Danish)

Hello fellow anglers and welcome to another newsletter from us at Fishmadman – the holiday season is close and we as many other anglers will spend time with family and friends and then go to our fly tying room and try our hands on some new flies for the upcoming season …This newsletter will be focusing on some of the things we have made for fly tying in 2021… hopefully, it will be of inspiration to you

 

This time in the newsletter

• The Pink´s are coming
• NEW tube fly tying needles from us
• A NEW form of tube from us
• Natural black squirrel tails in stock again
• Introducing our new associate
• Holliday discount 🥳

Jesper Fohrmann

Fly Designer

Season 2021 was not a particularly good year for the Atlantic salmon in Scandinavia, but runs of pink salmon were completely off the charts and I for one did not miss out on the opportunity to fish for this aggressive and hard fighting fish both in rivers and in the salt – Here is a male pink salmon in spawning colures caught on sea trout costal gear – Compared to its size,  pink salmon can be one of the hardest fighting fish you may encounter at the end of your fly rod.

The pinks are coming!

The Pacific salmonid (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) or pink salmon as it also is known as in North America was introduced to the Russian Barents region by mad scientists in the late 1950´s – ever since then, these species have appeared in salmon rivers all over Scandinavia and in the UK. Some years runs have been weak but other years like the recent, runs of this irregular critter have gained momentum and 100000´s pink salmon have entered our river systems… especially in the very north of Norway.

Fish non grata 

The ecological impact of pink salmon entering our Atlantic salmon river systems has as of yet not been fully determined and the Norwegian government have finally instigated extensive research into the matter. To read more about the timeline of this major example of how humans may ruin native biodiversity – Go to this link 

Some notes and observations on pink salmon in Scandinavian waters.

• None of the + 80 Pacific salmon I caught this summer had sea lice on them… an interesting fact considering the number of sea lice native salmon has to cope with
• When observing the 4 species together in the rivers I visited (arctic char, Atlantic salmon, sea-run brown trout and pink salmon) I did not once observe any fight among the native fish and the Pacific salmon this does not mean that Pacific salmon would avoid and take up space that the other fish normally would occupy … It looked like all fish did there own thing without bothering each other.

 

Smart design!

Over the years we have happily used normal sowing needles for our tube fly tying – we have also promoted this inexpensive solution through our shop but we have had problems getting the right sowing needles for the tubing we sell so we decided to produce our design of tube fly tying needles – and are proud to present you with some of the smartest needles on the market.

4 different needles to choose from. We make needles that will fit the tubing we sell – from the thinnest 1.4 – millimetre tubings to the biggest 3.2 mm. tubing we use for big Sunray Shadow flies – A small plate at the rear end of the needle serves as a clamping point to put in your fly tying vise.

We initially had 100 of these tails …but they were sold out in a matter of weeks…so we decided to see if we could order more… now a few days before publishing this letter we were promised additional tails so now we should be able to supply you.

Natural black squirrel (Scientific Name: Sciurus vulgaris) hair has that super alluring effect on trout and salmon and 1000´s salmon fly patterns are based on the properties of squirrel hair – Not all squirrel tails are alike and some squirrel hair will work best if used on small flies and other hairs work better on bigger flies – if you are curious to learn more about squirrel hair in fly tying – take a look at our page on the subject squirrel tails. We will be listing the tails in shades of black and brown as long as stock lasts.

The prize is 6.95 $

Thank you for supporting our highly specialized fly shop – We hope that our flies will bring fish to your leader and a smile on your lips in 2021… I think we all could need that (:

Remember to bring your kids and grandkids fishing it is only by sharing the dreamy and glorious moments at the river and ponds that new generations of people would want to conserve the fragile world of the salmon and trout that run our waters.

