Suede Chenille is called Ultra Chenille or Vernille by fly tiers

Fly Tying Materials in the Wild: Vernille and Ultra Chenille

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When “Vernille” burst on the fly tying scene it made significant inroads into our use of rayon chenille. At the time, chenille was weak – relying on a pair of twisted threads to hold fibers onto a spun core, and even the most careful handling caused the weave to lose their integrity and start to shed fibers, often resulting in a mangy or lumpy look to the fly.

In contrast, Vernille could be manhandled, wound repeatedly, and would not lose its structural integrity nor its fiber payload via hammy fingers and unravelling ends. Vernille, also called “velvet chenille” or “ultra chenille” was superior in both function and tolerance of abuse, and only the lack of colors and sizes were problems, issues that were soon rectified.

Chenille and Vernille share similar issues in that fly shops tend to only stock the “medium” size, ignoring the fact that multiple sizes exist, and never offer the product in “skein” form, a 150 yard bundle common to the fabric business, relying instead on prepackaged three yard cards to ensure you visit your fly shop frequently.

Fly tiers need to understand that yarns are like cars, not every color is available

Fabrics, and the yarns that make them, have short lifespans due to the fickle nature of fashion trends. Yarns may only have a window of one to three years before they are discontinued in favor of “the new hotness” in yarn weight and color. Seasonality also determines availability, given heavier yarns seem to be most plentiful in the Winter, and lighter yarns in Summer. Occasionally yarns can be tied to specific garment types, like socks or swimsuits, and their availability and longevity are influenced by the garment usage.

Colors have a similar issue in that yarns made for baby garments tend to be heavy on pastels and light on the vivid Steelhead colors or flourescents. Yarns destined for sweaters will have both pastel and vivid colors, and those for evening wear will even have tinsels and mylar in their weave. Fly tiers need to understand more about their yarns to better predict their availability.

This frequent obsolescence cycle ensures that fly tiers that don’t purchase a multi-year supply of colors are at risk of minor or major shortages later, when the yarn is discontinued by the manufacturer. Fly shops aren’t helping this issue, due to their insistance we buy a three yard card, instead of skeins of our favorite colors.

Trout anglers need the taupes, olives, browns, and earth colors. Steelhead fishermen desire the scarlets, purples, flourescents, and outlandish flavors, and the yarn industry determines what colors they market by garment type and usage, ensuring not every color will be available for each yarn introduced. This means that yarn colors are like cars, and for the 2024 model year they won’t market a “purple” – but it may be available in two years when they reintroduce the yarn!

I only buy skeins, never cards, so all my yarns and chenilles are purchased via fabric and yarn stores, not sold by fly shops. I’d love to give the local fly shop business, but so long as they only stock cards, I will buy yarns and chenille elsewhere.

The last article I published on where to find “Vernille” or “Ultra-Chenille” in the Wild is no longer accurate due to its age, so this is a much needed update to make it easier for you to find where Ultra Chenille sleeps at night …

Weight and Needle Size, a Fly Tier’s lesson in knitting

Understanding yarn weights is not easy, and you have to be careful that you are ordering a yarn capable of tying flies versus too big for anything other than a 6/0 hook. Knitters have elements on the yarn label that denote size and use, and this is a foriegn language to fly tiers.

We’re used to large, medium, fine, and they use terms like “fingering”, “baby”, and “worsted”. Needle size is also a measurement of yarn width, so if the label lacks English, (as many do) the needle size denotes yarn size information as well.

While not an expert, I will attempt to translate. “Fingering” and “Baby” correspond to our “fine“, “Worsted” and “Aran” correspond roughly to our “medium“, “Chunky” could be large, depending on the yarn … and anything bigger is largely unusable for fly tying. As yarn is made by both metric and standard manufacturers subtle differences in size do exist.

Armed with how to read a yarn label, we’re now ready to buy some suede chenille.

Search Engines don’t help much

Search engines don’t help much when searching for this type of chenille, as the result is dominated by fly shops and their tiny little cards. Years ago, Vernille was called “Velvet Chenille” and now the more accurate term is “Suede Chenille.” Searching for either returns numerous pages of fly shops and their carded offerings.

The trick is finding yarn manufacturers that make Suede Chenille, and exclude the fly shops selling it.

When on a manufacturer’s website you’ll be innundated with pages of yarns whose colors and qualities look useful. The quality of the photographs will determine if you can distinguish between four-ply twisted wool and suede chenille. You will also find many yarns you’d like to inspect further – but will have to purchase, have sent to you, then inspect by hand to determine if the yarn is useful or not.There is no ironclad search term that will remove the fly shop data from what you’re looking for, you simply have to search for yarn manufacturers both in the US and abroad. To shorten your search and to apply your sizing information, feel free to use my suede chenille vendor of choice, ICE Yarns, of Turkey.

ICE sells on both Ebay and direct to consumers and appears to be one of the larger yarn companies on the planet. They call their “vernille” yarn, simply “suede chenille”, and is available in 26 colors and only one size, my favorite, which is “fine“. I have found many other suede chenilles at other vendors and manufacturers, in multiple sizes, but ICE makes a superb yarn whose size allows me to double wrap my chenille bodies instead of only single wrap. In addition, this smaller size allows me to use for trout flies as well as steelhead flies, which is a additional bonus.

Note the yarn is listed as “light” and “worsted”, with a needle size of 4 metric. On our yarn chart above, it is a “3” in size. That would make a true “medium” yarn an “aran” or “4” for this company. It is a “microfiber” yarn, typically 100% Polyamide, and will look and feel the same as the yarn sold in the fly shops, only about 25% smaller width than their “medium” thickness.

The price of the ICE Suede Chenille is $1.37 per 155 yards (one skein), and is only sold in packs of 8 skeins per package, about 1000 yards of chenille for about $11 dollars. Shipping is very expensive, because it’s from Turkey, so expect to pay about $6 per pack (of eight skeins) to get it to the US. This is “rock bottom” cheap. Seventeen dollars for for a lifetime supply, equivalent to 300 of the fly shop cards (@$2.50 each) …

Get together with some of the other tiers at your casting club and work out the colors needed for an aggregate order for everyone. Most tiers will only need one skein for a lifetime supply, so find seven other tiers and split the packs evenly – reducing the cost to a couple bucks for each skein.

I’m not going to spend additional time finding vendors of the larger sizes, I will leave that up to you. I will mention a couple of candidates that I have not yet investigated, Toucan lists a “worsted” suede chenille using a larger needle size, don’t order large amounts until you have confirmed it to be the correct size. Order a single skein and verify it is what you expect, it’s the only way to ensure you are looking at the correct size and texture. Note that this yarn is about half pastel colors so if you’re looking for flourescents and similar, you’ll need to find an additional yarn,

Most of the suede chenille yarns you’ll find at Michael’s are of the “Bulky” or “Super Bulky” variety. If you are purchasing it via the Internet and unable to handle the yarn, you must confirm the needle size on the label to guarantee it’s a fit for fly tying. If the needle size is not apparent, look for the textual description of size; fingering, worsted, etc.

Lion has discontinued the “Lion Suede” yarn, but we can use it as an example to determine its suitability for fly tying… Skeins are still available on Ebay, and from those I took the illustration above. Note the needle size is more than double my “fine” example, making this yarn a really thick (bulky or superbulky) suede chenille.

As ICE is liable to make this yarn only for a short time, another tool to assist your search is the Yarnsub.com website. It allows you to enter the name of a yarn that used to be available, and it will recommend yarns like it that are currently available. This is valuable as it gives you a half dozen new leads to focus on for your search.

