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The October edition of "On the Fly South"

10/27/2020

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This month I was honored to have been asked to do an interview for "On the Fly South" online magazine. This was a fun interview, Usually people want to talk about the vise or how Norm and I started to work together. That is fine as I always like to talk about Norvise. This interview was a little different as you will see. To check out "Getting  a Grip on the Fly Tying Business" Click the image below. 
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I am always humbled when I am asked to do these types of things. Never in a million years did I think I would be in this position. Thank you for reading, thank you for your support, and thank you for tying on a Norvise! Till Next time...

                                                                                                                                 Tight Lines - Tim 
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Our weekend in Sylva North Carolina

10/22/2020

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By Braden Miller

Thursday, after 8 days in Emerald Isle Albie fishing, spending time on the beach with my family, wearing board shorts and flip flops we made the four hour drive home to meet Tim at my house. Mom and I were home for a hour and a half, just enough time to unpack the trucks, switch some clothes into another bag and we got back in the truck to head to Sylva, NC for the Tuckaseegee Fly Shop’s Norvise Demo Day at their Sylva location. Our 6 hour drive ended up being close to 8 hours due to accidents and all lanes closed for a bit. Friday morning we woke up to temps in the 40’s so we traded our board shorts and flip flops for jeans, sweatshirts and shoes! Mom, Tim and I got some breakfast before we headed to the shop to set up our vises for Demo Day on Saturday before we heading to the river with Shannon “Big Mess” Messer (I loved how he answered the phone Tuck Fly Shop, Big Mess speaking can I help you?). We all got our waders on (even Mom) and headed out to do some Euro Nymphing, which I had not done before. 

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Even Mom got waidered up and hit the river with us.
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Braden working the first run.
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Rule #1...Don't guide the guide.
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It was not long before Tim was into the first wild "Bow.
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Braden and Tim working a run. (Shannon came behind BOTH of us and caught fish here...people, Big Mess is GOOD)!
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Awesome fish
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The TFO Drift Rod was perfect for this type of fishing.
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2 happy fisherman.
​Tim and I both were using the Temple Fork Outfitters Drift Rod. After a quick Euro Nymphing lesson and some tips from our amazing guide, Big Mess, Tim quickly caught his first wild rainbow of the day and I wasn’t far behind him. After fighting Albies in the Atlantic Ocean for a week, I set the hook rather strongly and launched two poor little rainbows right out of the water. Luckily for both the fish and myself they stayed on the hook and landed back in the water. We fished several sections of the river and probably caught 25 or so wild rainbows and Tim landed one wild brown.
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Love these wild Rainbows
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There is a picture an artist can't paint!
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Moving to the next run while Big Mess is dropping some wisdom!
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This little guy needs to visit Jenny Craig!
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Braden with one of the better ones of the day!
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This was truly a great time!
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The smile says it all!
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This may be my favorite picture of the whole weekend.
We caught a bunch of beautiful small rainbows, a handful of decent sized rainbows and I caught a rather chunky fellow. Shannon recommended we have dinner at really good BBQ restaurant called Haystack Smokehouse. Man was that some good food; from the Brunswick Stew, to the pulled pork, brisket, andouille sausage and especially the Banana Pudding. I can personally say we will never go to Sylva and not eat at the Haystack Smokehouse (man now, I wish I could eat dinner there tonight). It was an early night for the three of us so we could be ready for Demo Day Saturday.
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Good stuff here
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Tim was on this like skin on day old pudding!
Brr, Saturday morning was even colder than Friday! This was the first morning this year I have seen frost on our truck. We arrived at the shop around 7:45 to make sure we were ready when the store opened and so Tim could record his episode for the shop’s *podcast called, Tuck Cast, With A Splash of Bourbon, with Shannon “Big Mess” Messer, Bobby the Bearded Wonder and Coach Dale Diesel Collins. Tim and the guys talked about the story/history of Norvise and what makes it so unique. They dove into Tim's relationship with the late Norm Norlander and what it takes to produce the Norvise Fly Tying System. Saturday was Big Mess’s 50th birthday and Tim’s 49th birthday.