Yours Per & Jesper

© Copyright 2021 Fishmadman I/S Stakhaven 8, 2500 Valby, Denmark 🇩🇰

Read the letter in English

Hej fluefisker og velkommen til endnu et nyhedsbrev fra os på Fishmadman – juleferien er rundt om hjørnet,  og vi vil som mange andre fluefiskere vil bruge tid sammen med familie og venner og derefter gå til vores fluebindingsrum og prøve at binde nogle nye fluer til den kommende sæson… Dette nyhedsbrev vil fokusere på nogle af de ting, vi har lavet til fluebinding i 2021…forhåbentlig vil det være til inspiration for dig

 

Denne gang i nyhedsbrever

• Puklerne kommer
• NYE rørfluebindenåle fra os
• EN NY form for rør fra os
• Naturlige sorte egernhaler på lager igen
• 
Må vi præsenterer vores nye medarbejder
• Julerabat til nyhedsbrev læsere 🥳 Brug Promotion code, du finder den længere nede i vores nyhedsbrev ★

Jesper Fohrmann

Fly Designer

2021 var ikke et særligt godt år for atlanterhavslaks i Skandinavien, men opgangen af pukkellaks var helt utrolig og undertegnede gik selvfølgelig ikke glip af muligheden for at fiske efter denne aggressive og hårdt kæmpende fisk, både ved elve og på kysten – Her en han pukkellaks i gydefarver fanget på havørredegrej.

I forhold til pukkellaksens beskedende størrelse  kan den være en af ​​de hårdeste kæmpende fisk du kan møde for enden af ​​din fluestang.

Pukklerne kommer

Pukkellaks (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) eller pink salmon, som den også er kendt som i det nordvestlige USA, blev introduceret til den russiske Barents-region af gale videnskabsmænd i slutningen af ​​1950’erne – siden er denne art dukket op i lakseelve over hele Skandinavien samt i Storbritannien. Nogle år har bestanden været lille, men andre år som det seneste, har opgangen af disse irregulære væsen taget fart og + 100000 pukkellaks er vandret ind i vores elvsystemer… især i det nordlige Norge.

Fisk non grata 

Den økologiske indvirkning fra pukkellaks, der kommer ind i atlanterhavslaksens elve, er endnu ikke fuldt ud klarlagt, og den norske regering har endelig sat gang i omfattende forskning i sagen. For at læse mere om tidslinjen for dette perfekte eksempel på, hvorledes mennesker kan ødelægge lokal biodiversitet – Gå til dette link

Smart design!

I årenes løb har vi med glæde brugt normale sy og stoppenåle til vores rørfluebinding – vi har også promoveret denne billige løsning gennem vores butik, men vi har haft problemer med at få fat i de rigtige nåle til de rør vi sælger, så vi besluttede at få vores eget design af nåle produceret, og vi er nu stolte af at, kunne præsentere dig for nogle af de smarteste fluebindingsnåle på markedet.

4 forskellige nåle at vælge imellem. Vi laver nåle der passer til de rør vi sælger – fra de tyndeste 1,4 millimeter rør til de største 3,2 mm. rør, som vi bruger til store Sunray Shadow fluer – Den lille metalplade for enden af nålen fungere til fastholdelse af nålen, du skal blot klemme om den med dit almindelige fluestik, så er du klar til at binde dine rørfluer.

Vi havde oprindeligt 100 af disse haler … men de blev udsolgt i løbet af få uger … så vi besluttede at se, om vi kunne bestille flere … nu her et par dage før offentliggørelsen af dette brev blev vi lovet yderligere haler, så nu skulle vi være i stand til at forsyne dig.

Naturligt sort egern (videnskabeligt navn: Sciurus vulgaris) hår, har en super lokkende effekt på ørred og laks, og 1000-tals laksefluemønstre er baseret på egenskaberne fra egernhår – Ikke alle egernhaler er ens, og nogle egernhår vil fungere bedst, hvis brugt på små fluer og andre hår fungerer bedre på større fluer – hvis du er nysgerrig efter at lære mere om egernhår i fluebinding – så tag et kig på vores side om emnet egernhaler. Vi har halerne i nuancer af sort og brun, så længe lager haves.

Pris er 6,95 $

Husk at invitere dine børn og børnebørn på fisketur, det er kun ved at dele de herlige og spændende øjeblikke ved elv og sø, at nye generationer af mennesker vil ønsker at bevare den skrøbelige verden ​​laks og ørred svømmer i.

Med venlig hilsen Las, Per & Jesper

© Copyright 2021 Fishmadman I/S Stakhaven 8, 2500 Valby, Denmark 🇩🇰

Read the letter in Scandinavian (This time Danish)

Hello, fellow anglers and welcome to another newsletter from us at Fishmadman.