Entering “Lion Suede” into its search engine produces other suede chenille yarns for you to consider. Use your skill with needle size and the size chart, above, to determine if any of the options are in your size range. Note that Lion Suede is a bulky yarn, so most of the solutions are also “bulky.” Those listed as “baby” are likely what you’re looking for – as “baby” is a smaller size. Clicking on the smaller size yarn will change the search criteria to matching yarns of the smaller size, allowing recursive searches to refine what you need.

Take a trip to Michael’s or your local yarn outlet to practice your visual sizing. There are small differences between standard and metric sizing, and you need to practice reading the yarn label to connect the yarn size in your hand with the needle size listed on the label. The internet does not allow you to touch the product, so your only option if looking for something special is to learn the sizing nomenclature and committing the reserved words; Worsted, Baby, and Fingering, to memory.

On a final note, not all velvet and suede chenilles are created equally. Some of them (especially the bulky and superbulky sizes) can have a very loose weave akin to rayon chenille, so they will fall apart if not gripped carefully. It is ALWAYS preferable to order a skein of a candidate yarn and examine it in person before jumping into a larger order of every color desired. This will save you the embarrassment of overlooking the “superbulky” on the label, or the label might be entirely in Chinese characters, and no translation is possible.

Do your due diligence on each candidate, order a single skein to confirm the properties; size, texture, and construction, and only then order a lot of the yarn.

Follow Up Note:

I ordered skeins of the Toucan Fine, the Boheme Velvet, and the YarnArt Dolce Baby yarns to see if they were also suede chenilles. Each would be described as a “medium” chenille, so the sizing is correct and the labels are the same size as our traditional chenilles (note the needle size mentioned for future searches). They are not “vernille” or suede chenilles, I would classify them as either traditional rayon/polyester chenilles akin to what we normally see in stores, or they are velvet chenilles, not woven tightly enough to qualify as what we know as a “suede” chenille. The Toocan Fine is my favorite of the bunch, but being traditional chenille it will unravel if the ends are not carefully handled. The Boheme Velvet is a knitting chenille, and is partially flat, something I find unique to chenilles made for knitting. It can be spun to a round chenille easily enough, but in its native form has some flatness to it, almost like they flattened one of the four sides. Lashing it onto a hook shank and spinning the strand will return it to a “round” chenille shape and texture.

In summary, these are the correct sizes for our traditional medium chenille, these are not vernille or suede chenille as we know it.

Wire is available in a multitude of colors and sizes, and fly tiers are unaware that they are available

The intersection of magnets, jewelry, and fly tying

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I spent more hours trying to find “gold” than anything else, and gold being the, “..first or second most popular wire” in fly tying, I knew I had to return victorious versus carried on my shield. In hindsight, I’m thinking there may be an electronic convention that only certain colors are used to wrap electric motors, and that’s why some colors are easy to find and some not at all. Not being an electrician I can only guess that color and use are tied together when describing magnet wire, as certain colors are simply not available, hence the countless hours of my searching,

“Magnet wire” is the electrical name for the colored fly tying wire sold in fly tying stores. The enamel coloring of the wire also acts as an insulator. allowing it to be wound around a core to produce a magnetic field. Magnet wire is available in a huge range of sizes; in spools weighing from five pounds to as small as the three yard spools sold in fly shops. Magnet wire is available in only a few colors however, natural copper, amber (similar to natural copper), red, green, and blue. Searching electrical supply houses will not yield colors like gold, silver, black, and olive, or any of the other colors available to fly tiers, I assume its electrical use is somehow tied to specific colors.

Us anglers know identical wire is available in nearly thirty other colors and it’s likely the same manufacturer that makes them all, so why are some colors hard to find compared to red, green, and natural, colors that are available everywhere?

After countless hours of searching and several dozen manufacturers, the answer is simple. The wire is made by the large wire makers, but the colors are marketed to different customers. The electrical trade uses a finite grouping of colors, and all others are marketed to the “craft” industry.

If you require larger spools of enameled copper wire in other colors, specifically Gold, you need to use the search criteria, “craft wire” not “magnet wire.”

The problem with “craft wire” is that most of it is used for beading and jewelry work, so the sizes available are tied to strength, not necessarily its ampere rating. The wire sizes fly tiers use most commonly are 34 (34AWG) and 36 (36AWG) gauge. As the gauge number increases, the wire gets smaller, so 36 gauge would be for (roughly) size 14-16-18 hooks, and 34 gauge would be for 10-12-14 hooks. 32 gauge wire can be really useful on large flies, big stoneflies or steelhead flies, but isn’t sold in fly shops, only in electrical or craft venues.

Brass wire is “gold colored” and is much stronger than copper, and is used extensively in the jewelry business, so is an option for both fly tying and jewelry. It is tougher and stiffer than copper, so requires good scissors to cut it cleanly. Many types and sizes of brass wire exist in the jewelry business, but fly tiers should avoid all but the smallest sizes, 32, 34, and 36AWG. In addition to using your heavy scissors on brass, you need to ensure it is enameled with a clear coat, as brass can discolor with age. (Most jewelry grade brass wire is properly sealed, but the occasional off-shore vendor may not coat their wire).

Stainless steel wire is also commonly available as a “silver colored” wire. If you have a quality set of heavy scissors it is a wonderful, tarnish proof, version of a silver wire, but don’t use good scissors to cut it, you will destroy them over time. Excellent for salt water flies, used in 32 AWG.

Your biggest wire use will be natural copper and gold. The first is easy to find, and the second, gold, is very difficult to find as it is the craft variant. Internet search engines are NOT your friend, as searching for “gold wire” or “silver wire” will return gold (or silver) plated, or gold (or silver) filled wire, “Gold colored wire” made of copper will not even make the first couple of pages of the search result. Search engines will return, in order; real gold wire, gold plated, gold filled wire, brass wire, and then other wire types, like gold colored copper or aluminum wire.

As craft wire is intended for jewelry, real gold and real silver are more commonly used than all other wire colors and types, and dominate all search results from Google or similar search engines. AI based searching is a little better, but AI searches (using CoPilot or similar) are not yet smart enough to distinguish between real gold and gold colored, so you have to select your search terms carefully.

Many craft oriented vendors exist but few accomodate our need for the smallest craft wire sizes, and most only carry craft wire to 30AWG, which is much too thick for fly tying, and not terribly strong for jewelry. Finding a consistent source of gold or silver colored craft wire is problematic.

Chart of Artistic Wires sizes and decimal equivalents

Artistic Wire is a vendor of many different colors of colored copper wire. They offer nearly 30 colors of copper wire, and brass wire, but only down to 34AWG. The above chart shows that a 1/4lb spool of 34 gauge wire contains about 2000 ft of wire, and retails for around $12-$15 dollars. Considering that a fly shop sells the same wire for $4 for 15 feet, and you can see the savings.

Only Gold and Copper wire are used in quantities warranting the purchase of larger spools, but some tiers may have unique needs. Local flies like Olive or Brown Copper John nymphs, or steelhead flies tied with woven copper bodies may require larger quantities of wire on hand.

The best source of craft related materials, and wire, is the ETSY website. Etsy is similar to Ebay in that it is a market of individual vendors, stores, and hobbyists, and sells nearly everything needed for craft making. Like Ebay, Etsy vendors can be long or short lived, so buying small amounts may require different vendors for every sale. I tend to buy the 1/4 lb spools, which ensures that I need only make one purchase per lifetime

Etsy’s search interface is mind numbingly long, and is not very helpful in the results it returns, due to its use of “popular” results versus what you actually asked for … Searching for a specific color may be onorous due to your inability to get more precise in Etsy search. Etsy does have most of the colors and sizes of wire we’re accustomed to seeing at the fly shop, and it has considerably more sizes, most of which are not useful however.

Ebay also features craft wire and overruns of products sold at a discount. Each tier’s unique needs will determine which vendor or source suits them best, but remember to check the gauge to ensure you’re getting the right size as well as color.

