tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56671967413223028022011-12-11T16:33:44.824-08:00(Flyfishing in the Reel World)Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-38451615001688331332011-09-30T14:47:00.000-07:002011-09-30T14:47:00.093-07:00

I'm planning on doing a series of rod reviews based on my experiences with rods that I currently own or have really enjoyed using in the past. I'm going to keep the reviews general in scope and hopefully provide enough information to help someone in the market for a new or used rod a leg up on their research. Of course it stands to reason that if I've kept a rod in the arsenal, there is a good

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-9133806228307543272011-01-29T17:28:00.000-08:002011-01-29T17:28:38.809-08:00

Well I'm a month and a bit back from Hawaii now, and before I put away the saltwater tying materials I thought I would share the "killer fly" I used in Kona--the Leggy Blond. I don't suppose it should be called a killer fly as almost all the big bruisers I hooked managed to shake off, break off or open the hooks I used. Still, it was the fly and sometimes the only fly that worked all over the

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-16897487058877330702010-12-31T17:43:00.000-08:002011-01-28T17:22:40.800-08:00

Local Refreshment When I first returned to the Big Island back in 2004 (after a 30 year absence), I had planned to do what most tourists do--lie on the beach, do a little body surfing and generally relax. Fishing was an afterthought--so much so that I didn't pack any gear or flies, hoping instead to purchase what I needed once there. Unfortunately any hopes of finding gear or flies were dashed

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-47828435561846815872010-12-31T17:41:00.000-08:002011-01-28T17:23:39.424-08:00

Link to Part 1/2 My final day trip was to the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park. This park is situated to the north of the modern Honokohau harbour, and encompasses an ancient Hawai'ian harbour and at least three ancient fish ponds. It has an interpretive site and a recreation of a traditional Hawai'ian boat storage hut, but for the most part it is still fairly natural with the exception

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-77108848912046870482010-09-20T10:23:00.000-07:002010-09-20T13:00:45.812-07:00

I'll be the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of many of the fly lines made or distributed by Cortland. However, there are a few gems in their line-up including the old school 444 (Peach), the 444sl Camo Clear, and the more recently added 444 Sylk. The Sylk line initially received a lot of press as a synthetic silk line substitute. It's slightly stiff makeup, thin diameter and subtly

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-64009570140054520242010-04-12T20:37:00.000-07:002010-04-15T10:44:28.019-07:00

Well. It's been a long winter season. Throughout the period since my last post I have been concentrating the majority of my fishing opportunities on the local coastal cutthroat in the streams in and around the lower mainland of BC. Unfortunately trips have been limited as one weather system after another has blown in off the Pacific and blown out the local waters. I could have switched over to

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-54701433509993850292009-10-28T20:04:00.000-07:002009-10-28T20:29:59.131-07:00

According to at least one internet source, Tenkara translates to "From Heaven". It's a nice sentiment and captures well the elegant simplicity of this style of fishing. With only rod, line, and leader it pares away the need for reels, spools and spare lines. Add a box of flies, a spool of tippet and perhaps a little floatant and you are in business. In this piece (broken into three parts), I'm

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-73465862229013910572009-09-30T13:58:00.001-07:002009-11-13T10:57:37.498-08:00

The 2009 Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships were held this past week (September 21st through the 26th) in perhaps one of the most beautiful places on this continent--Fernie BC. Although the event was originally scheduled to be held in William's Lake this year, last minute difficulties necessitated the switch to Fernie and I for one couldn't have been happier because of the chance to fish

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-26254197431505693062009-07-30T00:27:00.000-07:002009-08-07T11:43:20.258-07:00

No this isn't some sort of inscrutable Zen Koan--although it could be. A fly rod is not a fly rod when it's a Japanese rod called a Tenkara.Modelled after long bamboo fishing poles used over the centuries in Japan, the modern Tenkara rod combines graphite materials in a telescoping rod format. There is no reel or guides, only a tapered line running from the rod tip to the tippet material. In many

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-23001749073665340152009-07-10T11:27:00.000-07:002009-10-08T22:13:22.705-07:00

A few czech nymphs I've been working on lately. I'm liking this variation--much slimmer than I'm used to tying. The relative slimness should aid in getting these flies down in our turbulent western streams. Pink and Crawdad Cream, Burnt orange, and Black Amber and Burnt Orange (Golden Stonefly) Amber and Burnt Orange - Dorsal View These flies are all tyed in pretty much the same way.