So to keep things in balance and get ready for the summer fly fishing season I will be doing a short newsletter with a few highlights

• Hitching for sea trout
• NEW flies from us
• A NEW Owner hook
• Shop on holiday
• ★ Holiday discount (Promotion code further down in this newsletter

I had the fortunate opportunity to go to Scotland and fish the North Esk river in June this summer and conditions was shallow water as we have seen over the last decade…only very few fish entered the river and other than an 11 lb fresh salmon we were left with the occasional sea trout that had settled in the pools. I have fished this beat in similar conditions and aimed for sea trout.

Daytime sea trout is a tall order

Sea trout or sea-run brown trout are notoriously tricky to catch during the day, mainly because they are so easy to scare. Most sea trout river guides recommend that anglers stay well away from the river until late evening when sea trout change attitude and become bold and aggressive.

Islandic salmon candy

The Snaelda, or Snælda as it is called in Old Norse, is also the name of a hand spindle made from wood used for spinning and twisting fibres, such as wool, into yarn. The Snaelda fly is Made in so many versions in various colours – you usually find the Snaelda flies with a black wool body made to be fished deep.

We have two versions in 3 sizes for 2022

If you are pursuing salmon in Norway, Scotland or Russia (not so much the latter for political reasons)  …these are flies to bring.

Thank you for supporting our highly specialized fly shop – We hope that our flies will bring fish to your leader and a smile on your lips in 2022… I think we all could need that (:

Remember to bring your kids and grandkids fishing it is only by sharing the dreamy and glorious moments at the river and ponds that new generations of people would want to conserve the fragile world of the salmon and trout that run our waters.

Yours Per & Jesper

© Copyright 2022 Fishmadman I/S Stakhaven 8, 2500 Valby, Denmark 🇩🇰

Read the letter in Scandinavian (This time Danish)

Newsletter this time

• • A micro fly behind the hitch fly
  • Fluorocarbon versus nylon
  • Some great capes worth mentioning – and an early Christmas discount
  • A few images from this year

Local insight

When being at a river every day during the season, you learn the different moods and small changes of Atlantic salmon and trout better than most anglers ever will do. Advice from the local angler or ghillie may be invaluable information to the visiting day ticket angler.

Micro flies … the  essential requirement

If the river is low and warm or the fish you have come to fish have gone stale, you will ever so often find that the flies needed to trick such fish into bitting will be some of the smallest flies you may find in your box. Slow water could dictate a sparsely dressed fly to enable you to make the right presentation at the back part of a pool, or the daily rise of local insects such as stoneflies, caddisflies or mayflies may have brainwashed the stale inhabitants only to react to fly patterns that mimic something they see from day to day.

A sneak peek into Ron´s box of micro flies – The tiny Micro treble hook flies # 16 – 20 are seen in the top part of the box.

See small outpoint silver trebles # 16 for your micro fly tying here 

The Hitch flies as a vessel

Fishing riffling hitch flies can be a great choice when fishing the Kinnaber beat on the North Esk where pockets and runs in several pools work in favour of a fly presented on or in the surface, but a riffling hitch fly can also be a vessel for other flies such as micro flies in # 16 – 20 and this is a technique Ron Gray advise anglers to use when they visit the Kinnaber beat during summer months where salmon can be very very picky.

Keep it simple

Using a trailing fly can be a great technique, but it is also a form of fly fishing that could end up in a lot of line tangle.

Ron uses a small tube hitch fly as the main fly and carrier for the micro fly (# 16 – 20), trailing some 70 – 100 cm behind the front-end fly.

To keep the trailing fly below the surface, Ron prefers to use 8 Lb. fluorocarbon as a tippet material. * Fluorocarbon sinks a bit better than nylon, and it is also a bit stiffer than standard nylon tippet material, something that may prevent some of the tangles (for illustration, we have used a piece of regular Maxima Chameleon nylon in the photo above )

Trailing flies – what is it all about?

We don’t know what it exactly is with the trailing fly that makes it so unique, yet again it is one of those things in fly fishing for trout and salmon that isn’t well described in the grand manual of salmon fishing (:

The cocktail: of hitch fly + trailing micro fly is another valuable tool in the fly box for the angler seeking to catch those elusive Atlantic salmon and trouts hiding out in river pools during summertime.

I think that the salmon or trout sees the setup as a line of hitching insects… and it is then animated to seise the last one ..the one that hasn’t hatched yet…just a guess.