Rules for Buying Wire on the Internet

  1. Always buy copper wire from an electrical source. “Natural” colored copper wire is the easiest and cheapest wire you can find. Craft sources sell it for two or three times what the electrical sources sell it for, so select your copper wire using the search criteria, “Magnet Wire” which will only return electrical vendors.
  2. Buy your Gold (colored) wire via the search term, “Craft Wire”. Gold colored wire is easy to find on Etsy or Ebay using the craft designation in your search.
  3. When buying either, ALWAYS double check the gauge you are buying. With simple enamelling, 34 Gauge wire is typically, decimal 0.016, and 32 Gauge is typically, 0.020, if the vendor only supplies the decimal sizes, use this as a reference to what you’re seeing.
  4. Trout sizes of wire are 34 or 36 gauge, large nymph and steelhead, 32 gauge.

Searching for fly tying wire can be especially rewarding when you need colors not stocked by your local fly shop. Many of the jewelry uses require imitations of the different types of gold, yellow, rose, or red gold, and additional colors are available due to the jewelry usage. Most fly shops don’t stock a huge selection of wire, but you can find nearly every color you need on the Internet. Etsy features color assortments from some vendors

Remember that nothing is made expressly for fly tying. The number of fly tiers is too small an audience to command unique products from the huge metallurgy vendors that make wire for real industry. Ultra wire is simply wire, there is nothing special about it, nor is there any unique properties that make it especially good for fly tying, other than its gauge and color.

In summary: Fly tiers have a huge range of sizes available in red, green, amber, and natural copper colors, and have less selection of sizes in nearly every other color. Beading and jewelry requires heavier wire than we use, so typically the smallest sizes for craft wire are in the larger ranges of fly tying wire, 32-34 gauge. (32-34 AWG)

Recommendation

Buy 1/4 or 1/2 lb spools of only GOLD and COPPER colored wires, in 34 or 36 gauge wire. I would buy both if cost is not an issue. These larger spools change with the price of copper, currently around $14 to $20 per spool.

Buy 34 gauge if your nymphs trend to the larger sizes (12 or larger), and 36 gauge if you tie mostly smaller sizes (14 and smaller). Please note that you can use the smaller, 36AWG on any fly size – I’m assuming that 34 gauge is identical to Ultra wire, so choose accordingly.

These represent the lion’s share of all fly tying uses, and will be the spools you reach for time and time again. The rest of the colors are optional – although the gloss black wire. and coffee brown wire did catch my eye … I’m still puzzling over whether to get the five pound spool on those …

Matarelli Hackle Pliers, Stainless and Brass prototype

Frank Matarelli, Godfather of the Better Mousetrap

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Frank Matarelli was a towering, unsmiling, fellow partial to checkered hunting jackets. His physical stature and opinions brooked little disagreement, as he reduced the complex to simple, making current events, politics, and Grizzly hackle, all manageable in a single breath.

He lived out in the Avenues of San Francisco, on Irving Street, neighbor to his close friend Cal Bird. Both were prolific tiers, but Frank was the more secretive of the two, as only family and Cal were allowed to see his garage work area, housing his machinery and tool production. Cal described Frank’s tool building process as a wide leather belt, or harness, that allowed him to bend wire and steel via body weight. “Frank threw his body all over to bend wire to make whip finishers.”

Frank and I were both members of the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club, and as I taught their fly tying classes for many years, we crossed paths frequently. While Cal fished closer to home, Frank took yearly vacations to Montana, and eventually purchased a vacation home there, close to his favorite fishing.

Frank was a machinist for the San Francisco Chronicle newpaper when I knew him, so his skills with metalurgy were acquired over a lifetime of machine shop work. I’m unsure what he was responsible for at the newspaper, but with all the heavy machinery on the premises, it’s likely both repair and fabrication were involved. He was a meticulous craftsman, as evidenced by the quality of his tools, and was always eager to invent the better mousetrap. He was a vocal critic of his competitors, but criticism was warranted given how poorly their tools performed, in the comparison, and how cheaply most were made.

One glimpse at Frank’s fingers and you understood why his whip finisher was so important to him. He had a job-related ridge of callous on the edge of both forefingers that prevented him from performing whip finishes with his hands. He often absent mindedly trimmed away this callous with nail clippers while talking with you, but the resulting uneven surface would sever thread instantly. His whip finisher kept the thread at a safe distance from his digits and ensured a successful knot.

Despite an imposing presence and his stark opinion, Frank was a grand fellow worthy of regard. He enjoyed watching other tiers weave their magic, and took pride in his ability to increase their skill via the quality of his tools. He always carried extra sets in his pocket at shows and many were his highly prized “presentation” tools, made with stainless steel instead of brass, that you couldn’t purchase retail, you could only get from Frank as a gift.

Matarelli Presentation tools
Matarelli Presentation tools in Walnut and Bamboo

… and he gave away plenty of them. Frank would watch any tier closely and was keen to reward talent with a set of his tools. Just as keen would he lambast you for using someone else’s tool if you had a set of his already in possession. Both rewarding talent and his removing “inferior” products would always be done in good taste, with humor, as Frank was a real gentleman despite his gruff exterior.

Frank had multiple prototypes of tools made from a variety of materials. He made bobbins from both metal and wood, used brass, copper, and stainless elements in his tools, and even made hackle pliers, which he never marketed, but you could receive as a presentation gift. He made a lot more tools than most realize, given his wooden versions, his midge, regular, and long tube, bobbins, his presentation whip finishers, in regular and extended reach configurations, and the normal whip finishing tool. In addition to these, Frank made both a midge and regular size bobbin threader, and multiple bodkins, which also were only available as a presentation tool

When Cal Bird introduced his pair of dubbing tools, he mentioned to me that Frank was producing them for him in his garage. Cal was a caligrapher by trade, and produced all the instruction sheets and package labels for his tools, but Frank did all the wire work and shaping for Cal.

Matarelli Whip finishers. Both regular and Presentation
:Matarelli whip finishers. Early prototype, normal, presentation, and presentation extended reach

My proximity to Frank’s watchful eye meant I was a frequent beneficiary of prototypes and oddities, as well as admonishments when he found me fiddling with some new vendor’s offering. While I loved tinkering with new tools, I learned to pocket them if Frank’s shadow darkened the doorway. Frank knew I was a commercial fly tier as well as a casual hobbyist, and I was gifted numerous prototypes with which to fiddle. Frank knew that commercial tiers have different insights into products; how they wear on fingers, how easily they’re gripped, and how they are slid off the work surface versus held in hand. Quite a few club members were pressed into service to refine things as were numerous tiers in Montana, where he spent his summers.

I recently espied quite a few mentions of Matarelli tools on Internet forums, many inquiring as to their value as they are no longer made. Like most tiers, I’d not thought of “value” regarding tools, as efficiency of use will trump monetary value in every case. Recently I’ve thought I might explore some of the pricier bobbins to see if there is a fit replacement to the Matarelli long tube, and whether several decades, several flops of engineering alloys, and a couple additional sawbucks have increased the capabilities of Frank’s design, instead of merely their cost.

I have added some photographs of all of the Matarelli tools and prototypes in my possession, which will allow the WayBack Machine to catalog them for future generations. It’s important that those of us with first hand knowledge of these “OG” angling legends recount what they know so that future generations of anglers can learn as we did.

Matarelli Hackle Pliers with hook extended
Matarelli Hackle Pliers

On the featured photo at the top of the article are the Matarelli Hackle Pliers, they were spring loaded where upward pressure of your thumb would extend a small stainless hook outwards to grip the hackle and lodge it against the barrel of the plier when tension is released,

All flavors of the presentation whip finisher; standard, extended reach, and wood handled, had a small “V” notch cut in the end of the tool to sever thread. The non-wood presentation model feature a silver, stainless steel barrel (handle) versus the brass of the traditional retail tool. This thread cutting capability makes them highly prized by those fortunate enough to own a pair, as the tool is already in hand when the finishing knot is applied, and the thread can be cut without reaching onto the work surface for another tool or scissors.