Once the shop opened there was a steady flow of customers throughout the day. We meet some current Norvise owners that came to visit for Demo Day. Some upgraded their vise or added a new Auto Bobbin or two to their collection. There were some who came to the shop to check out exactly what the Norvise was capable of and some came with intentions of joining the many other Norvise tiers. Tim gave his normal show demo for a group of people, he challenged several to take his bet could he tie a wooly bugger in under 60 seconds? If you have never seen him in person at a show, Tim bets someone that if he can tie a wooly bugger in under 60 seconds then they have to purchase a full set up and if he fails, he will give them a full set up. I have been going to shows with Tim for two and a half years now and I have never seen him lose… not too many people ever take the bet. I spent my day tying game changers and a baitfish or two. Every time I finished tying a new game changer, someone would buy it from me. I know selling flies is what a tier strives for, but for those of you who know me, whenever I tie a new fly, especially a game changer, I form this sort of attachment to each one of them. I am very thankful to those who loved the flies I tied Saturday so much, they wanted to fish with them. I look forward to seeing what they catch.
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Bobby "the bearded wonder" checking out the crowd.
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One of the flies Braden spun up this weekend.
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A couple of Gamechangers Braden tied.
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DAMN!
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A small crown watching Tim spin the Norvise.
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Coach Dale "Diesel" Collins, Jarrod and a customer looking on.
Mom, Tim and I all had a wonderful day at Tuckaseegee Fly Shop for their Norvise Demo Day. We look forward to returning to Sylva soon to visit the shop again, see all they guys and Norvise fans, and of course to do some more fishing in the trout capital of North Carolina. Thank you to everyone who came out to the Norvise Demo Day to see Mr. Tim and I, and for checking out what makes the Norvise the most innovative fly tying system on the market today. If you are ever in Sylva or Bryson City, North Carolina you have to remember to stop in one of Tuckaseegee Fly Shop and say hello. Till next time...

                                                                                                                         Tight lines - Tim 

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Installment #2 of the beginner fly tying video series

10/12/2020

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Here is installment #2 if the beginner fly tying series we are doing for The Riversage Journal. In this video we talk about some of the knots we use to tie on and finish the flu as well as tying a staple Trout Fly that should be in every Trout fishers fly box. Click the logo below to see the video. 
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We hope you are enjoying watching this series as much as we are enjoying bringing it to you. while you are there check out the Riversage Journal, there is a ton of good information there for the beginner and advanced outdoors men alike. Till next time...

​                                                                                                                                              Tight Lines - Tim 
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Springtime Smalljaws

4/29/2020

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Tyler and I had the pleasure of fishing with central Pennsylvania's premier Smallmouth guides, Brian Shumaker. Brian is the owner of Susquehanna River Guides and has spent the past 30 years floating the rivers in and around west central PA including the fabled Susquehanna and Juniata rivers. Brian has become a good friend over the years so we jumped at the chance to spend a day on the water with him. 

We did the 2 hour ride from our place to the meeting spot in record time where we then followed Brian with his Hyde drift boat in tow to the um, well, we will say...boat ramp. We were on a smaller piece of water Brain can only float in his hard hull during the Spring. later in the year there is simply not enough water to get down this particular river. Getting the boat in the water was interesting, but we got it down the bank and we were soon on our way.   
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Smallmouth are my favorite fish, they are beautiful, hard fighting and are tailor made for fly fishing. We spent the day pounding the banks and back eddies with streamers and slowly stripping them back. "Stripping them back" is really a bit of a misnomer, really we were just letting the flies hang and swing a bit and just keeping the line tight as the boat drifted down river. This is a cool technique as once you "get" it you can literally hold the fly in one spot for an extended amount of time to entice a big ole' bronze back to come up from the deeper water and smash it. 

We started off a little slow, typical with spring time smallmouth fishing as the water was still a bit on the cool side at 52 degrees. When the sun got up and the water warmed so did the fishing. As soon as he stepped up on to the front casting position Brian was tight to a solid smallmouth. Literally it was on his first or 2nd cast!   
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nThis was not a guided trip, it was what we call a "row and go" meaning three guys are in the boat, 2 guys fishing and 1 rowing the boat. We would switch positions so every got to fish and every one would row. If rowing a drift boat is not something you do every day you will soon appreciate the skill of an accomplished oarsman. It is not as easy as a good rower makes it look...just ask Tyler. I really think you should spend some time on the oars if you can, it will give you a better appreciation of how everyone needs to work together for the boat to be successful. Tyler was picking it up toward the end, I am very excited for our Smith Fly raft to be completed so we can start floating some of our local (and not so local) rivers this summer. 