The material quickly became immensely popular among big-game and commercial fishermen largely because of the light refractive index of fluorocarbon line so close to that of water, making it less visible underwater, something quite significant, e.g. fishing for giant bluefin tuna with 200 lb mono – Fluorocarbon line also has other noteworthy features a.o lack of water absorbency, abrasion resistance and knot strength last but not least the speed fluorocarbon sinks through the water (it sinks faster than nylon) * something Ron Gray benefits from in his fishing with trailing micro flies.

Fluorocarbon is becoming more and more popular among fly fishermen.

Fluorocarbon has become distinctly popular over the last couple of decades, and many anglers I know do not think twice when buying a spool of fluorocarbon tippet material  6 – 7 times more expensive than a spool of quality nylon tippet material.

Fluorocarbon for trout and Atlantic salmon

As an avid trout and salmon angler, I would say no… save your money and buy nylon for your fly attachment – doing so, I will probably have fellow anglers raising their eyebrows – but my experience with fluorocarbon has shown me that the material has few properties that would help me get more bites, saying so I acknowledge that fluorocarbon has so many abilities that could aid anglers in specific and unique ways not known to me, making my advise a bit bias.

Fluorocarbon is stiffer than conventional nylon.

Generally speaking, fluorocarbon is stiffer than conventional tippet material, and it is also a lesser elastic material than nylon, which is not something I would benefit greatly from in my fishing for trout and salmon; on the contrary, I try to avoid stiff tippet material as I find that inflexible leaders take away some of the life that small and medium fly patterns need to perform well.

I do also prefer a cushy and elastic nylon tippet to a stiff and less so flexible tippet material. Since I often fish for bigger fish with small hooks and light tackle in a sport where elastic tippet material comes in handy ….Read more on this hard fighting topic on our blog at Fishmadman (You have to lose salmon and steelhead on small flies)

A long time coming

One of the most awaited seasonal orders in our shop is our order for Metz cock and saddle capes… They arrived just in time, as our skilled Frances fly tier is about to start the new batch of flies. The capes took their time to turn up here in Denmark… and I know that a few of you reading this now will be securing necks while we have the material in stock… unfortunately, we weren’t granted that many.

Why do you sell # 2 and # 3 capes?

These # 2 and # 3 capes fly right under the radar. They are inexpensive, and they are super quality; last but not least, they have a wider variety of feathers leaning more toward the bigger fly patterns.

Super affordable US quality      ★★★★★

© Copyright 2022 Fishmadman I/S Stakhaven 8, 2500 Valby, Denmark 🇩🇰

Thank you…

Hello, fellow anglers. We wanted to write to you before summer begins. It has been a tough time for our small company during Corona – We and our families have been free of the terrible disease. Still, our company has been put into a coma primarily because of shipping issues. We thank all of you who bought flies with us during the last months and would especially like to reach out to those of you who had a very long delivery time on your flies and fly-tying material… We know there are still delays in the post-world..but things have, for the most part, gone back to normal.

Newsletter this time

• A discount in our shop – and helping The Atlantic Salmon Federation
• An excellent knot for those up-eye salmon hooks
• Stay safe this summer – enjoy your local waters

Tight lines from Jesper & Per at Fishmadman

We will offer you a discount of 11 % in our shop.

With every purchase, more than 30 $ we will donate 5 $ to The Atlantic Salmon Federation to help them do their job – We will be giving a discount and be fund-raising this way all through July

Use Promotion code: SALAR in the shop and get your discount…and maybe help us in support of The Atlantic Salmon Federation

Guiding knots and knots for fly fishing is a well-debated issue, and for good reasons,  the knot is the last boundary between you and the fish – Showing you the knot Per, and I use for our salmon flies is in this way a matter of trust – so I will start this small introduction to the knot I use by saying that the knot has never failed me in all the years I have used it. It is a straightforward knot that will aid you in fishing your fly in a direct continuation of your leader.  It’s a knot you can tie at nighttime without looking at what you are doing.

Determining the correct name for the knot, we reached out to you, the newsletter readers …and the correct name is now in place… the Turl knot – as mentioned to us by:

David Ellis, Serge Léveillé, Mark, Brian Moran

Serge also sends us a link to a video showing an exciting variant of the Turl Knot in the Gaspesia part of Québec called the Gaspesian knot or twist knot.

Special thank you to you guys for participating and helping us get the facts straight.