The walnut bobbin is for the “midge” size sewing machine thread spools. This is because all the old school tiers purchased thread in cones instead of spools, and decanted the thread onto sewing machine spools via a power drill held in a vise. Threads used for fly tying were much larger than today, and traditional sized spools were shallow and held much less thread than the thin, deep, metal spools for sewing machine use.

I’m sure Frank would be pleased to read many of the comments on the “value” topic of Matarelli tools, and how despite their increase in worth, not a single tier mentioned his willingness to part with his Matarelli tools at any price.

Maple Sugar Tintex, Cal Bird's dyed teal for the Bird's Nest

Maple Sugar Tintex and dogged perseverance

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The sight of a box of Maple Sugar Tintex isn’t likely to raise your blood pressure nor cause your heart to flutter, but my recent encounter was cause for an unsightly display of my version of Snoopy’s Happy dance …

Maple Sugar is a color that is no longer made by the Canadian dye maker, Tintex, and is the original color for the dyed Teal Flank that Cal Bird used for the Bird’s Nest. Maple Sugar Tintex, is also an outstanding source of imitation Wood Duck when dyeing Mallard flank as its replacement. Tintex stopped making the color nearly forty years ago without giving us fly tiers a chance to lay in a goodly supply.

After several decades of fruitless searching, garage sales, and similar venues, I’d not been able to turn up some old stock from any source.

Tintex and RIT were both consumer oriented dyes, fixed with salt, that were intended for home use, on curtains, garments, and hosiery. From the 1940’s onward, both RIT and Tintex were available on every store shelf, in every variety store, and nearly all the “Mom and Pop” neighborhood stores. Old school fly tiers, who dyed their own colors to suit local insects requiring custom colors, used both as the “go to” agent for creating materials not readily available.

Both RIT and Tintex have their fixative agent, salt, mixed into the dye powder to make the dye process foolproof. Protein dyes, more commonly used with feathers and fly tying materials, use acid as the fixative, and it is NOT premixed into the dye. Jacquard and similar companies require you to add acid, typically a 5% Acetic (White Vinegar) or 10 % Muriatic (swimming pool acid), into the dye bath to make the color permanent.

Tintex dyes are still made in Canada but many colors have changed and they are no longer in most American stores. RIT won the domestic battle, but even they are only present in a third of their former locations.

Pure stubborn mixed with an elephantine memory allowed me to stumble onto a stash of old Tintex dyes, and it was akin to Harrison Ford glimpsing the Arc of the Covenant … there, gleaming in their aging plasticine wrappers,were five boxes of Maple Sugar, which would be enough to equip a regiment of anglers with teal feathers.

Both RIT and Tintex prepacked boxes dye about a pound of material. More if you will settle for a lighter shade of the color, less if you need it darker. Five boxes means I can dye about two and half kilos of teal flank, which is enough Teal flank to depopulate the Pacific Flyway …

Fishermen are a superstitous lot, with as many metaphysical hangups and superstitions as baseball players and gamblers. NOT owning any teal flank dyed in the original color will NOT make your flies less fearsome, but as success in fly fishing is always due to the angler’s confidence in his fly, your ersatz offering might interest minnows and frogs, while mine …

… … well, I might be going home with the Prom Queen … as it’s my lucky day ..

Sex and Fishing, like Peas and Carrots

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I’ve always linked sex and fishing and assumed the pair inseparable.

My fishing has always been a curious form of “date rape”, that despite my best efforts at planning an expedition to coincide with a locales peak fishing, I usually miss the best hatch and must listen to how “last week” was epic and now … not so much.

I (We) consult bosses, horoscopes, tide tables, Ouiji boards, psychics, priests, homeless neighborhood shaman, and our shrink, for signs as to when to leave, where to go, what to throw, and despite all the careful preparation we’re forced to relay our lack of success using terms of sex and violence, both intentional and unwitting.

If concerned coworkers inquire, or are curious as to the source of a visible bruise or abrasion, I’ll attempt to save face with some petulant comment involving the watershed, my adversary. and sex, where we were the unwilling “bottom” in the coupling, or in the instance of a successful trip, how we raped and pillaged our quarry without thought to his/her feelings, nor the moral consequences of our crime.

I’ve always assumed that backpacking fishermen like their suffering, and their sex, rough … and those favoring “glamping,” select guides and accomodations as they’d choose a hooker and motel room. Regardless of the flavour of your favorite kink, we always blame our inadequacies or premature conclusion on external factors; rain, wind, or insect activity – completely ignoring the obvious … that we rarely practice, and are fumbling our way through nearly every encounter.

With these musings as backdrop, I was recently surprised to read that most forms of sex and fishing are illegal, and the only reason trout streams aren’t echoing of police sirens and whose bankside vegetation masks undercover officers, is that we are licensed for purient behavior, under the auspices of Department of Fish and Game, and the folks being hauled off to jail lack immunity (and a license).

Hallam, from Dolphin Sands in Tasmania’s south-east was charged with two counts of making or reproducing a bestiality product and three counts of possessing a bestiality product

Due to the pending nature of the trial, information is thankfully scant, but we can assume rods, vests, waders, are considered props and/or accessories, subject to confiscation or contribute to additional charges. Ditto for any photograph depicting you and your dripping quarry, no matter whom is assuming the dominant role.

Neither am i sure of the quality of reporting, given the perpetrator was wielding “a live brown trout” in an ocean environment. Looks like my stilted prose and questionable source materials are rivaled by our obviously non-fishing, Jimmy Olsen ..

More importantly, as we don’t yet know the statute of limitations for past offences, it may be time to purge your camera, social media accounts, and accumulated scrapbooks of past sordid exploits.

Matarelli midge bobbin with sewing machine spool

Just a follow up on the below NYMO post

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Just finished tying a few dozen Clouser Minnows using the smaller sewing machine spools and a Matarelli Midge bobbin designed for the smaller spool size.

So I don’t confuse the reader I’ll need to change the nomenclature a bit. The spools for sewing machines are called “bobbins” and we call the apparatus that holds the spool a “bobbin,” which can lead to confusion on the part of the reader. I will call the sewing machine bobbins “spools” – as in sewing machine spool, to distinguish the fly tying tool from the container holding the beading thread.

Unlike sewing machine spools, which are made of steel, the NYMO beading thread is packaged on plastic spindels, with paper sides rather than metal. While the paper thread spools work, my hammy hands and their grip on the fly tying bobbin dislodged the spool from the midge bobbin frequently. I had to change my grip a bit to make these work, and once aware of the issue I was able to make them work reasonably well.

Long Tube, Normal, and Midge bobbins made by Frank Matarelli. This shows the dimensions of the three

Unfortunately, additional definition is needed for what I am describing as a “midge bobbin.” Frank Matarelli made his midge bobbin expressly for the sewing machine spool size – and NOT for our traditional thread spools. Matarelli tools are no longer made, and today “midge” bobbins are typically smaller, lighter bobbins made for tying small flies using the conventional thread spool sizes.

Us old timers that still have a few midge bobbins remember how cone-based thread used to be a reality, and moving fly tying thread from one form to spools was not such an imposition. Naturally, this should “color” your view as to whether this smaller spool form of NYMO is worthwhile for your tying.

It’s likely that winding a rubber band onto the legs of traditional bobbin would close the legs enough for a sewing machine spool to work better. The extra tension afforded by the rubber band might make your current bobbin an option.

Heavy tension on the bobbin while tying can work the thread into the crevass between paper spool side and the packed thread itself. I didn’t get any tangles, but I did get a few turns of uneven tension as a result. When working with big saltwater flies this isn’t much of an issue, but could be if the thread sizes and flies tied were smaller.

