Tackle and Tactics
Mike Ladle

Information Page.

Flies for all.

My pal Alan Bulmer, in New Zealand, loves tying flies. In truth many of the 'flies' are imitations of small fish or crustaceans and are no doubt deadly in the hands of an experienced saltwater fly rodder (not me then!). Anyway, I realise that not all anglers are such 'Philistines' as I am so here's a taste of Alan's fly box to whet your appetites. There are three little postings and no actual fish or fishing yet but no doubt that comes later.

CIRCLE FLIES

Following a post on circle flies a couple of month's ago, Mark Graham (Action Tackle Supplies) kindly sent me some Sakuma 440 Circle hooks to tie some flies on. The wire gauge of the hooks was perfect for fly tying and the hooks seem very strong. Definitely the business.

Finally I got around to having a play with the Sakuma circles today on the Nor-Vise. The 440 has a slight offset which I tweaked out before tying as I was concerned that the offset could potentially cause the fly to spin. Probably not an issue for Clouser type flies but possibly a problem for the streamer patterns.

Really like the tiny baitfish streamer. Just begs to be cast. Luckily I managed to squeeze them into my fly boxes. Where there is a will there is a way!

Huge thanks again to Mark Graham for sending the hooks. Really appreciate the kind gesture.

FULL TO BURSTING

The four flies from today's session filled my saltwater fly boxes back up to the "plimsoll line". Good to go. Time to get back out and give them a hammering.

Squeezing in another fly will have the same effect as the after dinner mint had on Mr Creosote in Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life".

Really happy with the mix of classic streamers built around fur strips for movement and the more conventional saltwater Clouser style flies that ride upside down with bead eyes for balance.

PINK JELLY BELLIES & BOBBY DAZZLERS

Wet, windy, miserable morning in Auckland so what better way to while away the hours than to spin some flies in the Nor-Vise. The pink bodied flies are my take on Jelly Bellies with the exception that they were constructed with Pink Larva Lace, which is hollow rather than solid, and coated in UV epoxy.

The aptly named "Bobby Dazzlers" are made by sliding an E-Z body over a base of German Madiera brand multi-coloured tinsel and coating in UV epoxy. The glistening effect is almost holographic.

Next step is to take them for a swim when the weather improves. Something to look forward to!

Pity I don't do more fly fishing. There's certainly something to be said for creating your own lures and it's very satisfying to catch fish on them.

If you have any comments or questions about fish, methods, tactics or 'what have you.'get in touch with me by sending an E-MAIL to - docladle@hotmail.com

Baitfish streamer.

These 'fry flies' will certainly work well for bass, scad and mackerel.'

Whew!

One of Alan's fly boxes bulging with his creations.'

Jelly bellies.

These could look like tiny squids or shrimps to the fish.'