Per Fischer and I had booked an online ticket for the Mörrum River in southern Sweden – the region of Scandinavia where we live close to –

This summer many anglers will have to stay close to home and we hope that you to also will get the opportunity to visit your local waters

Keep a safe distance to other anglers but keep your favourite flies close.

Tight lines Per & Jesper

© Copyright 2020 Fishmadman I/S Stakhaven 8, 2500 Valby, Denmark 🇩🇰

Hej, fluefisker og velkommen til endnu et nyhedsbrev fra os på Fishmadman – Vi håber, at vi kan gøre din dag lidt mere interessant ved at snakke fisk & fluer og vise dig et par ting, der måske kunne få dig til at mindes dinner dage langs elven, denne sommer – og forhåbentlig lægge planer for fluefiskesæsonen 2021.

Denne gang i nyhedsbrevet

• En særlige riffling hitch fluer fra Lee Wulff
• Natursort egernhaler
• Nye fluer i 2021
• Redesign af et mønster – få nye fluer
• Knuden fra det sidste nyhedsbrev
• En ældre uortodoks lakstørflue
• Ny…super dubbing Arizona Diamond Dub

Gennem sit liv som sports-skribent og laksefisker, fungerede Lee Wulff som promotor for riffling hitch teknikken, som han oprindeligt havde set i aktion ved Portland Creek elven i Newfoundland tilbage i 1940’erne.

Dette boks-sæt med 4 enkeltkrogfluer,  er et godt eksempel på Lee`s opfindsomhed og interesse for hitch fiskeri. Dette boks-sæt var oprindeligt et af to tilgængelige sæt af eksperimentelle fluer, som Lee Wulff designede med en krop af støbt af nylon – et design han også brugte på sine berømte Surface Stonefly fluer.

Hvis du ved mere om disse særlige hitch fluer, ville vi være taknemmelige for at høre fra dig – Du kan skrive til os via dette link Lee Wulff´s Hitch Specials  

Naturligt sort egernhår har en super lokkende effekt på ørred og laks, og 1000`vis af fluemønstre er baseret på egernhårs særlige egenskaber – Ikke alle gernhaler er ens, og noget hår fungerer bedst, hvis det bruges på mindre fluer og hår fra andre haler egner sig til større fluer – hvis du er nysgerrig efter at lære mere om egernhår i fluebinding  så kig forbi på vores side om emnet.

Naturlig sort egern fra Rusland eller eurasisk rødt egern, som de formelt er kendt som (Videnskabeligt navn: Sciurus vulgaris) er en egernart, der er udbredt over det store skovklædte Rusland, hvor nogle egern fanges i fælder, og deres skind bruges til forskellige beklædningsgenstande.

Vi var heldige at købe et lille udvalg af haler og deler dem med glæde med dem, der sætter pris på dette virkelig fantastiske fluebindingsmateriale.

Denne art egern findes i forskellige nuancer af brun og sort. Du finder halerne i vores butik beskrevet som:  sort og brun. Sælges så længe lager haves.  Prisen er 36.50.- (Danske Kr. 2021)

Fluebinding er vores profession her på Fishmadman, og det er vores fluer og deres evne til at fange fisk, der gør det hele værd for dig – Baseret på vores erfaring med gennemsigtige rør / changerende kropsmateriale (læs om dette i et tidligere nyhedsbrev) har vi valgt at gøre vores mønstre bedre ved at udbrede vores nye bindestil til flere fluer fra butikken.

Nogle af de Hitchman-fluer, vi lavede til sæsonen 2020, klarede ikke det hårde liv i for enden af forfanget, og som et resultat mistede de holografiske strimler deres fæste på røret. Vi kan kun beklage dette, og som en konsekvens redesignede vi kropsmaterialet og processen hvorved vi fastgøre dette til røret … Vi synes​ at ​vi er lykkedes med dette projekt, og vil gerne benytte lejligheden til at bytte eventuelle ødelagte/dårlige Hitchman-fluer, du måske har fisket med i løbet af den sidste sæson – Giv os en besked i din næste ordre, så lover vi at lever op til vores no-nonsense kvalitets politik – og sender dig nye fluer i stedet … NB de nye Hitchman fluer vil desværre ikke være tilgængelige i butikken før sidst på foråret 2021.