On his second stint on the bow Tyler stuck a good fish followed by an even better smallie. 
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Tyler and I  were fishing some of TFO's new gear, mainly the Axiom 2 X rods and the new BVK sealed drag reels. As mentioned smallmouth are my favorite fish to fish for, coincidentally we spend a lot of time chasing them each year. For years my go to set up has always been a 7 weight. We throw some pretty big flies when chasing smallies; Game changers, O'Neill's Controlled Chaos, O'Neill's Hovercraft, weighted crayfish patterns and the like. For me a 6 weight just doesn't have the muscle needed to punch these bigger, wind resistant flies through the air. It is not uncommon for us to be on the water all day and honestly an 8 weight was just too heavy to cast for 10 hours straight, that is why I prefer a 7 weight. Until now. 

During one of my turns in the back of the boat I looked down in the rod holder and low and behold there was Tyler's Brand new A2X 8 weight. Will, I am not one to let a new rod to go to waste so I figured I would break it in for him. As mentioned earlier I am a huge fan of a 7 weight. That being said, if you get a little more than I light breeze the shortcoming of the 7 weight quickly comes to light, especially if you are trying to punch 60' casts with big flies. This was the first time I really got to spend with the A2X 8 weight. The first thing you notice is the overall weight of the rod. If you didn't know any better you would swear it you were holding a 6 weight. Load it up to cast and it is quite apparent what you are holding. Paired with an aggressive, weight forward shooting head this stick is an absolute rocket. It is light in the hand, you can cast it all day and it has plenty of punch to drive a big, articulated fly through the air with ease. It is a bit early to say it is my new favorite, but it will be a staple in my quiver for sure. 
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Several hours later and sever rotations on the oars we were at the take out. We had had a fantastic day with several Smallmouth landed along with a bonus Walleye, my first ever. 
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If you are looking for a fantastic central Pennsylvania Smallmouth experience Give my buddy Brian a call or check out his Facebook HERE. You will be glad you did. Till next time...

                                                                                                                                                            Tight lines, Tim  
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I just bought a Norvise...now what?

3/28/2020

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By Norvise ambassador Brian Davenport 

​Congratulations on your new purchase. Hopefully you also bought a Norvise Automatic Bobbin as well.  If you haven’t- you should go do that right now!  The two go together like peanut butter and jelly.  The only way to get the full potential of the Norvise system is to have both the Norvise and the Norvise Automatic Bobbin

There is a bit of a learning curve with the Norvise, but there are some things you can do to shorten the curve tremendously! 
 
First things first, start by watching the video that came with your Norvise to see how the system works.  If your brand new to fly tying this will be a great help and you will learn a lot. If you’re a seasoned tier, this will show you how to use the system, and how it differs from your prior setup. 
(to see the video Brian is talking about click HERE)

After watching the video, I sat down behind my Norvise and got to work. 
 
Now a Norvise Automatic Bobbin is a special tool that you will learn to love!   In the video, Norm demonstrates how to wrap the thread around the leg of the bobbin, to provide adequate tension.
Here is a little trick to help with that.  Once you have the thread through the tube on the bobbin, attach it to the thread post across from your vise.  Do this by placing a few wraps of thread around the button.   At this point, your bobbin will be hanging from the button on the thread post.  Make sure the bobbin is oriented with the thread coming off the bobbin towards you. With your thumb, push the thread through the legs of the bobbin, and catch it with your finger on the back side. Bring it down, around the spool.  Do this twice and then the tension is set.  This helps so that you don’t accidentally pull the thread back out of the bobbin-- and once you’re done it is already secured to the post.    
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During the learning curve, this will be something you do quite a bit of!  Part of the learning curve is to make sure when you cut your thread, to use your hand to put tension on the bobbin hub, so that it doesn’t zip the thread back through.   It will happen-so just prepare for it!  After a few times of having to rethread your bobbin, you’ll get the muscle memory down to do it and then you will do it without even thinking about it.
 
