The vise is a functional work of art, but a bit pricy for most of us. I was attracted to the Ekich bobbins as soon as I heard about them. There is a small learning curve involving getting used to releasing the tension before cutting the thread, or when the spring has fully extended, but once you get...

Grown bamboo tenkara rod

Ray - I am going to do the lilian a little differently. I intend to use a loop of 30# micron backing whip finished to opposite sides of the tip. I will tie the jam knot at the end of the loop, which will be about 1 1/2" long. Only because the 30# stuff is the heaviest hollow dacron I have, othe...

Nothing fancy about the taper. It is just a straight taper of .00275/inch, starting at .050 for the tip. Since all you have to do is flick the tip, there is no need for anything sophisticated. The secret to making something this long with a slow taper work is in the hollowing and the ferrule constru...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/tsmithwick/tenkararod_zpsznoqjmjb.jpg Here is the 10 foot bamboo tenkara rod. It is 3 piece, and aggressively hollowed. It seems to work fine, and the weight is withing reason. The action is fairly slow and full flexing, as it should be to facilitate playing f...

I started fly fishing in 1968, knowing absolutely nothing. I had memories of seeing fly fishermen in The Salmon River in Connecticut when I was younger, and fished the place with worms and a spinning rod, but nothing else. I soon realized my ignorance, and the guy at the fly shop sold me this book, ...

Nice work, Bill. I did warn you that you would probably curse me out:) It does get easier and faster with experience. The best tier of this pattern I can think of recommended scuffing the blade lightly on the tabletop to dull it very slightly. Also, avoid any slicing motion of the blade. It's as muc...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/tsmithwick/breadcrust_zpsaqkocmzz-1.jpg Dubbin - You had me going there, as I recalled the breadcrust as a completely different pattern. The photo is from Mike Valla's book, but I believe I have also seen a much more slender version somewhere. I would agree th...

William - I have used this fly primarily as a searching pattern in the Brodhead, and in the Big Bushkill. With the stiff hackle, I do tend to concentrate on the fast riffles and pocket water. It is fished as a wet fly all the time, drifted and swung, or guided through pocket water. I'm out of practi...

The stuff seems to be very tough, Bill. The fly pictured was tied from a feather that has been in my kit at least 10 years, and did not feel brittle at all.