Timo Kontio

Posted on April 20, 2008

I was born in 1986 in Finland and have been living here all my life. I have always been interested in fishing but it wasn’t until I discovered the joys of fly fishing and fly tying that it became such a big part of my life. One of my best friends had been learning about fly fishing from his grandfather and he told me that I must try it out.

I requested a fly tying-kit from my parents for my 13th birthday and after that day I have been hooked to a hobby that will hopefully last for a lifetime. My birthday is in February so I had to wait for summer to test my flies in a local pond that has stocked rainbow trouts in it. It took a bit of casting practice to get my first fish with a fly that I had made myself but it was as rewarding as I had been promised.

I would then spend countless hours in the local library and at home learning everything that i could from the books I had available. Oliver Edwards’ Flytyers Masterclass was the book that fueled my interesting developing my tying skills to a more realistic and artistic way. Since I was so young that I couldn’t drive a car and no-one in my family fished I could make only couple fishing trips a year so I had a lot of time to try out different things in fly tying.

I read about fly tying competitions and admired the talent of the tiers and for some unknown reasons it made me think that I could do it also. After couple years of trying I got some second and third places in local tying competitions and wanted to try out internationals. It took me quite some time get some satisfacting results because the level in the big competitions is set up pretty high.

I think that my tying took another big turn when I moved to Espoo which is very close to Helsinki, the capital of Finland. After a short while I realized that I lived in the same building with Ari-Heikki Rintaniemi, who has won many international competitions especially in tying classic salmon flies. A-H teached me how he ties salmon flies and got me more interested in stretching my tying to that direction. I had been admiring those flies before but never really had the courage to tie them.

After some learning from Ari-Heikki it wasn’t long that I entered for the first time to the 2007 FQSA fly tying world championsihp and against all odds ended up winning two of the three categories I entered. I have also won medals from other competitions including Gold and bronze medal from World Tuscany Open in 2007 and gold medal from the British & International Fly tying Championship in 2008.

I hope to develop my tying even further and I’m looking for new things to improve myself. Lately I’ve been most interested in the history of fly tying and classic patterns but I’m also trying to become a better realistic fly tier as well. My main goal is to become a good overall tyer that can handle any pattern equally good.

Timo Kontio

A Spey fly tutorial by a master, Brown of Abeerden 24th Jan 1891

Posted on April 17, 2008

This is an article written by Colin (known as scottishtrout from www.classicflytying.com), thanks to him we may learn more about those wonderful Spey flies..

Colin: I’ve been working in London the last few weeks and spent my evenings reading the old Fishing Gazettes (and sipping the odd malt), as some of you may be aware I’ve been researching a book on the tackle makers of Aberdeen (that’s the Scottish one!) for a few years now. Anyway, I was just dozing off with the volume for 1891 when I came accross an article about fishing in Speyside by Mr Marton (the, then, editor of this majestic organ), about half way through I came across the following from Mr. Brown of Aberdeen (well this was in 1891, Mr. Brown died in 1877 so it’s really from Mr Bell the, then, owner of the business) - it pretty much tells you how to tie the generic Spey fly - some of it may come as a surprise to you…

Mr. Brown says:-

“To describe the dressing of a Spey fly generally, and not any pattern in particular, I think the clearest plan would be to follow the tabulated form used in the Badminton volume on “Fishing,” when describing the ordinary standard flies, which would show these particular constructions differ in their in their respective parts from the well known standards. Thus, an ordinary fancy fly, with say a wool or fur body, would have all the parts which are indicated in italics, where as the Spey fly takes only those that are described, viz:-