One of the things I missed when watching the video, is which way you spin the vise.  It seems pretty straight forward, but I had a few issues with my flies until I watched the video a second time.  If you watch carefully, Norm spins the vise towards him, rather than away from him. When I really thought about how I used my old vise and wrapped the thread on the hook, it makes sense.  You need to turn the vice toward you so that it will wrap the thread away from you like on your old vise.  Small detail, but easy to miss. And can make your first few interactions on your new vise frustrating if you don’t get it right.

Learn to tie a half hitch.  The half hitch is your best friend when using the Norvise system. If you break your thread, it will save your fly from completely unraveling. It will also help when you use the vise for other techniques such as dubbing.
 
Also, when you go to move the bobbin off the thread post, be sure to keep enough tension on the thread, so that your material doesn’t unravel.
 
One final thing— materials go on the hook very easy with the Norvise—sometimes too easy! So it is very easy to crowd the hook eye.   If you start your thread in the spot where you want your materials to end 
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Brian gives some sound advise in this article about the vise and the bobbin. Hopefully this will shorten the learning curve with your new Norvise. Till next time...


                                                                                                                                                                Tight Lines, 

​                                                                                                                                                                    Tim 
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Beats Me

12/23/2019

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In this video Norvise ambassador Brittany Davenport of Hackles and Hurl shows us a cool hair wing Steelhead pattern. I really like this video for many reasons. First Britt does a fantastic job of explaining what she is doing during each step. This is something I believe is lost in a lot of today's videos. It seems, instead of teaching, many of today's video posters have adopted a "look at me" mentality and they forget the instructional part of tying videos. There are also several instances here where the Norvise and it's rotary function is used perfectly. Great video Brittany,  thank you for sharing it with us. 
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Straggle String Damsel by John Schultz

9/30/2019

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For this weeks post I have chosen a video by Norvise Ambassador John Schultz. As the weather cools my mind and thoughts change from Smallmouth and worm water species to Trout and ultimately Steelhead through the winter months. John and his buddy Dave Allison (also a Norvise ambassador) spend a lot of time chasing Trout in the still waters of their home area. Still water Trout fishing has always intrigued me. I have never done it, and I want to learn more about the tactics and tricks for catching Trout in still water. 

IN this video John shows us a very simple, yet effective Damsel Fly  pattern. I really like the way he blends the 2 body materials to get the taper or silhouette he is looking for, good stuff. Also, you just gotta love "box filler patterns". Flies that are effective that you can crank out in a hurry after a long day of fishing. 

We will be posting more videos in the coming weeks. If you have something you think you might like to see let me know, I will see if I can get one of our guys to shoot a video of a particular pattern or technique. 
That was a great video, Thanks for sharing it with us John. Till next time...

                                                                                                                                                    Tight lines - Tim 
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Smallmouth Pattern #4 the Feather Game Changer

9/5/2019

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 With the advent You Tube, Facebook, and Instagram fly tying has become, in my opinion, a big melting pot of ideas, twists and tweaks of different fly patterns. In our last post, I talked in depth about how the particular pattern we were tying, O'Neill's Controlled Chaos, was really a stripped down version of 2 other flies. I do believe it was different enough from the originals that I could call it my own, some may disagree with that statement and that is fine, what I am saying is in today's day and age it is challenging to come up with a truly new idea for a fly pattern. Think about some of the staple patterns invented years ago; The Clouser Minnow, Lefty's Deceiver, Brooks Blond, The Gurgler, Ray's Fly, The Adams, Pheasant Tail, Zebra Midge, The list goes on and  on and on. These patterns are originals and many, many flies have been designed using these as inspiration. I am not saying designing a new pattern can't be done, I am saying that 1) it is not as easy due to the great evolution of fly tying over the past 20 years and 2) many people come up with “original” patterns that are basically the same as flies tied years ago and they really are not “original”. Sorry guys, but it is the truth. Every so often something comes along in the world of fly tying that is truly revolutionary that has never been done before, Blane Chocklett’s Game Changer is one of those patterns.
 
