richardw

Oh! I thought they were made elsewhere and Drennan badged them up. I'm impressed if they make them because I thought all hooks except Sprite (Redditch) were foreign. I'd be most grateful for the website url. Thanks richard

Thanks do you have a contact email or address and phone number for Drennan? richard

Please can anyone help me with any information about these hooks. First off I like them but I am using them for tying flies on not for carp fishing. They are very strong, forged and reversed, short shanked with straight ring eyes. My questions are: Who makes them? Are they available in bulk? Does whoever makes them, make the same hook but with a slightly longer shank? Any information at all would be a great help to me. Thanks in advance.

But most flies we use imitate water born insects with only a few, like Hawthorns, Daddy Long Legs and Moths imitating terrestrials surely? richard

Excellent idea! Can you get to the Angling Fair at Chatsworth in May? In most years you will find some real bargains there. richard

"Surely the spirit of "fly fishing" means your artificial is cast by using the weight of your FLY LINE rather than the weight of the lure itself." What about when a fly line is not used? When using a willow wand fresh cut from a pollard Macedonian style? Or garden cane with leader as per my recommendations for Czech nymphing? Or fly rod but at close range with no fly line out of the top ring? It's the thing on the end that decides whether it's a fly. Even if some sad person uses a bubble float and fixed spool reel it's still a fly but personally I'd prefer not to call it fly fishing... The leader acts as the casting "weight". [ 06. December 2002, 11:56 PM: Message edited by: richardw ]

If it's artificial, has no spinning vanes or blades and you are casting it with no other end tackle than a leader, then it's a fly! It could be imitating an insect, an amphibian, a rodent, a shrew, a mollusc or a fish, it is still a "fly". Just be sure of the rules for your water before deploying any of them... richard

Did you get fixed up Craig? richard

No probably not alright for you. On the same page that you gave the URL for on the right you will see the option for Shakespeare Professional Rods - click on it and in scrolling window choose the one called "1710/255 8.5ft AFTM 5/6" offered at £23.20. For a reel get the cheapest plastic one you can find. On tghe left of the page under reels you can find the Shakespeare Condex reels which are excellent, come with a spare spool and are inexpensive. Go for the 3.25inch one. Lines: get a floater and a sinker both WF5. The prices on the site you have been visiting look a bit dear to me. So for starting try and get "mill ends". You can get these from John Norris of Penrith at £3.99 each. For leader material use coarse fishing monofilament. richard

Just a few left now. Does anyone else want any? Should I get some more made in different weights? richard

I know this may sound daft but you have tried Waterlog haven't you?

If you want him to really be an angler for the rest of his life turn him down for a year or so. Tell him, "No! You are too little!" If he gets upset it's working. My grandad made me wait nearly 4 years.

The question in the subject was what's wrong with this government? Two things: Everything they say and everything they do.

Can anyone out there supply me with the following: - Mustad 7780C in sizes 12, 14, 16, and 18 Mustad 39847 in sizes 14, 16, 18 and 20 Richard Walker Carp Hooks in any sizes at all but very keen to get any of the smaller sizes. ?? Please drop me a message if you have any for sale with prices and quantities available. richard

I have been asked, "Who made these lines?" They were made for me in England by a company in the Cortland Group. They are not "branded" but each line has a unique serial number and I guarantee them against manufacturing defects. rwarda@cix.co.uk

I think OP-JB has it about right when he (she?) recommends keeping the fly line away from the trout you are stalking. My preference is to make as little disturbance as possible. If the trout is less than a dozen yards away a DT and WF line of the same AFTM number will make the same disturbance on landing, all other things being equal. If the cast has to be longer then I would recommend that the WF be used in preference to DT. It easier to control when aerialising. You don't need so much line out of the tip ring to get out as you would with the DT for the same distance cast. More pressing still, if fishing with a dry fly, the false casting extends the line out less far so is less likely to cause aerial flash within the fishes sight. I know that the mahogany coloured line reduces the extent of aerial flash very markedly when compared with light colours like olive, moss green, ivory, white and so on. Hence my decision to have some made. I had them made for my own use on very clear limestone spring fed rivers where the fish are extremely wary. They have proved very successful for me. So much so that they have given me the confidence to offer them to other anglers who want to be stealthy in approaching their quarry. I know wild lough trout are also very wary especially if they have ventured into shallows or near the banks. One of the first anglers to buy one of these lines wanted it for lochs on the Shetlands where I am sure he has similarly cautious trout (and sea trout?) to contend with. Drop me a message if you would like one (or several) of "my" mahogany WF5F lines.

Thank you. :cool: richard (note the polarized glasses)

Really? Under what circumstances? The forward end of the tapered profile is the same in both cases. If a very long cast is needed and a double taper line is used it is a devil of a job getting it out of the tip ring and aerialising it and shooting the backing. Possible, but only with a lot of room. The forward tapered line needs less line out of the tip ring for the long casts, takes less effort and allows a more controlled and gentle approach than is possible at the same distance with the equivalent double tapered line. At closer quarters there is no difference between the landings of DT or WF lines of the same AFTM number. DT lines are best cut in half with the unused half stored away for when the first half is worn out. I used to do this when times were hard but now there is no need to compromise so I had the lines made in standard WF profile. How many do you want? richard [ 30 June 2002, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: richardw ]

Some of you may already know that I was having some dark, mahogany brown floating fly lines made for stalking very easily scared fish in clear water (Derbyshire Wye day ticket water). Well I have tried them out quite extensively now and am happy to offer them for sale at £25 including post and packing in UK. Please enquire for overseas rates. They are WF5F and come in a simple bag to keep cost and waste down. Each line is individually numbered and guaranteed.

I'm trying to track down an on-line edition of the above book. Come on Chris, pay up and buy a copy. You have the link already to the fly fisher's library. It's a great edition and lovely to read especially if you read the facsimile pages with all the margin notes from down the centuries, starting with Elizabethan handwriting through to the nineteenth century. richard

I'm trying to track down an on-line edition of the above book. Come on Chris, pay up and buy a copy. You have the link already to the fly fisher's library. It's a great edition and lovely to read especially if you read the facsimile pages with all the margin notes from down the centuries, starting with Elizabethan handwriting through to the nineteenth century. richard