In summary, there was a wee bit more bother using the paper spools due to the tier’s palm pushing the paper spool out of the grip of the bobbin’s legs. A grip adjustment was necessary so that I didn’t continually knock the spool from the grip of the bobbin legs. As this thread is 2/0 or larger, you will be tying flies commensurate with the thread size and force will likely cause issues. Be so advised.

Us old tiers cried bitterly on the news of its demise

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NYMO was the first unwoven nylon sewing thread that revolutionized fly tying

NYMO, by the Belding Cortecelli Company, was the first nylon sewing thread that relegated all the buttonhole twists, silks, and cotton threads of yesteryear to the scrap heap. As a young tier, I marveled at its strength and how it could be spun via a bobbin into both a round small thread, and unspun to generate a flat thread that added little bulk. We gleefully spun the bobbin to produce the round variant that would knife through deer hair, and attached feathers and hackle tip wings via the flat, “no bulk”, flavor. It was revolutionary to the fly tying realm and changed our perspective of threads and their capabilities forever.

… and then came the news they were taking it away …

As this predates the Internet and online shopping, a large city might have access to a fly shop, whose stock was quickly cleaned out, and the rest of us were left ransacking sewing stores, millinery outlets, and wandering around any premises that sold fabric, hoping to find a thread section.

While the thread was magical in the fly tying circles, it sucked horribly as a sewing thread. The “Use warm Iron” admonishment on every spool, meant just that … as using a hot iron would melt nylon and the garment fell apart. This didn’t sit well with the sewing community, nor the dry cleaners, so the Belding Cortescelli Company removed the thread from the mainstay outlets.

I remember spying a few spools of size “A” White at one of the International Anglers Expositions, and as I pointed a shaking finger at the treasure and fumbled for my billfold, was grilled by the proprietor as to how, ” …had I never used it before, I shouldn’t … as it was being pulled off the market.”

I was successful in laying in a small stock of Size A, in black and white, then resigned myself to the notion that on their consumption it was back to the crappy threads of yore.

Fortunately, Monocord emerged shortly after NYMO disappeared, and I, as well as my fellow fly tiers, learned that tying tiny dry flies with “000” (3/0,three-ought) was infinitely superior than the thicker, Size “A” NYMO we had squirreled away. NYMO had been available in 3/0 as well, but when the run started on its dwindling stocks, only “A” was available for hoarding.

What brought back all those distant memories was my recent discovery that NYMO has been reintroduced by Belding Cortiscelli, and is marketed as a “beading thread.” Beading thread is a heavy, coarse thread designed for constructing beaded bracelets and other bead jewelry. Most commonly used by jewelry makers in Size “D”, for strength, the venerable NYMO is available in few fly tying sizes as well. The smallest I’ve found is “00” (2/0, or two-ought), which isn’t likely to unseat our existing threads like Danville’s 6/0 Flymaster, 8/0 Ultra, or UNI threads, but it could prove economical for tying larger flies like steelhead, bass, and saltwater flies.

NYMO Thread
A cone of NYMO tying thread

In addition, the packaging of NYMO offers both “Cones” and spools designed for sewing machines, which fit the Matarelli Midge bobbin, something our current spools do not. As thread hasn’t been available in cones to us fly tiers since the late seventies, most tiers will not find the 3 ounce and 6 ounce (or 1lb) cones attractive. In the olden days, we would decant thread off a cone by placing a spool on a power drill and loading the thread from the cone onto the empty spool akin to adding backing to a fly reel. The six ounce cones cost somewhere between $22 and $55, depending on the source, and hold about 5000 yards of thread, nearly 50 – 100yd spools. The sewing machine spools are 145 yard spools (size 2/0) and range anywhere from about a dollar, to about $4.50 per spool. It pays to refine your search to get the best pricing, and you need to frequent beading and craft stores, not fly shops. Etsy and Ebay are your friends as well.

NYMO on sewing machine bobbins

I was able to secure quite a few individual spools for about $1 per spool. I grabbed some black, white, and blue, in the 2/0 size, as I am making a lot of salt water flies for a donation project I am working on. I routinely find these on Ebay, sold in various colors and sizes, in odd lots sold by private individuals. It appears they use thread colors for a specific project, then move onto other jewelry using other thread colors. Remnants of their past project are then sold on Ebay or Etsy at a reduced price.

Given the wide variety in pricing for the thread, I would only purchase it on sale or on the cone. If you opt for the cone, save empty plastic bobbins first to give you something to offload onto, as the cone is unusable until you transfer the thread to spools useful for your traditional (or midge) bobbin. Store all threads out of direct sunlight, as that is nylon’s nemisis. I am using size “A” NYMO that is nearly fifty years old, and due to dark storage, it has retained its strength without decay.

Many new colors are available that were not present in the past, so we can thank the jewelry and craft folks for insisting on all the muaves, puces, and goldenrods, we enjoy today. As a cautionary note, do not assume you are getting the 2/0 size unless it is plainly marked (or advertised) as such. The most common sizes used for beading appears to be “D”, which is considerably larger than anything we use today.

It’s nice to have a few alternatives to the fly tying brands, given how inexpensive threads are to manufacture.

Phentex Yarn

Fly tying materials in the Wild : Polypropylene Yarn

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It turns out I have quite a bit of time on my hands, given my providing care for an aging parent. While that certainly puts a dent in my fishing itinerary, it hasn’t slowed me down on the fly tying front … not even a little.

Like many other fly tiers, the last person I tie for is myself. For whatever reason, I ensure all my pals have plenty, and my fly box is filled with drab experimentals or gayly colored attractors, too gaudy for even the unconventional angler.

I have been restocking a lot of materials with the plan of tying for my own boxes, and find myself alternately thrilled – when I find that missing box of Puce Guinea fowl I misplaced, and gasping … when I see the current price of what it would take to replace it.

In many cases I had the foresight to lay in a goodly supply of common items, like hooks and tinsels, but after years of tying flies, I have made inroads into that supply and need to get more, or contemporary patterns require colors I lack and failed to set aside. As I discover the current trade names, sources, and locales for these materials, I’ll be adding them here for your consumption.

To wit, today we just confirmed that our old friend “Polypropylene” now goes by a different moniker. While the old name is common in fly shops and fishing venues, most of the garment industry has attempted to move away from unwholesome synthetics in favor of more comforting names and trademarks. Fly tiers have long known of the reluctance of the fashionable types to wearing REAL furs, and how it has cut into our supply of animal parts and furrier scraps. The same is true of trade names … and the movement away from names that sound like they cause cancer, to names that sound more wholesome, natural, and socially acceptable.

Polypropylene is now called “Olefin” and those tiny three yard cards of Poly yarn that sell for three dollars each, can be purchased under the Olefin name for a fraction of the cost of retail.

Skeins of Olefin yarn will look slightly different than the fly tying flavor, but only because the yarn you purchase might be a knitting yarn, a spun four ply, versus the unspun two ply seen in the fly tying variant. Combing the yarn out and unspinning the weave yields the same material and the same coarseness of fiber. Color selection is greatly increased due to the non angling uses, and for some that may be an additional benefit. Most poly yarn is used to wing spinners or dries, and typically used in the white and light gray flavors.

It’s not surprising that most of the Olefin yarn consumed in the US originates under Chinese manufacture. As there are so many uses for the Olefin yarn, everything from heavy ropes to gossamer garments, you need to select a form that is conducive to your fly tying.

Phentex was the brand of Polypropylene yarn purchased in the late 70’s, and the Phentex company still makes the yarn in its many forms today. Phentex markets the yarn under a variety of styles and types, many of which are available on Amazon. The “Slipper and Craft” yarn is a loose Olefin weave and will likely work well for your tying.