I guess I first saw the Game Changer close to 10 years ago, a bait fish fly that actually moved like a fish…who would have thunk it. The challenge is many times coming up with the idea is the easy part, bring the idea to life well, that can be the challenge. The game changer has gone through many variations over the years and I believe the “Feather” version to be the best. It is a pattern with fantastic movement, both in the design and the materials, it is faster to tie that some of the other versions, and you can tie it in a multitude of colors. It is lighter and easier to cast than some of the original flies, and they are very durable.
 
Truly a revolution, below is a step by step of a Feather Game Changer tied and photographed by Norvise ambassador Braden Miller.  

Materials;
  • Game Changer Shanks - Flymen Fish Co.
  • Hen Saddle - Whiting farms
  • Chocklett's Filler Flash - Flymen Fish Co.
  • Senyo's Laser Dub 
  • 8 mm Eyes - Flymen Fish Co.
  • Trout Predator 2/0 Hook - AHREX
  • 2/0 Finesse/Drop Shot Hook-  Gamakatsu
  • White 210 Denier Flat waxed thread
  • Loctite Gel Super Glue

Norvise products used; 
Norvise Legacy Vise
Norvise Automatic Bobbin
Norvise Standard Inline Jaws
Norvise Fine Point Conversion
Norvise Magnum Stainless Hubs (Coming soon to a fly fishing show near you) 
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This picture shows how the Fish Spines chain together and where the proper hook placement is. The sequence that we like to use is a tailing shank (the one on the end with the 90 degree bend) 10 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, Trailer hook (optional) 15 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm, Front hook. The secret is to gradually lengthen the shanks as you move up the fly. You can play with sizing and combo of your shanks, as mentioned, this is what we like to use. 
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After placing the tailing shank in the vise (this is what the 90 degree bend is for) Put a SMALL amount of filler flash at the bend of the shank. 1 to 1 and a half wraps MAX! this bit of material will support and separate the tail. 
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Prep 6 hackle tips to use as the tail of the fly, 3 for each side. You have options here for the tail, you can use marabou, hackle tips, I even saw Blane use material used for tying mop flies here. 
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Put 1 to 1 and a half wraps of filler flash on at the bend of the tailing shank. This will help support and separate the tail feathers. 
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After prepping the tail feathers and cutting the shafts to length tie 3 tips on each side of the shank. The feathers are tied on each side of the shank with the first section of filler in the middle of the feathers. Here we have added second tie in of filler flash at the tail. Palmer it up about 1/2 the length of the shank. Remember this is a small shank, it is VERY easy to overdress these. Less is more, we still have to get 2 Hen Saddle Feathers on here. 
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Here is the completed tail section with the Hen Saddles tied in and palmered to the front. You can see how the filler flash is used to support the Hen feather. All of the materials work together to give this fly incredible movement. Tie off and whip finish a neat head and use head cement on EVERY section. I had mentioned this version of the fly is faster to tie than the original and it is. Fast is a relative term here, you are still going to invest over an hour in this fly. A long time for sure, we typically are throwing these on heavy tippet so you don't really loose that many so you want to glue the heads on each section so they are very durable. I have FGC's that have landed over 50 pickerel and they are still going strong so dont let the tying time scare you off. 
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Here is a view of the tail from the top. You can see the filler flash in between the sides of the tail. You can also see how we are building a natural taper with our materials. 
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Feathers; 
As mentioned we are using feathers from a Hen saddle. Hen feathers are a shorter, webby feather with softer fibers that make them perfect for this application. To build the taper is simple. As you move from the tail forward to the front of the fly you will select feathers that are progressively longer for each section. The easiest way to do this is to start at the top of your cape for the tail section and gradually pluck from a point lower and lower on the cape as you move up the fly. The lower on the cape you go the bigger (longer the fibers are) the feather is. The longer the feather the more taper you get. The picture above shows how to prep the feathers for tie in. We are tying in by the tip and palmering forward. Do not use the fuzzy part of the feather, I will typically strip this off before I tie in. On the tail sections we are typically using 2 feathers. As we move up the fly we are adding feathers on each section. By the time you get up to the head you are tying 4, maybe 5 feathers in at the same time. Always tie the feathers and palmer them at the same time, regardless of the amount using the filler flash as a support. 