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-16524504568659296392009-07-07T09:29:00.001-07:002009-10-08T22:14:12.105-07:00

For many years I wasn't a big fan of deceivers--I used to think of them simply as overwrought hair wing streamers. However, I've come to realize that the profile is hard to beat when imitating various baitfish and the pattern's simplicity belies some of it's key design features--including the bucktail collar that keeps the tail from fouling around the hook. I first used these for chasing Trevally

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-6633582234207655572009-03-16T10:31:00.001-07:002009-03-18T13:10:49.727-07:00

Tired of losing chunks of valuable tinsels and flosses every time you put them away? Annoyed when that expensive and perfectly spooled wire slips from your grasp and unravels? Well, have I got the solution for you... Child's hair elastics.Okay. So it doesn't sound earth shattering, but this tip can actually save you time and money, as well as protect delicate silks and flosses.Very inexpensive,

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-21012922664347191942009-03-10T09:41:00.000-07:002009-03-10T10:10:51.569-07:00

This is a little trick I came up with some time ago--a combination dubbing brush and bodkin needle. It slims down the tool kit just a little and makes a useful addition to your arsenal.Materials:1/4"-3/8" DowelingDrill fitted with a fine gauge drill bit3/8"-1/2" strip of small loop Velcro with glue backingHeavy gauge needleEpoxyFly tying threadSuper glue (optional)Instuctions:Cut the doweling to

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-80293897070107285712009-03-08T17:43:00.000-07:002009-03-10T13:17:59.255-07:00

Well, as they say... the best laid plans. In spite of my best intentions I was not able to post a review of the show on the weekend, but here's a quick recap and a few pictures from the Sportsman's show.The show venue was the Tradex facility immediately adjacent to the Abbotsford Airport. While small compared to shows in other parts of North America, it still attracted 162 exhibitors ranging from

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-84123925275116263212009-03-05T20:27:00.001-08:002009-08-12T20:24:29.040-07:00

No article today, just a reminder to all local readers that this weekend, March 6th to 8th, is the Fraser Valley Boat & Sportmen's Show. This is our one big "local" event of the year, and this time I will be helping out at the Amundson Products booth (#'s 374-376) right between Riverside Fly and Tackle and Galilee Fly and Tackle in Angler's Alley.I will be there from 1pm-8pm on the Saturday and

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-42877590710028760182009-03-05T09:42:00.000-08:002009-03-05T13:10:09.054-08:00

There are plenty of knot sites on the web these days, and Killroy's, Orvis & Knots by Grog are some of the good ones I've visited recently. While these sites contain most of the common knots, the one illustrated below is one that I have yet to come across. I do not claim any creative rights to this knot, but it's not widely known about. Since stumbling across it some time ago I've use it with

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-13075486499551287182009-03-03T14:18:00.000-08:002009-10-08T22:15:24.906-07:00

On Monday (2009/03/01), I posted part one of this article introducing shoreside fly fishing in Hawaii and looking at the geography and gamefish of the Kona Coast. In the second and final installment I look at the gear, flies and make some recommendations about what to pack if you go. This is a repost of an article that originally appeared at FlyBC.ca. Gear As one can imagine the possibility of

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-83260023701849318862009-03-02T21:01:00.000-08:002009-10-08T22:16:32.466-07:00

Aloha! I recently finished a trip to the big Island of Hawaii--my third and longest trip to the in the last six years. While all of them have theoretically been family vacations, there has always been enough time set aside for a little fly fishing. On this trip I pushed it about as far as I was able, and between dangerous surf conditions and howling gales I was able to make 14 outings ranging

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-27569204505243148362009-02-26T22:57:00.001-08:002009-07-07T13:51:41.707-07:00

Putting a bead on a soft hackle fly (or North country spider if you prefer) is often frowned upon by purists, but it's a useful addition if you fish some of the more turbulent pocket water stretches of many waters--including my own.Once you make the decision to add a bead, the question becomes: where do you position it? While most nymph styles position the bead immediately behind the eye, on the

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-30851530982298959672009-02-18T19:04:00.000-08:002009-10-08T22:19:15.032-07:00

A cool but sunny winter day. Your breath turning into puffs of steam as you crawl over that big boulder, rod clutched in your teeth so you can get a grip on the slippery rock. You slide down beside the rock and you find them--milling about in a pool you could almost reach across. You slip the line into the water--no need to cast and potentially scatter them, just let the current carry your

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-45188287812507280172009-02-10T13:34:00.000-08:002009-03-18T13:13:35.483-07:00

I've just returned from a trip to the Big Island of Hawai'i--my third in six years. While all of the trips have ostensibly been family vacations, my long suffering wife has allowed me to get a good amount of fishing in on each. I've written about the trip in an article for the web site I help moderate, and I'll be cross-posting it here in the next few days, but here and now I wanted to talk about

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5667196741322302802.post-56808722684858006962009-02-05T21:26:00.000-08:002009-02-06T09:24:24.180-08:00

Welcome to what will become a site dedicated to the idyllic (and idler's) pastime of fly fishing and fly tying. I hope to be able to share with you a few tips, a few stories, the odd review and miscellany of observations about the world around us.I should add that the posts here will be less frequent than those of other active bloggers. I will try to update things here weekly at best, monthly at

Aaron Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763420886681665412noreply@blogger.com0