TAG. – None.
TAIL. – None.
BUTT. – None.
BODY. – Usually consists of common wool mixed or dyed to the shade of colour required, and wrapped round the body tightly. There is no picking out or “furriness” about the body of a Spey fly; and it is begun on the shank in a line with the point of the hook, it has a dumpy disproportionate appearance.
RIBS. – There are invariably three tinsels down the body – a flat, and two threads; one of the threads silver, the other gold (on some patterns these are replaced by coloured silk threads). The flat and one thread is wound round the body in three turns, room being left for the second thread, which is not wound until after the hackle is put on.
HACKLE. – The hackle is perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the Spey fly, and the greatest puzzle both to amateur and professional fly-tiers. It is not, properly speaking a hackle, but it is taken off that part of the cock which might be called the ‘saddle,’ or near the tail. The best feathers hang with a graceful curve from the root of the tail down the side of it, and when the fibres are extended to right angles with the stem, they will be found to be of equal length butt to tip, not tapering as in a hackle. The feather thus described is very soft in fibre, and when dressed on the fly, has a very different appearance to the ordinary cock’s hackle, and a very different effect in the water. Now as the hackle of the Spey fly differs from ordinary hackles, so does the manner of putting it on. The ordinary standard fly has the hackle tied in, or begun, at the small tip or point. The Spey fly has it tied in, or begun, at the butt or thick end of the stem. Having cleaned off the downiest part of the fibre at the butt-end, and left just a little of the gray (as sort of half ‘down,’ half fibre), and having seen that the fibre is log enough to extend about half an inch beyond the bend of the hook – the stem is tied in at the very commencement of the body, along with the tinsels. When the two tinsels – a flat and a thread – have been wound to the right hand, the hackle is taken and wound to the left hand. The tinsel is then wound to the right, parallel with the other two, and across the hackle stem at every turn. When fixed, a needle is required to relieve those fibres of the hackle which may have been tied down by the crossing tinsel. The fly is ready for the..
..THROAT. - which is generally teal, wound in the ordinary fashion.
WINGS. - are generally two double strips of brown mallard, not extending much above the length of the body, and set to permit the natural curve of the feather. The two wings are set quite apart, and are put on separately.
SIDES. – None.
HORNS. – None.
HEAD. – Black silk.

_______________________________________________________

 

Lady Caroline

TAIL: Red feathers from golden pheasant.
BODY: Reddish brown wool – with flat silver tinsel, and two threads between, one gold and one silver.
HACKLE: Long grey heron, wrapped round the whole length of the body.
SHOULDER: Two or three turns of the red hackle of the golden pheasant.
WINGS: Mallard: Long and flat.

Carron

BODY: Orange wool; about three or four turns of flat silver tinsel.
HACKLE: Black heron, wound round the whole length of the body.
WING: Mallard; long and flat.

In spring and autumn, when the fly is used of larger size, the body is often made of a greenish yellow wool, instead of the orange; and two or three turns of gallina hackle are added at the shoulder.

Purple king

This very favourite Spey pattern is made as follows:-

BODY. – Light purple wool, ribbed with one flat and two thread tinsels; one gold and one silver
HACKLE. – Brownish black feather from side of cock’s tail, would contrary to tinsels and crossed by one of them.
Teal at shoulder
WING. – Double strips of Mallard, short and set apart to allow hackle to appear between them.

.

James Daly

Posted on April 17, 2008

Greetings! My name is James Daly. My wife Kayce, daughter Piper, son Finnegan and I live in NorthWest Pennsylvania, in the United States of America. I am a avid fly fisherman, primarily targeting Trout and Smallmouth Bass in the spring and summer, then transitioning to Lake Erie Steelhead and Salmon in the fall and winter. I do have another addiction that is sometimes hard to satisfy and that is Striped Bass and Bluefish hunting on Cape Cod in New England waters. I don’t get to do that as much as I would like, but I’ve got a lifetime to scratch that itch. I started tying flies when I was 24 years old as a way to “save the money” that I would spend on shop tied flies. Boy was I in for a ride! It has since taken me in several different directions, as it seems this sport does to most people. Mike Laskowski (the owner of our local fly shop Oil Creek Outfitters) has been a major influence on me as an angler and tier. When I first stumbled into his shop when I was 25 asking for advice on what to tie, he pulled out some classic salmon flies that he had tied a number of years ago and said something to the effect of “Some day you may be good enough to tie these”. I was hooked as soon as I saw them, but didn’t know where to begin. After a couple years of Dry Flies, Saltwater flies and anything else that came to mind I finally took the plunge two years ago after visiting, then, The FlytyingForum.com. There are too many influential tiers that frequent this website to list. John McLain, Matt Inman, Dave Gotzmer, Royce Stearns, Charles Vestal and Dave Carne have been huge influences for me, not only as sounding boards, but also as material knowledge and technique sources. I have always been of the mindset that it is better to be well rounded then to focus on one particular thing. This may be attributed to an attention disorder, but I would like to think that it isn’t such. This has led me to try a myriad different styles from Atlantic Salmon Flies to Spey/Dee flies, Streamers, Marbury Bass/Lake flies and recently Classic Wet Flies. I guess that you could say I am a “Classic Fly Junkie”, loving all aspects of the old standards. I especially like to tie “In Hand”, feeling that this style gives the most accurate representation of what the old flies were intended and giving the completed fly “life”. Long Nguyen and Martin Bach have been my most influential tiers in this aspect. It was Martin’s influence that made me drop the tools and pick up the Gossamer and Wax. Long has been my best critic, lending advise and inspiration on an almost daily basis.