The progression is actually pretty simple; 
With the exception of the tail section it is filler flash - feathers - whip finish- glue - repeat. you will need to adjust the amount of filler flash as the shanks (or hooks) get longer. Toward the tail the filler flash may be too wide, you may want to trim it so it is a little shorter (Measuring from the core out to the end of the fibers) than the fibers of the feather you are using. as you get to about the middle of the fly you can use the full width of the filler flash. We will use wider and more feathers as we work up the to the front of the fly. This will build bulk and natural taper into the fly, two very important things you need to get the silhouette and the movement you are looking for. The most important thing to remember is DO NOT CROWD THE EYE OF THE SHANK! if you do the fly will not move the way it is supposed to. 
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Here the second section has been added. 
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Here, several more sections and the trailer hook has been added. 
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When you get to the point where you are adding a hook to the pattern we like to use a wire type leader material. This product from Berkley works well as does Surflon or a product called Beadalon you get in the craft stores. To make your connection cut a small piece of wire (about 4") and thread it through the eye of the shank folding it so the half way point is looped through the eye of the shank and equal lengths are pointing forward. Lay the section of the wire pointing forward on tip of the shank and use 3 or 4 loose wraps of thread to hold the wire on top of the hook shank. At this point you want to adjust the length of the loop coming off the back of the hook so the tail section of the fly has freedom to move, but is not so big it can foul. A good rule of thumb is to make the loop about the same size as the loop in the adjacent shank. 
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Here we are working our way up the pattern by adding more shanks in front of the trailer hook. 
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Here we are ready to add the front hook. 
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This picture is a good example on how to do the wire connection. It also shows that Braden used a few wraps of lead on the bend of the front hook. this will help keel the fly and keep it swimming true. You can use lead wraps for this or, depending on the size of the hook, Tungsten Scud weights work fantastic for this step. Also notice Braden switched from the Norvise Fine Point jaws to the Standard inline jaws. We will typically use a hair clip to clip the back of the fly to the jaw to prevent it from flopping around when we are tying. Clipping the back of the fly to the jaws will also help to prevent us from sticking our fingers with the rear hook point. The Norvise Large, Saltwater jaw would be a good choice here as well. 
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OK, we are tying on the front hook and close to bringing this pattern home. This is a cool technique that will really help bulk up the front of the fly. Tie in a long piece of filler flash in on the hook by the opposite ends at the bend of the front hook. This will make a loop of material hanging off of the shank of the hook. hang your dubbing twister in the loop and twist the 2 halves of filler flash together. This will tighten the core of the flash and really make the fibers stand out creating a platform for the 4 feathers you will use to finish the fly.  
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After wrapping the twisted filler flash and the 4 hen saddle feathers to finish up the body of the fly we have added Hackle tips of either side of the fly to act as pectoral fins. This will help the fly swim and they just look way cool. NO we have a decision to make, what to do with the head. Just like the tail we have options here. We have used spun Deer hair, Slider or Popper heads, Fish Skulls or Masks, or my favorite palmered Schlappen. Here Braden has chosen to do a stacked laser dub head. This is the same technique we used in the collar for the popper and the slider on the last 2 patterns we tied. Pull a clump out, even up the tips and tie on the shank in the middle of the clump. Here Braden has tied 4 clumps, one at every 90 degrees. How far you bring the flash and the feathers will determine how big the head is. I like to use about 1/3 of the front hook shank for the head of the fly. Once the stacks of laser dub are tied in use a brush to brush out the fibers. Brush everything forward first, then brush everything back. This will give a very nice "airy" head that will veil back over the rest of the front section of the fly. 
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Repeat these tie in's until you reach the eye of the front hook. 
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Now you could call it quits here and this will fish just fine. 
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Always tinkering and pushing the techniques of fly design. Here Braden trimmed the head a bit to give it the shape he wants and added some Flymen Dragon eyes. Here is the finished fly! 

The Feather Game Changer really is not a difficult pattern to tie, it is basically repeating multiple sections of pattern over and over again. Once you see one of these in the water and better yet see how they produce fish I think you will understand why we spend the amount of time that we do to tie these. Your investment will be rewarded, trust me! 

Thank you Blane for coming up with such a fantastic pattern and a special thank you to Norvise ambassador Braden Miller for tying and photographing this step by step for us. I am sure the Norvise faithful appreciate your effort buddy! Till next time...

