​You've seen them advertised : a kit containing everything you need to get started in fly tying including the basic tools & enough hooks & materials to tie up a few of the basic patterns. Maybe that's how you got started - or what you're using now. These kits are a great way to get started in fly tying & I always recommend a good quality kit for those looking to start tying their own. But what do you do after you've used those materials that came with the kit? 


If you're like most of us, you begin to collect materials a little at a time based on the patterns you want to tie. This takes time & if you should find a pattern that calls for something you don't have, then you'll be making another trip to the fly shop soon.

But some of us don't have a fully stocked fly shop just up the road. Those folks usually order their supplies through the mail. These days, with the cost of shipping, it isn't feasible to place an order for only a small pack of fur. You need to order more stuff to justify the shipping costs & to pay less in shipping. So what to do? At best you might be guessing what you'll need in the future & that might end up with you collecting a bunch of material you'll never use. That's wasted money.

So, if you're a beginning fly tier & wondering what you might need in way of supplies (now that you've exhausted your beginner's kit), here's a list of some basic materials that every fly tier should have on hand:

Hooks:
    -Wet / nymph: #12 - #16
    -Dry: #14 & #16
    -Streamer: #8 & #6
Materials:
    -soft hackle feathers in black, brown, & partridge.
    -black marabou feathers
    -animal hair: elk, buck tail, & white calf body hair.
    -body material: dubbing in both natural & colors of green, grey & brown
                          -peacock herl
                          -chenille in black, green, & brown
    -gold & silver tinsel, both round & flat.
    -pheasant tail feathers (these are used in many ways)
    -dry fly hackle: in grizzly & brown colors, sizes #14 & 16.

This list is intended only to give you a start in building a fly tying supply. I'm sure I've forgotten something, but you can tie a lot of different types of flies with the stuff listed above. Of course, if you know you're going to need something for a specific pattern remember that it's cheaper to buy this stuff in bulk when you can. Most of the materials listed above should last you quite a while, too as a little goes a long way when tying most flies. 

This list also assumes that you've got all the basic tools you need to tie flies like a vise, bobbin, scissors, thread, etc. Most kits come with all these tools anyway. The only upgrade you might want to make to your tools would be to get a new vise, as some kits don't include the best of vises. Now you don't need a fancy rotary vise with all the attachments. Those are nice, but you don't need them. In fact, I've been using my same old, simply designed Thompson vise for decades. It's basic, well built, economical, & serves me just fine.

​I hope this list & info helps those of you who spend time looking over catalogs or websites scratching your head wondering how to start building a fly tying collection of materials. Just bear in mind that no matter how much stuff you amass thorough the years, you'll still find yourself needing a type of feather, fur, or hook that you don't have!!! Consider it just an occupational hazard to fly tying with so many different fly patterns in the world.

I've just completed two more leather fishing bags for your consideration. Each one is made by hand from start to finish & from a different premium leather hide. Both are among the finest fishing bags you'll ever see available anywhere.

The first new bag is this black one which has been crafted from a very durable, soft cowhide. The leather this bag is made from was tanned in such a way as to preserve the 'range marks'. For those of you who like your leather items to have that weathered, or aged, look you'll love this bag. This is real leather.

​Probably the best way I could describe this leather to you, would be to say that it's the same type of leather you might see made into motorcycle bags, or chaps. While it's soft & supple, it is a medium-heavy leather that will stand up to a lot of use & abuse. The grain & range marks in the leather help give this bag a very distinguished look.

The other newly-listed leather fishing bag, is this gorgeous butter-colored bag. ​This is the most luxurious leather fishing bag you will ever own, hands down. This bag is made from the softest, butter-smooth hide of leather I've ever had the pleasure of working with. So soft & supple, this bag is a pleasure to the eyes & the hands. If you want a relaxed, gentle leather bag then this is the one for you.

​The butter-colored leather cow hide is accented here by the black thread used to stitch the bag. The edges of all the seams have been dyed black, then rubbed, waxed with bee's wax, then buffed for a very nice finish & color that adds so much to the distinguished look of this bag. This is truly a very fine fishing bag indeed!

This is a very distinguished, yet subtle, looking bag that is so soft & relaxed, you'll love having by your side each time you hit the stream. It looks & feels like soft butter!!

Both of these bags are ​made from the same size & design. Some of the features of this bag include:

​-Accessory pocket on the bag face, large enough for tippet spools, leaders, small tools, etc. 
-A unique flap closure that employs a D-ring & swivel hook for easy access inside the bag while insuring that the flap will never come open when you don't want it to. This also allows for expansion inside the bag when you pack it full.
-Adjustable shoulder strap that is removable from the bag body. Secured with swivel hooks & D-rings on both sides, you can take this bag off without ever lifting it over your head - a great feature for when you need to take it off quickly or for those with limited mobility in the arms.
-Small D-ring attached to the shoulder strap to hang your landing net, or other items you want close at hand outside the bag.
-The edges of the bag have been hand dyed, waxed, & polished for a nice finish.