Most fly tiers will have a lifetime supply of Polypropylene (Olefin) yarn with only a single skein of the white and one additional in gray, I have found uses for turquoise blue, damsel dries, and brown – for Calibaetis parachutes. At six dollars a skein, you’re getting several decades of materials for the price of two of the small fly shops cards.

Jump on it.

Hobie ProAngler kayak

A Big Step for a Wading Angler, Contemplating the Move to an Angling Kayak

Fly fishing from a kayak is a welcome transition for the heretofore shore bound angler, as many of the issues that haunt slippery rocks and low hanging branches vanish with the mobility that boating offers. There are also many new hazards you’ll encounter and many tendencies that must be left on shore where they belong.

Getting Your Mind Right, dealing with Hoarding Instincts

hoardingThe only storage constraint on the wading angler is the capacity of his fishing vest. The practice of wadding everything into a maze of pockets to resupply the angler afield has morphed into a garment carrying old sandwiches, partially consumed protein bars, fly boxes, foam floats, rain ponchos, snakebite kits, tippet spools, insect repellant and the obligatory snarl of toilet paper.

These hoarding instincts we learned early as doting parents insisted our “angling empire” fit into one tackle box, later one fly box, and culminating into one overly warm car trunk, or closet.

While there are many kinds of kayaks and all with different options, angling kayaks offer the illusion that you can increase the amount of gear carried as the boat does the physical lifting instead of you. Suddenly that onboard storage sprouts neo-essentials like; extra drinks, dry clothes, spare spools, baby diapers (from a prior adventure) and a backup rod, and you must resist this hoarding instinct – as it will be your undoing.

The size and weight of your boat will influence where it can be launched. Longer kayaks are faster in the water but can be heavier on land. Wheel assemblies can be added to most kayaks to equip them for pavement, dirt, or beach sand, and assist the launching process tremendously. The wrong wheel type makes the launch extra burdensome, as thin narrow pavement wheels will dig into mud or sand and make the boat hard to move. New or strange lakes offer unknown launch scenarios and our Western states are in a multi-year drought, complicating matters further. As lake levels recede due to drought, the distance between parking area and the water’s edge increases. Man made lakes are typically steep “bowls” designed to as much water as possible, so it’s not a long, level walk to the water’s edge – it’s a sloping downhill slide with your kayak threatening to alternately run you over or drag you downhill.

Complicating things further is the composition of the newly exposed slope, which is often alternating bands of decomposing rock, loose soil, and shale. As you near the water include weeds and scrub growth, as well as sand and mud, ensuring your footing and launch are a mix of dicey and downright treacherous.

Fortunately, the easy part is getting the boat downhill … Gravity is a willing accomplice and while strenuous, rolling the boat down to the water’s edge gives you an invisible helper.

The return trip is another story…

After a long day on the water you have a physical and arduous climb UPHILL to the car. Cart wheels will fight you on every rock and root, dig deep into mud or loose cobble, and your footing will be uncertain due to loose shale and gravel, making that 100 yard trek back to the pavement nothing short of heart pounding torture. Adding to the mix is all the water you added into the hull via pedal motor housing, or simply slopping it into the boat via flopping fish and exuberance.

Many launch scenarios may have your boat out of sight of the parking lot. Multiple trips to offload gear could find you leaving the boat filled with valuable tackle, cameras, and other expensive items undefended, in a high traffic area like a day use area or beach. You need to keep your boat light enough to handle the return all gear to your vehicle in a single trip.

Be frugal with gear. Consult the dry weight of the boat and remember you will be adding food, drinks, tackle, anchors, drink holders, floatation devices, and many things you have no expectations of owning … fish finders (containing transducers, batteries, and cable), anchor trollies, milk crates, rod holders, onboard wheel assemblies, and assorted cordage, cable ties, and pool noodles.

Traditional paddling kayaks (sit inside kayaks) are light with many 12 foot models only 50-65 pounds. Angling kayaks (sit on top kayaks) can weigh twice that as they contain many amenities unnecessary to a paddle kayak. Seats, storage, battery harness, cable controls, and pulleys all add extra weight, and boats can weigh over 100 pounds dry.

My Hobie ProAngler 360 kayak is 12 feet long and weighs 105 (2020 weight, 2022 weight is 109.5) pounds empty. It is the “leaden battleship” of angling kayaks, not due to its size – rather due to its features and ability to expand via the Hobie Rail System. Assume you’re carrying nearly 40 pounds of tackle, 10 pounds of anchors, cordage and landing nets, a couple of rods, 5 pounds of drinks and food and all the leashes, tethers, and floatation devices (PFD), and you’re likely to tip the scales at 160-170 pounds, counting the inboard water. This is not a trivial burden on a thirty degree slope with uncertain footing …

You need to remain vigilant on what you add to your kayak, and you need to unload items unique to a specific trip on your return – so they don’t add unnecessary weight to your boat. Lowrance and similar fish finders are easily mounted to your new kayak, but do you really need to know there are fish fifty feet below you? Fishing a jig, fifty feet is nothing, fishing a fly and that same fifty feet is an insurmountable depth.

I carry a thermometer instead. I can check water temperature as needed, and while it’s not as convenient as on a Hummingbird screen, it is a hell of a lot lighter.

I can’t tell you which kayak is best – neither can the staff that sell them ..

There are many really good angling kayaks, most run between $1500 –$5000, which is significant cost, nearly all are worth every penny spent.

There is no “best” kayak, there is however a “best” kayak tailored to you, your needs, and the uniqueness of your fishing. Some will use them in both freshwater and salt, some in still water only, some for fly and spinning, some will troll, some in estuary or riverine environments, all will be stable and seaworthy craft, but the features you need for fly fishing are not obvious …

Pick your new kayak based on its power plant, its ability to reverse direction (instant reverse), and extensibility. These are unquestionably the most important features for fly fishermen.

Power Plant: Pedal versus Paddle: Both work, but one seems tailored to fly fishing

Propeller200Fly fishing is a uniquely “hand intensive” fishing style. We require constant contact with the rod and line to cast, mend, gather, and impart motion to the fly. Paddle kayaks require two hands gripping the kayak paddle, pedal kayaks are powered by an angler’s legs, leaving both hands free to cast or strip while the boat is under power.

Personal Opinion ** : My personal opinion is that pedal kayaks are best suited for fly fishermen, as they offer the unique ability to cast and move at the same time. Paddle kayaks are fine for fly fishing, but you have to lay down the rod to move any distance, and you’re constantly swapping rod and paddle, allowing running line to catch on all manner of things in the boat as you paddle to adjust your attitude towards shore or target. You WILL drop things in the water if you fish enough, do you want to risk your rod to the Briny Deep?

Pedal kayaks have two basic styles of motion; pedaling a propellor-equipped or pedaling a fin equipped motor for locomotion.  Hobie uses “fins” to move the boat, all of the other manufacturers use the more traditional propellor for locomotion.

Regardless of the style of pedal motion, the core issue is your ability to snag the drive with your fly – or run over your fly line with the boat and get it tangled with the prop, and the motor’s ability to kick up when hitting an underwater object. Hobie fins have a hinge allowing them to fold up when striking an underwater object and restore themselves to the original configuration on the next power stroke. Prop drives have the ability to “kick up” in the same manner, but not all of them can do so, so it’s something to check on the boat, model, and manufacturer you’re contemplating.

You will hit underwater objects especially when you forget to retract the motor when landing the boat, or when you loan the craft to your idjit pal.

I have snagged my rudder, skeg, and fins while fishing, and it is problematic – but not overly so. You will learn to keep your fly line away from the boat as wind and pedaling can move the boat over your fly line and fly quickly. A tangle in the running line – or a few turns of loose line snagged on something inside the boat cockpit, and you risk getting the fly and line under the boat if under power. Recently, I disabled my rudder by snagging a large striper fly in the hinge and had to land the boat to remove the fly and restore rudder function.