I vores forrige nyhedsbrev viste vi dig vores foretrukne styreknude til fluer bundet på opadbøjet laksekroge, og spurgte dig også om et navn og information om den pågældende knude, og vi vil gerne sende en 👍 til David Ellis, Serge Léveillé, Mark, Brian Moran, der skrev til os for at fortælle at; vi havde vist, hvordan man binder en Turl knude.

Serge sender os også et link til en video, der viser en interessant variant af Turl Knuden kendt i Gaspesia-delen af ​​Québec som Gaspesian Knot eller Twist Knot

Vi har valgt 18 fangende farver fra Johns serien af Arizona Diamond Dub – Vi laver en nyhedsbrev rabat for foråret 2021, hvor du får en gratis pakke med dubbing hver gang du køber 3 pakker.

Per Fischer har lavet disse delikate rejefluer af det nye Arizona Diamond Dub i farven Olive Copper

Ja… tak for din støtte til vores højst specialiserede fluebutik – vi håber, at vores fluer vil bringe fisk til din line og et smil på dine læber i 2021- vi har alle brug for lidt mere smil (:

Husk at invitere dine børn og børnebørn på fisketur, det er kun ved at dele de herlige og spændende øjeblikke ved elv og sø, at nye generationer af mennesker vil ønsker at bevare den skrøbelige verden ​​laks og ørred svømmer i.

Med venlig hilsen Per & Jesper

© Copyright 2021 Fishmadman I/S Stakhaven 8, 2500 Valby, Denmark 🇩🇰

Dear topwater anglers…Spring is already here and I and many of you are locked down…iiikkkes

I personally look forward to the upcoming season and I am sure we will all be able to get out and enjoy fishing sometime very soon.

I have chosen to spice our newsletter up with a fishing-cartoon… just to get some smiles going in these Corona times.

Tight lines from us at Fishmadman – Jesper & Per

Newsletter this time

• Soldier Palmer a true salmon fly classic
• Burt Longcaster – A man on a mission
• Selection of treble-hook flies
• Bug´s on a heavy hook
• New Frances flies
• Lee Wulff Bombers
• we got the Hitchman flies in the shop ?
• A great knot for your shooting head shooting-line

A sea trout I caught earlier this spring – fly was the Soldier Palmer – a fly I often use for stale sea trout… Fish was 79 centimers long (31 inches) and was caught in the Nybro River in the southern part of Sweden

Izaak Walton write about the Soldier Palmer in his book The Complet Angler from 1653 – It is thought that the fly derive back much earlier

THE SMALL DENS FRANCES FLIES…You got to try them…

Both we and you love to fish these great tiny dens flies …so we chose to make a few more to the collection

LEE WULFF BOMBERS

Lee Wulff was the modern forefather of dry fly fishing for salmon and his influence on salmon dry fly fishing and the flies we use is visible on most rivers where salmon run. We have chosen to have a range of Lee Wulff style Bombers made in a way that resembles the style of flies Lee Wulff would use in his fishing…relatively short and bulky with a dens hackle…tied on strong chemically sharpened hooks

If you use shooting lines like SlickShooter from Rio or Ken Sawada Flat Beam… then you’re surely going to like this knot that I have used sins 2000 when my friend and topwater specialist; Mr Eric le Guyader learned me how to tie it.

The knot is called something like: le noeud du vieux pêcheur in French or:  The Old fisherman’s knot. Eric did not know its origin but had used it in his own fishing with great success.

It’s simple and easy to learn knot and it gives you a solution that both is slick and easy to pass through your guides and at the same time makes a loop that is dead-center on the shooting line …something that will balance your outfit better than other common loop knots…Try it and add a great new knot to your shooting head system.

If you have any questions in regards to this knot or shooting heads in general …I will be ready to answer any questions on jesper@fishmadman.com 

To all new and old costumes at Fishmadman… thank you for your support and great letters throughout the winter – We have now stocked most of our shelves with fresh flies and material and would like to tell you that we will ship flies from Fishmadman during most weekdays – The Corona lockdown may delay goods…but we know from those of you who have bought with us lately…that things do get through to your mailbox

Tight lines from Per & Jesper

Read the letter in Scandinavian (This time Danish)

Hello, fellow angler and welcome to yet another letter from us at Fishmadman – We hope that we can make your day a bit more interesting by talking fish & flies and showing you a few things that might make you look back on your days at the river this summer and hopefully plan for the fly fishing season up ahead.