These bags, plus another, along with a fly book & round leather reel case can all be seen in more detail with more info over on the Hand Stitched Leather Accessories page of this site. Each item is completely made by hand from start to finish & each one is a truly unique piece of fishing equipment. If you have any questions about any one of these items, please feel free to contact me.

I'm truly honored to be able to offer you these heirloom quality leather fishing accessories.

When you look at a very nice fly rod, no matter if it's a bamboo, fiberglass, or graphite rod, it becomes obvious the time & attention to detail that went into making the rod. The closer you look at it, the more you see. The tip wraps on a fine bamboo fly rod are just another example of this.

A little back story here: most bamboo rods today come with two tips because of tradition. Back over 100 years ago when rods were made from wood or a weaker bamboo (called "Calcutta" cane) the delicate tips would not hold up to the pressures of fighting fish very well. The tips were apt to break & they often did. The answer for this was to make a rod with multiple tip sections. It wouldn't be uncommon to buy a new rod back then & have it come with two, three, or more tip sections. Eventually, when we started using "Tonkin" bamboo, we kept on making rods with two tip sections.

Even today, there's good reason for the two tip sections: it will extend the life of your rod. The tip is where a lot of pressure goes when casting & fighting fish. If you alternate between the two tips every time you go fishing, you can extend the life of the tip section(s) quite a bit.

One of the little details that goes into a fine fly rod is to wrap the tip tops in such a way that you can easily tell the two sections apart, before you even pull them from the rod bag. 

​There are different ways of doing this, but how I do it is to give one wrap a delicate tipping wrap & leave the other without a tipping wrap, as shown in the photo below:

For rods that, for whatever reason, don't have any tipping wraps on the ends of the guide wraps, I will make one tip wrap longer than the other, just like these two:

These tip top wraps are just one example of some of the very distinct attention to detail that goes into to making a fine fly rod. In any well made rod, the more you look & examine it, the more you see of all the thought & work that goes into making the best possible rod. Aspects like these will hardly ever be found on mass-produced production rods.

To all of you who celebrate the Holiday, I want to wish you a happy & blessed Easter!!

It's that time of year again, when trout fishing seasons are getting started all across the country. To that end, now is the time to go over all of your equipment. The last thing you want is to pull your tackle out on the morning of opening day to find something needs serviced.

Cleaning your rod is one of the easy things you can do that will help prevent some of the basic problems & it gives you an opportunity to give your fly rod a very close inspection. You don;t want any surprises along the stream on your first trip. 

This article also appears on the Tackle Tips page of this site, but I wanted to bring it to your attention, so I'm re-posting it here, as NOW is the time to clean your fly rod. Here's a good way to do it:

​No matter if you have a graphite, fiberglass, or a bamboo fly rod after use they get dirty. Along with the dirt & grime that rods acquire from use, they sometimes get watermarks on the shaft from being in contact with a wet fly line. For these problems that arise from normal use (we're not talking about damage here), it's a good idea to gently clean the shafts of the rod with some liquid window cleaner (like windex, etc) & a soft, clean towel. Spray the window cleaner onto the towel & wipe down the rod shafts gently. Then follow that by wiping the shafts dry with another soft, clean, & dry towel. Make sure to get the area beneath the line guides & the guides themselves.

Next, if you have a bamboo rod with varnish, or a fiberglass or graphite rod with a gloss, shiny finish, go over the rod with a good furniture polish - the same kind you use around the house (Old English, Pledge, etc). Again, spray the wax on a clean, soft towel, & wipe off the wax with another dry towel. Make sure that you get the line guides as well but make sure you get all the excess wax off the line guides. If you don't, it will build up on the guides & slow your fly line down. 

DO NOT WAX THE FERRULES!!! This is especially true for the metal ferrules of a bamboo rod. Never ever wax the ferrules. If you need to clean the metal ferrules of a bamboo or older fiberglass rod, put some rubbing alcohol onto a clean, soft towel & wipe the ferrules with the alcohol. Then wipe them again with a clean, dry towel. Make sure the towels are clean & do not have anything on them that will scratch the ferrules. To clean the inside of a metal female ferrule, dip a cotton swab into some rubbing alcohol & swirl it around inside the ferrule. Keep doing this with a fresh cotton swab each time until they no longer have dirt on them. Then dry the inside of the female ferrule with a dry cotton swab before assembling the rod.

If you have a rod with a matte finish, just clean the rod with the liquid glass cleaner, or warm water only. Don't wax the shafts of the rod, but you can wax the line guides & the guide wraps if you wish.

Finally, after you've cleaned & polished the rod, I like to go over it one more time with a "dry sweeping cloth" (like "swifter") that are available at most retail stores. This really polishes the rod up & gives it a nice appearance. It also removes fingerprints & other smudges.

Regular cleaning helps to protect the finish of the rod & to protect the guide wraps & labels or inscriptions on the rod shafts. If you take the time to clean your fly rod & keep it looking good, you'll be going a long way to getting more years of use from it.