With practice you will learn to stop your pedal motion and pause before casting. Kayaks are quite graceful in the water, and the boat will continue to move forward for 20 feet or so when you stop pedaling. Releasing your cast as the boat loses forward momentum means you do not roll over the line and do not have to frantically strip to catch up to the fly.

Instant Reverse: Floating Physics and the unique complications of kayak fly casting

Hobie360A traditional “sit on top” fishing kayak has the angler seated about two thirds of the way down the boat towards the stern. The angler is a “sail-like” object, so his profile and its resistance to wind will add motion to the boat in any breeze.

If the wind is behind the angler the boat will drift forward, wind in front, boat will drift backward, etc. Motion of the boat will add drag to the fly, or make it move twice as fast as intended, given how the boat can swing in circles due to its “off center sail”. A fly fisherman will need to constantly adjust his attitude to his fly, as the boat can move in any direction at any time.

This is markedly different from the wading angler, who remains motionless while adjusting the line between him and the fly.

“Instant reverse” describes the ability to change the boat’s direction quickly, and has multiple flavors among the many kayak manufacturers. Because of the vagrancies of wind on the angler, instant reverse will be among the top three issues of your fly fishing experience, as you will be constantly adjusting the boat and its angle to the fly or shoreline.

Hobie kayaks have multiple flavors of reverse on their pedal kayaks, those that use the 180 drive require you to reach down and pull a cable to initiate reverse (the same to resume forward motion), and the newer 360 drive, which allows the motor to thrust at any angle in a 360 degree arc, requires you to turn a handle to pick the angle of thrust.  Instant reverse then requires the handle to be spun 180 degrees to go backward, and returned 180 degrees to resume forward motion.

Propellor kayaks only require you to stop pedaling forward and pedal backward to reverse boat motion. Prop driven kayaks are superior to all others in this regard – and in my estimation are the only kayaks that offer true “instant reverse.”

I’ve not owned the propellor flavor, but having spent four seasons on a Hobie 360 – I am quite comfortable turning the handle while the boat is under power (as the rudder handle and motor thrust handle sit atop one another). The 360 Drive offers other mobility features superior to propellor kayaks as the drive thrust allows it to be turned without moving the boat forward, which is a huge advantage in tight quarters (think maneuvering in snags, docks, and chasing largemouth bass).

Personal Opinion**: Propellor based kayaks have true instant reverse, and in my estimation are superior to all others save paddle kayaks, which also have human powered “instant reverse” (typically preceded by the exclamation, “Oh, sh*t” …). The Hobie crank handle is fine, it’s simply not hand’s free like the propellor flavor. You never can have too many hands when managing fly line, boat motion, and sharp things flying in your direction …

Extensibility and all the gadgetry (weight) therein

One of the more important features in kayak selection is what extensions and capabilities can be added via third party. Hobie kayaks use a proprietary “H-Rail” system to attach additional features and connectivity to the boat. Their “H Rail” can be adapted to other standards via Scotty mounts, or RailBlaza Starport mounts. These connections to the boat allow you to add additional features that don’t come with the boat like fish finders, storage, GoPro Camera masts, rod holders, and dozens of other gadgets.

Hobie produces a generic plate mount attachment that allows you to modify, screw, or glue anything you wish to their hexagonal rail attachment, think Boom Box or similar outlandish need. Railblaza makes a similar, rotating platform attachment that is pre-drilled and can be modified, other vendors offer similar functionality.

Whichever kayak you fancy, ensure it has ample extensibility or you will regret the purchase. Not knowing what’s needed in the future or how your angling will change with a job related relocation, the extensibility of your kayak will determine how soon you outgrow it or whether that will happen.

When reviewing watercraft, determine which type of mounts and rails come native to the craft. Many of these can be added to older boats but require drilling holes in the hull, which adds additional issues with sealants, leaks, and the potential to weaken the craft via extensive modification. If you’re not being gifted a kayak or the sudden beneficiary of some similar freebie, I would recommend the purchase of a kayak that contains rails built into the superstructure or hull. The manufacturer choice I’ll leave to you, but get something allowing you to add to the base craft via supported mounts.

As other family members are likely to use your craft and don’t share your passion for fly fishing, the ability to add a drink holder or trolling rod holder may be highly desirable. Kayaks are a pleasant way to enjoy the out-of-doors and you don’t need to be a Purist to enjoy a comfortable seat, warm sun,  and a “stroll” around the lake. In fact, the “smart” lad will market the purchase as a “family friendly” non-gas guzzling, Green Initiative – as the price tag for The Beast will have to be negotiated.

There are other ways to add capabilities to your kayak, most are tailored to the specific craft or extensibility it offers; rails versus mounts, etc. I will cover some ways to modify the Hobie when I write about the specific configuration I employ on my 12’ Hobie ProAngler 360.

Leashes and the need to strap everything down

Kayaks are tippy regardless of their size, and like canoes, standing up risks a bath. Kayaks are flat bottomed and lack a keel, so an aggressive lean to see or grab a fish coupled with a broadside wave strike and you could flip your boat instantly. Most angling kayaks are stable, and their stability increases with length, but the threat of an unexpected dunking is quite real, especially if you do something stupid.

Big fish make people stupid.

So does alcohol.

… as does that 24’ ski barge that rounded the point filled with liquored up Millennials … whose wake is about to sink you.

Everything you bring onto the boat must be securely stored via locked hatch or leashed to the superstructure with a lead designed for that purpose. This means once the hull storage is full, each item must be attached individually to the boat if you want to keep it. Paddle, Landing Net, Tackle containers, rod, drinks, food, pedal drive, yourself, anchor, absolutely everything not sealed within the hull must be leashed. If the boat flips, and it will, everything will disappear into the depths or float away while you scramble to get back aboard.

I am leashed to the rail as well. This way the boat cannot move more than six feet from me once I tumble into the water.

My Hobie ProAngler has restraints for extra rods that hold spinning or casting rods tight to the hull. These will not work for fly rods as fly rod pieces are too numerous and slender. I will lose my rod if I tip the boat and relinquish my grip on the handle.

So be it.

Your pedal drive and paddle are the only means of locomotion for the boat. I leash both to the Hobie rail, as the paddle is the backup to the pedal drive and I need at least one to make it back to shore.

My landing net is leashed to the hull in similar fashion and has more than one use in the boat. As it’s likely to be in your other hand when landing a big fish, and that fish could make me forget prudence, it will be lost if I roll the boat with the rod in the other hand. Hence the leash.

I reserve the hull storage for the expensive stuff. Lures and Plugs for largemouth when casting or spin fishing, first aid kit to stop bleeding and bandage the hook punctures, waterproof container with wallet and car keys, and all those tiny packages of split shot, strike indicators, fly boxes, GoPro batteries,  leader spools, and hook hones. (I will elaborate on this configuration in future articles tuned to my specific craft.)

Your rod is the only wild card in this mix, as a leash is unwieldy due to the casting motion. I opt not to leash my rod and recognize the potential for its loss.

If you wish to keep it, it must be attached to the boat.

There is no exception.

No FIshing Vests needed

stohlquist300Sudden immersion is a shock, and while you recover and begin to tread water – are you going to reach for the boat or your rod as it disappears into the water?

If you’re not leashed to the boat and there’s a stiff breeze your kayak will be moving to windward as soon as you hit the water. By the time you resurface it might be eight or ten feet distant, and if you’re in deep water you might be in trouble.

To hell with the rod, you go for the boat as it may be the only thing between you and drowning.