This time in the newsletter

• Special riffling hitch flies by Lee Wulff
• Natural black squirrel tails
• New flies for 2021
• Redesigning a pattern – get a new fly 
• The knot from the last newsletter
• An early and unorthodox salmon dry fly 
• Arizona Diamond Dub

Jesper Fohrmann

Fly Designer

Throughout his life as an outdoor writer and salmon angler, Lee Wulff served as a promoter for the riffling hitch technique that he initially had seen in action on the Portland Creek River in Newfoundland back in the 1940s.

This box-set of 4 single hook flies that we bought off eBay is a true example of Lee´s ingenuity and keen interest in the riffling hitch technique.

This box-set was initially one of two available sets of experimental hitch flies that Lee Wulff would have designed with a moulded body of nylon – a type of body-design he also incorporated in his famed Surface Stonefly patterns.

This box-set was initially one of two available sets of experimental hitch flies that Lee Wulff would have designed with a moulded body of nylon – a type of body-design he also incorporated in his famed Surface Stonefly patterns.

If you should know about the production period or other details regarding these special riffling hitch flies we would be thankful to hear about it – You can write us through this link Lee Wulff´s Hitch Specials .

Go to our history page on the riffling hitch technique

Natural black squirrel hair has that super alluring effect on trout and salmon and 1000´s of salmon fly patterns is based on the properties of squirrel hair – Not all squirrel tails are alike and some squirrel hair will work best if used on small flies and other hairs work better on bigger flies – if you are curious to learn more about squirrel hair in fly tying – take a look at our page on the subject squirrel tails.

Natural black squirrel from Russia or Eurasian red squirrel as they formally is known as (Scientific Name: Sciurus vulgaris) are a squirrel species widespread across the vast forest land of Russia where some squirrels are caught in traps and their pelt is used for various garments. We were lucky to buy a small selection of tails and are happy to share them with those of you who appreciate this truly awesome fly tying material. This squirrel species comes in various shades of brown and black.

We will be listing the tails in shades of black and brown as long as stock lasts.

Prize is 5.95 $

Fly tying is our profession on Fishmadman and it is our flies and their ability to catch fish that makes it all worth your while –  Based on our experience with the see-through tubing/shimmering body material (read about this in a previous newsletter) we have chosen to make some of our patterns better by implementing our new style of fly tying. 

We will better some of the popular surface flies we sell through our shop and also add a few new ones for season 2021 – When they are ready for fishing we will send you more information.

Some of the Hitchman flies we made during season 2020 did not stand up to the though life at the end of the leader and as a result, the shimmering strands of foil lost their grip on the tubing. We can only regret this and as a consequence, we redesigned the body material and the process of attaching these thin strands of shimmering material to the tubing…We think we have come out on top and would like to exchange any dysfunctional Hitchman flies you might have encountered during the last season – Just give us a note in your next order and we will live up to our no-nonsense policy of fly quality – and send you new once instead… NB the new Hitchman flies will not be available in the store until late spring 2021

In our last newsletter, we showed you our favoured steering knot for up-turned salmon hooks and also asked you for a name and information about the knot in question and we would like to send out a 👍 to those who wrote us – to tell us that we were showing how to tie a Turl knot.

Thank you goes out to: David Ellis, Serge Léveillé, Mark and Brian Moran.

Serge also sends us a link to a video showing an interesting variant of the Turl Knot known in the Gaspesia part of Québec as Gaspesian knot or Twist knot.

Special thank you to you guys for participating and helping us get the facts straight.

We have chosen 18 catchy colures from Johns series of Arizona Diamond Dub – We will be doing a newsletter discount during spring 2021 where you get a free pack of dubbing every time you purchase 3 packs.

Per Fischer who spend lots of time fishing for sea-run brown trout or sea trout as we also call them have long used the Arizona Diamond dub in his sea trout patterns. Here the Olive Copper dubbing used in some great shrimp flies

Thank you for supporting our highly specialized fly shop – We hope that our flies will bring fish to your leader and a smile on your lips in 2021… I think we all could need that (:

Remember to bring your kids and grandkids fishing it is only by sharing the dreamy and glorious moments at the river and ponds that new generations of people would want to conserve the fragile world of the salmon and trout that run our waters.