Thanks, Long!! But, I think what sets this craft apart from others is the comradery and willingness to share information freely that makes it so special. I have made many friends while doing this, many that I have never met face to face. I look forward to being able to meet them in person and to making many more along the journey.

The Thunder and Lightning

Posted on April 14, 2008

The Thunder and Lightning

The Purple Emperor

Posted on April 14, 2008

The Purple Emperor

TAG. - Silver twist and yellow silk.
TAIL. - Touraco, Wood Duck and powdered blue Macaw.
BUTT. - Black ostrich.
BODY. - Fine oval silver tinsel and four turnings with purple Seal’s fur.
RIBS. - Oval gold tinsel.
HACKLE. - Silver cock-y-bondhu.
THROAT. - Hen Pheasant dyed yellow.
WING. - Jungle cock back to back, Widgeon, yellow Swan, golden Pheasant, Touraco, grey Mallard and a topping over all.

 

 

Info

Posted on April 14, 2008

This site will always be under construction. This home site was started very recently, so there will be more stuff on the different sections as the time goes.. If you got some suggestions, just give me a call at my email: longnunoc@hotmail.com

Best regards

Long Nguyen

The Red Sandy

Posted on April 9, 2008

The Red Sandy

The Blue Boyne

Posted on April 9, 2008

The Blue Boyne

TAG. - Silver twist.
TAIL. - Two Indian Crow (back to back).
BUTT. - Black herl.
BODY. - Silver tinsel (oval, finest), intersected by four sets of Chatterer above and below at equal distances apart. 1st set at one-fourth of space between butt and head: 3rd set forming throat.
WINGS. - Two strips of yellow Macaw and two toppings.
HEAD. - Black herl.

Comments from Kelson: “One of the best low water flies in summer. The hook should be no more than 3/4 inch in lenght; smaller patterns are also very effective.”

The Black Dose

Posted on April 9, 2008

The Black Dose

TAG. - Silver twist and light orange slik.
TAIL. - A topping. Teal and Ibis.
BODY. - Three turns light blue Seal’s fur, followed by black Seal’s fur.
RIBS. - Silver tinsel
HACKLE. - Natural black, from blue Seal’s fur.
THROAT. - Light plum-claret hackle.
WINGS. - Two tippets (back to back) veiled with Teal, light mottled Turkey, Golden Pheasant tail, unbarred Summer Duck, Peacock herl, ibis, green Parrot, and Mallard.
HORNS. - Blue Macaw.
HEAD. - Black herl.

 

 

The Dawson

Posted on April 1, 2008

The Dawson

TAG. - Silver twist and yellow silk.
TAIL. - A topping and Chatterer.
BUTT. - Black herl.
BODY. - In two equal sections of silver tinsel, butted at centre with Indian Crow and black herl.
RIBS. - Silver tinsel (oval).
THROAT. - Indian Crow, repeated as above, and light blue hackle.
WINGS. - Light mottled Turkey, yellow Macaw, Golden Pheasant tail, Teal, powdered Macaw, Ibis, dark mottled Turkey, grey Mallard; Mallard and a topping.
HORNS. - Blue Macaw.
HEAD. - Black herl.

Comments from Kelson: “This is a splendid pattern. I always take it with me. On some rivers it is known as “Baron Dawson”.”

 

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