You must wear a Personal Floatation Device (PFD) in your kayak as the risk of flipping climbs with the popularity of the waterway, inclement weather, big tides, and drunken boaters. Choose a vest that is designed for swimming, not one designed for the crowd that frequents big party barges and hang on the cabin wall unused. California boating regulations require all kayakers to wear a PFD equipped with a whistle for alerting other boaters. As the PFD will preclude the use of a fishing vest, you will need to design a new tackle storage solution that allows the same freedom of access as a vest, yet will be leashed to the boat (with all zippers closed) when not in use. (I will describe my system in a future article on Hobie configuration).

Your PFD can have floatation around your shoulders but make sure it doesn’t have any in the lower back area. Any padding near the lower back and waist will interfere with your boat seat and your posture, making the seat less comfortable.

I opted for a Stohlquist Fisherman, as it had a few extra pockets, no padding on the lower back, and is of the “swimming” style.  These can be pricey, but being a life saving device is worth every penny.

If you use the boat in salt water many anglers stuff the kayak with pool noodles to allow additional buoyancy. The assumption is that the closed cell foam will ensure the kayak floats if upside down or full of water, giving you something to cling to while you BLEAT frantically on your attached whistle ..

Polypropylene is your friend. Poly won’t absorb water, so clothing that is windproof, rain resistant, and made from Polypropylene will provide additional safety. Big woolen sweaters, Levi jeans, and layered cotton shirts are all barriers for wind and cold, but they will absorb many pounds of extra water when immersed in the lake. If you flip your boat you will have to get back in it unassisted. If you are away from shore you will need to climb in via the nose or stern, or learn to belly up into the cockpit and pivot into the pedal well. If you have an extra fifty pounds of water in that sweater/jean/shirt/jacket combination it will reduce your ability to lift yourself out of the water and back into the boat.

Buy windproof clothing in bright colors (visibility matters) that doesn’t absorb water. Wear wetsuits in the salt (especially on the West Coast) and leave shoes in the car. Wet suit booties offer both floatation and will not absorb water when soaked and are much superior to shoes or sneakers. Most of your launches will be in muddy terrain and wet shoes and socks put a damper on the day no matter how pleasant the weather and fishing.

You’re more mobile than the fellow with the V8, respect the launch and dock protocols

Gas guzzling V8 owners replete with their spiffy Dodge RAM and attendant entourage actually need the dock to launch – you can shove your boat in the water with less fuss. If you are launching your kayak at a traditional lake launch frequented by big boats on trailers, prepare your boat at your truck and avoid using the dock for anything but the launch.

The standard wheeled cart assembly allows you to load your boat with tackle, clothing and food while at your truck. You can string your rod and place it into the kayak at the same time. Only when you are ready to launch should you move into the path of the dock and motorized launch area. Be polite, courteous and fast. If you are carrying your wheel assembly back to the car then keep your boat to the side with the least traffic, and only do so if the distance is short. These launches are designed for the motorized angler and their ritual requires additional maneuver compared to us kayak types.

Anyone learning to back a boat in the water requires considerable space, so give it to them regardless … never insist on imposing your will on a craft whose wake can swamp you.

This advice is doubly important at the end of the day when the crowd at the dock is liquored up and sunburnt. Don’t risk aggression by dawdling at the launch area with your boat, get it out of the water and into the safety of the parking area before wiping it down or storing gear.

Summary:

The move from wading angler to kayak angler requires money and a lot of thought to established fishing practices. Many of the tendencies developed from years of angling need to be retooled and rethought rather than simply ported to the new craft. Everything you bring onto your boat is a liability and subject to loss, so you need to plan your storage and leash system – and you will require several seasons before the configuration you chose will become second nature, so plan for an evolution of your boating behavior. Closing tackle boxes and zipping up your fly box will be cumbersome and inefficient at first, but losing the entire collection to the lake is far worse – and may even end your trip completely.

Expect to evolve your kayak use, don’t assume it will all go swimmingly despite hours of YouTube review and classes attended.

Keep weight and items to a minimum, especially if you’re in a drought area.

Assume a new or strange lake might have a poor launch facility, one that requires portage of boat and equipment to the water. Try to keep it to a single trip from car to water, if you can’t then prioritize your valuables based on the risks.

Anything not tied to the boat will be lost, that includes you.

Dress for success, avoid items that absorb and retain lots of water.

If forced to comingle with power boats, use the dock sparingly and fast. Do not rig tackle or dawdle. Save the fish stories for the parking area, not the boat dock.

balanced leech victim

I managed to seduce a few of the unwary

It’s an excuse to fiddle mostly … the discovery of something new that you’ve never tried  stimulates both optimism and creativity. The normal guardrails that exist when being shown something vanish when it’s a chance encounter; something read, something seen, or something accidentally observed.

This week I was fiddling with “balanced leeches”, and after viewing several videos, numerous fly patterns and articles describing the style and theory behind the practice – it sounded like great fun. A large Bobber-cator suspends a leech pattern in the water – with beads tied forward of the eye to “balance” the fly in a horizontal attitude, versus hanging from the indicator perpendicularly.

In theory, the wave and wind action would then make the fly dance fetchingly on the end of its tether, compelling even the most wary fish to scarf it down.

While it was fun staring at the strike indicator waiting for it to disappear, the theory and the practice proved much different. I hooked and landed three fish but each ate the leech after I moved the indicator with a short strip. I tried diligently but the wave action induced dance failed to yield a fish strike – but mitigating circumstances might have altered the result.

I was fishing the deep end of the lake – which is less conducive to flies fished close to the surface. I opted to fish the fly about 3.5 feet from the indicator to give it some sinking ability – but I was attending a local club’s Berryessa outing and launched where the club intended, versus launching where shoreline and depth aided this style. While the club promptly roared away towards parts unseen (likely shallower), I was left in the “knife cut” portion of the lake where the canyon near the dam makes the depth drop away abruptly.

I  moved out of the creek arm and into the open portion of the lake where waves and gusty wind made the action on the fly much more vigorous. I focused on the points and drop-offs that were visible close to shore and managed a few grabs as well as a brace of spotted bass.

Spotted700

Water temperature was about 62 degrees, which is on the chill side but not excessively so,  and might have made fish less willing to chase or swim up from the depths below.

I encountered a few fish chasing minnows in an after bay and managed to land one of them. These fish had proven (in earlier trips) difficult to catch as they move about with great speed chasing the bait swarm. With the balanced leech technique you can leave the fly stationary until the feeding fish return to where it was cast, then give it a twitch to induce a take.

In simple sight testing the fly, observing wave action on the suspended bait, the sparser dressed flies were much more animated and “swam” better. Large clumps of marabou do not respond to the gentle motion of wave and wind and tend to simply “bob” up and down. Traditional leech flies, with the wing (tail) tied sparsely – swam quite nicely when the indicator was disturbed.

I used enough marabou to give good silhouette but not enough to make the fly opaque. The overall flue length was chosen to position the hook in the center of the fly, offering ample movement of the tail and palmered hackle, but not so long as to induce the short strike, where the fish misses the hook entirely. The double bead offers a chance for a “rattle” when yanked – and is something I am fiddling with to add sound to my bass flies.

As the weather warms I’ll move to the shallower sections of the lake to fish over the emergent weed beds. Numerous weed “shoals” exist on the east side of the lake that harbor a lot of fish during summer months. I’m thinking this method will give me the opportunity to fish within the clumps – as well as suspend a fly above the weeds indefinitely .. offering a couple options I’ve not had before.

I did manage to bend a few of the dressmaker pins used to support the beads. They will deform on the occasional snag – as well as yanked through wooden snags or similar underwater obstacles. I simply bent the pins back into their original shape with finger pressure. I could see some flies having more issue with pin deformity – but only if fly components were attached directly to the pin instead of the shank. As my flies were simplistic in design, akin to Wooly Bugger flies, I had no issue with the pins and fly construction.