As promised, I've been adding more items to the list of available hand stitched leather accessories. I think you're going to like these a lot!

​One of the newly listed items is this fantastic leather fishing bag:

​Made from a premium brown leather hide, this bag will stand up to a lifetime of heavy fishing. While the leather has some stiffness to it, the bag is not heavy in over all weight at all, so it will be comfortable to wear all day along the stream. Plus, it's the perfect size to carry everything you'll need for a day's fishing, but not so big as to get in the way while playing & landing a nice fish.

​Some of the features of this bag include:
-Accessory pocket on the bag face, large enough for tippet spools, leaders, small tools, etc. 
-A unique flap closure that employs a D-ring & swivel hook for easy access inside the bag while insuring that the flap will never come open when you don't want it to. This also allows for expansion inside the bag when you pack it full.
-Adjustable shoulder strap that is removable from the bag body. Secured with swivel hooks & D-rings on both sides, you can take this bag off without ever lifting it over your head - a great feature for when you need to take it off quickly or for those with limited mobility in the arms.
-Small D-ring attached to the shoulder strap to hang your landing net, or other items you want close at hand outside the bag.
-The edges of the bag have been hand dyed, waxed, & polished for a nice finish.

This bag measures 9 1/2" wide x 9" tall x 3" thick.

​Also just listed to the available accessories is this very unique round fly reel case:

This case ​is made of a soft black leather that is a luxury to the touch. It has a snap closure & a hinge on the back, so you'll never loose the top or bottom of the case.

​This case is lined on the inside of both top & bottom with a very soft "deer tan" leather, which is a cowhide that was tanned to be as soft as deer skin. It makes for a very soft lining against your reel. The lining has been double stitched to ensure it stays in place.

A unique feature of this case is the soft leather lip on the base. It extended up inside the lid of the case & creates an almost - vacuum seal to the case. This helps to prevent your reel from falling out of the case when the snap closure is not secured.

​This case will house any standard, or wide spool, fly reel measuring up to 3 1/2" in width.

For more information & photos of these items, please visit the Hand Stitched Leather Accessories page of this site. If you have questions about anything you see there, please feel free to contact me anytime. Also, please check back here often & soon, as I will be adding even more of these fine angling accessories very soon!!

It has been a very busy & productive winter here in the rod shop. After a lot of hard work, late nights, & many pots of coffee I'm very happy to announce that I will now be offering a special category of hand stitched leather fishing accessories!!

These hand stitched leather accessories will be a notch above everything else you can currently get on the market today. Each item will be made by hand, one stitch at a time. The reason for this is because I wanted to make some things in such a way that cannot be done with a sewing machine. Plus, I wanted to 'stretch my legs' as a leather worker & working by hand allows me to pursue some very unique & classic designs of bags, cases, & wallets.

The classic & traditional saddle stitch is prominent in many of these items. This stitch is traditional to leather working because of it's distinct appearance & because of it's strength.....the saddle stitch is one of the strongest stitches that can be made.

The plan for these accessories is to make them the finest angling accessories that you can get. I've spent a lot of time studying vintage & modern designs of accessories for fly fishers & taken a broad look around the market to see what is out there today in terms of quality & functionality. After a lot of research, I believe these will be the highest quality accessories offered anywhere!! These will be items you'll be able to pass on to future generations someday.

These hand stitched leather accessories will be available in small quantities & on a limited basis. Unlike my other accessories, where I try to keep a supply of each in stock, these leather items will be made only in small batches - & sometimes only one will be available, or ever made of a particular design. 

To showcase these leather accessories I added a new page to this website just for them. On that page you'll be able to see the items that are currently available as well. You can visit that page by click HERE. 

To that end I'm pleased to offer you a new accessory: a leather fly book.

​A truly deluxe way to carry all your wets, nymphs, & streamers this hand made leather fly book is large enough to hold them all. This book is made from a heavy cowhide that is tough, rugged, & gorgeous. The book is lined on the inside with a velvet soft suede leather. The suede is made in such a way that water will bead up on it &, if allowed to soak in, will quickly dry.

When closed this book measures approximately 7" x 5 1/4".
When open it measures 14" x 7".

​This book contains 8 pages of a soft felt material, the same pages in my leather fly wallets. I recommend barbless hooks, as I do for my fly wallets. Each page measures 5" x 6", giving you ample room to store a huge selection of flies.

​This book also has a snap button closure. The sides of the book have been burnished, dyed, waxed, & buffed for a beautiful finish.

For more information about this fly book, please visit the Hand Stitched Leather page of this website. Currently, there is ONE available.

Folks, I can't tell you just how proud I am of these accessories & how pleased I am to be able to offer them to you. I honestly believe that you'll not be able to find better quality leather angling accessories than these. It's my sincere hope that you will find them to your pleasure. If you have any questions about these leather accessories, please do not hesitate to contact me.

This is just the beginning. In the coming days & weeks look for even more of these special items to be offered including unique reel cases, leather rod tubes, & very special leather fishing bags!! I can't wait to share them all with you now & for many years to come!!