Flyfishing, flytying and hooks

Introducing flyrods.org

rodbuilders_creek

Besides the (obvious) obsession for flytying and flytying I have a passion for my day-job as a web-developer: backend systems, metadata and data-driven application development. I have earlier made a database for norwegian hiphop albums and when I this winter sat down to figure out my next rod: a #5 weight for going after trout here in Norway I discovered that besides the obvious opinions about rods and what you should get, there were no good databases and overviews of the different #5 rods out there!

There are some sites out there, but a lot of them are not updated, and they didn’t have the features I wanted to compare and search for rods! So: I found out that the domain flyrods.org was available and started developing a new site to collect all the information about all the companies and rods I could!

Now: the site I’m launching today don’t have all the companies out there, neither does it have all the rods, but so far I’ve collected 2300+ rods and put the information up there to be browsed and searched through. I wanted to get the site up and running as soon as possible so that I could get some feedback from people that are interested in this kind of information (and you know that a lot of flyfishers can be obsessed about numbers and statistics!).

The main feature of the site will be the search where you can search up companies/length/weight and then go on to compare them side-by-side to see how different rods. The search engine is now in its first version, but I’m interested in feedback on how it works and maybe how it can be improved. The important work up until now have been to gather information, then I’ll continue to improve the site.

All the information is gathered from the rod companies web sites, this means that the site now mainly consists of current rods, and not earlier editions or companies that don’t exist any more. This is information I would love to get my hands on so that I can get it up there together with the rods that are available! I’m currently going over the rods and companies to start adding videos/links to reviews and images, but for this I also need input from the companies that produces these rods (please contact me if you produce rods and can provide images!)

Again: this is the first version, there are companies missing and the site might have some problems here or there, but do let me know if you find anything missing or if something doesn’t work!

http://flyrods.org

rodbuilders_creek2

Yellow Microdun – start of my dryfly box this season!

2015.02.28.dryfly.yellow_microdunHook: TMC 111 #14
Thread: Sheer 14/0 Yellow
Tail: Micro Polychenille
Dubbing: Fly-Rite #9 Golden Yellow
Wing: Whiting Grizzly
Wingpost: Polypropylene Yarn

I have done a lot of spey and salmon patterns this winter, but tomorrow is March, and sprint is around the corner, so it is time to start filling up the dryfly box!

We have a river running through Oslo here that have had a bad time (basically all trout was killed of some years ago), and wasn’t supposed to open until next year, but this week we got the message that the river will be opened from 1.April this year instead, so I’ll start getting some dries up to start with some urban fly fishing this easter!

Red Claret Spey

2015.02.15.dryfly.me.red_claret_speyHook: Daiichi 2052 #1.5
Thread: Sheer 14/0 Black
Body: Underbody UNI-Floss white, Lagartun Red Claret French Silk Floss
Rib: No-brand gold
Hackle: Heron
Wing: Veniard Mallard Bronze Large

A freestyle spey where I wanted to have as few materials as possible, work on the body profile and try to not overload the fly with too much of the materials I used.

The lagartun silk floss with the gold rib really stands out on this one, the taper of the body is also one that I’m very happy with – it goes smoothly from start to finish. The one thing I could work on is the wing, I did it high over the body (and not really low-set) with purpose, and I’m quite happy with that, but the smoothness of the wing from some angles are not the best, so I’ll put another version up later.

 

Green Peacock Salmon Fly

2015.02.15.dryfly.me.green_peacockHook: Daiichi 2052 #1.5
Thread: Sheer 14/0 Black
Tag: UTC French Tinsel Medium, Lagartun Silk Floss
Tail: GP
Body: underbody of white UNI-Floss, UNI-Floss Doctor Blue
Rib: UNI-French Medium Oval
Hackle: Keough Hen Saddle
Wing: Wapsi Peacock Swords Bright Green

I found this pattern after T.E. Pryce-Tannatt on traditionalflies.com. I just got some peacock swords for tying up Rusty Rat and was looking for something else to use them for, in addition I got my first package of the Daiichi 2052 silvers and the combination of these came out quite nice.

Recently I have been looking for (and testing out) new varnish for finishing up the heads for salmon flies, and on friday I got some Hard Head from Loon that I’m really happy with so far – they are not too runny, sets really nice on the head and is easy to work with. More about that later though, have a good sunday!

 

Rusty Rat: 10 different sizes and types

 

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_familyRepetition is the key for many things in life, so also with fly tying! When getting into a pattern that I want to explore, or get some new material that I need to get familiar with I tend to sit down and tie up the same pattern in different sizes and on different hooks to see how it comes together.

This week I have focused on the rusty rat: I have tied it up in 10 different variations on singles, doubles and on tube. The pattern itself is a classic one that should need not much introduction (and there are other sites that can describe the background for this pattern much better than I can).

Of all the variations here there is one first for me: slipstream tubes. I have tied a lot of tubes the last year, but this week I got a good offer on some slipstream tubes from Veniard in different sizes, so when I got into the rusty rat I had to tie some up on that as well.

This a very good exercise that I can recommend for anyone: you get to know the pattern, and at the end of the session you know how the pattern is and behaves in different sizes and on different hooks.

TMC7999 #1/0

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_1-0TMC7999 #4

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_4TMC7999 #8

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_8Mustad S60-3399A #6

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_mustad8Alec Jackson Spey #1.5

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_jackson15Kamasan B280 #4

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_kamasan2Kamasan B280 #8

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_kamasan4Partridge Patriot #8 

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_partridge_doubleTube

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_tubeVeniard Slipstream Tube

2015.02.14.dryfly.me.rusty_slipstream