Yours Per & Jesper

© Copyright 2021 Fishmadman I/S Stakhaven 8, 2500 Valby, Denmark 🇩🇰

Hej overfladefisker … Jeg har meget at skrive om denne gang, da jeg har måtte udsætte nyhedsbrevet på grund af belastningsskader i mine hænder og arme. Heldigvis har disse forhold ikke holdt mig fra mit fluefiskeri eller arbejde med design i fluebindeafdelingen ? og vi er sikre på, at du vil kunne lide nogle af de fluer og ideer, vi har til dig denne gang.

Stram line fra os på Fishmadman – Jesper & Per

Nyhedsbrev denne gang

• En fantastisk hitch flue – Hitchman serien
• Suces med en caddis-imitation til steelhead
• Små hitch/rørfluer, og hvordan man rigger dem til
• Genbrug & Genanvendelse … vi genskaber din favoritflue
• En speciel skum-caddis flue fra Finland
• Bedste ønsker for sæson 2020 – med et lille ønske til dig

I løbet af de 40 år, jeg har bundet fluer til laksefiskeri, har jeg kun lavet en eller to fluer, som jeg vil kalde super-gode og værd at sætte i en anden laksefiskers flueboks, så det er med glæde og en følelse af stolthed at vi kan afsløre en ny serie af riffling hitch-rørfluer, der bestemt passer til beskrivelsen som: en super flue.

Her en af mange sommerlakser, der havde lyst på Hitchman-fluen

Vi har ikke Hitchman fluerne klar til salg endnu – vi arbejder på det (:  – men se mere om dem her

Hvad er meningen med så små rørflue?

I beskrivelsen ovenfor har vi en micro lille hitch-rørflue med en længde på 1 centimeter, den er bundet på et tyndt 1,1- mm-rør. Det er en virkelig lille lakseflue, og lystfiskere, der ikke bruger så små rørfluer til deres overfladefiskeri, vil måske spekulere på, om en lignende lille flue bundet på en enkeltkrog ikke ville være en bedre løsning. Hvorfor disse intrikate detaljer med rørfluer og små kroge? kunne du spørge – Der er mange svar på dette spørgsmål, og et svar er, at en sådan lille rørflue fungerer på en anden måde end en lignende flue bundet på en enkelt eller dobbelt krog, og på den måde er den interessant. De urolige bevægelser sådanne lette rørfluer har er absolut værdifulde egenskaber, både under og i overfladen, og så små rørfluer kan gøre en kedelig og uinteressant varm sommerdag til en uforglemmelig ditto.

Læs mere om hvordan du forbereder dig på at fighte større fisk på små fluer/kroge  her

Dear topwater anglers…We have much to write about this time as I have been postponing the newsletter due to repetitive strain injuries in my hands and arms. Luckily it has not kept me from fishing or engineering in the fly-tying department.  and we are sure you will like some of the flies and ideas we have for you this time.
Tight lines from us at Fishmadman – Jesper & Per

Newsletter this time

• A great riffling hitch fly pattern – the Hitchman Series
• The birth success of a tube caddisfly imitation for steelhead
• Tiny hitch/tube flies and how to set them up
• Rescue & reuse …we will redo your favourite fly
• One neat foam caddisfly imitation from Finland
• Best wishes for season 2020 – with a small quest

Over the + 40 years I have tied flies for salmon fishing, I have only made one or two flies that I would call unique – so it is with joy and a sense of achievement that we now can disclose a new series of riffling hitch tube flies that fits the bill as a fantastic fly.

Here is one of many summer salmon that fancied the Hitchman fly

What’s the point of such a small tube fly?

In the description above, we feature a tiny hitch tube fly with a length of 1 centimetre or 0.39 inches tied on a thin 1.1-millimetre tubing. It is a tiny salmon fly, and anglers not acquainted with tube flies for their surface fishing would wonder if a similar small fly tied on a single hook would not be a better solution. Why do these intricate ways of the tube fly, you may ask? – There are many answers to this question, and one answer is that such a tiny tube fly works in ways differently than a similar fly tied on a single or double hook, and in that way, it is interesting. The skittering and unpredictable behaviours of such a light tube fly are significant, both under and on the surface, and such small tube flies can make a dull and uninteresting warm summer’s day into a great sporting event…

Read much more about how to prepare for catching big fish on small tube flies here

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    

Soon summer will return and we can visit clear rivers with our friends