​                                                                                                                                       Tight lines - Tim 
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Smallmouth Pattern #3

8/27/2019

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OK, So this week we are back on our series of my favorite Smallmouth patterns and this one may be my favorite. The O'Neill's Controlled Chaos is a pattern developed over the past few years. This fly is a direct decedent of Mike Schultz's Swinging D and Eric Snyder's Twisted Swinger. The Swinging D is a fantastic fly, one of the best Smallmouth flies out there. It takes a long time to tie. Mike himself offers a stripped down version to combat this issue. My buddy Eric Snyder stripped it down a little more with his pattern the Twisted Swinger. The Controlled Chaos is stripped down even more giving what I feel is good balance between a fly with the action that I want and time spent at the bench. More of a platform really, the possibilities are endless. 

When fishing this fly you want to throw it on an intermediate or a type 1 sink tip on a shore leader. The idea here is the foam head will try and float the fly and the line will try to sink it. The result is a battle of wills that give this fly incredible action. Originally designed as a Smallmouth pattern, we have successfully landed Smallmouth, Largemouth, Trout (Rainbow, Brown and Brook) Chain Pickerel and Striper to name a few. 

Size can be adjusted by modifying the hook, shank and head size. This one is about 3.5 / 4 inches and will throw nicely on a 7 weight. This one is in "Bleeding Shad" color. We also use Black / Chartreuse and Fire Tiger. 

Recipe; 
Hook; Partridge Attitude Extra #1
Tail; one white and one Pearl Grey Marabou Blood Quill
Flash; 2 or 3 strands of silver Flashabou 
Body; Complex twist of Schlappen and Polar Chenille UV silver. 
Shank; Flymen 35 mm (1 3/8 inch) shank
Body; Complex twist of Schlappen and Polar Chenille UV silver. 
Collar; Senyos Laser Dub red / white 
Head; Rainey's foam diver head size small  

Norvise products used; Rotary Norvise, Magnum Hub, Auto Bobbin, Saltwater Jaw 
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Tie on on the back third of the shank and wrap back to just in front of the hook barb.
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Select and prep 1 each white and grey Marabou blood quill. We will be tying in at the tip of the feather so stroke the fibers back leaving about 1" of fibers to make the tail.
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Tie the tip of both feathers and palmer forward until all of the fibers are on the hook. Take care not to trap any of the fibers as you are wrapping. Use your bodkin or a brush to pick or brush out the tail as you are wrapping forward. Remember, if you are using a Norvise you can just spin the vise.
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After you are finished wrapping the tail stroke / Brush all the fibers back and wrap your thread back over the stem of the feathers. This will make the tail very durable. Put 2 or 3 strands of silver Flashabou down each side of the tail.
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Select one long, fairly even Schlappen feather. Strip the fuzz from the bottom and stroke the fibers rearward.
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Tie the feather and an equal length of Polar Chenille in at the base of the tail. See the video below on how to use the spin function of the vise to make the complex twist.
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Clamp the base of the feather and the polar chenille together and twist them together. Use a brush to brush out the fibers so they don't get trapped underneath one another.
To see a video of how to make the Complex Twist with the Norvise click HERE 
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Palmer the complex twist forward to the eye of the hook. Take care to stroke the brush reward after each turn so the fibers are not trapped. Tie off and clip the brush at the eye of the hook. Use your bodkin and a brush to pick / brush out the body of the fly. This is the completed tail section of the pattern.
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Attach the rear hook to the Flymen Shank. You can see I have used a hair clip to secure the tail section of the fly to the Saltwater Jaws. This is one reason I like using the bigger jaws when tying articulated flies.
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Close the shank with a good, solid thread base.
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Here I like to use the thread to mark where my head will stop. This is the spot where I stop palmering the body. Remember, you have to leave enough room to get the head on the fly!
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Repeat the same steps for the complex twist for the front half of the body.
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Hi tie 2 clumps of Senyos Laser dub on the shank. Red on the bottom and White on the top.
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Fold the front half of each clump rearward and build a thread dam in front of the collar. Brush out the collar so that it becomes "fluffy" and veils over the front body.
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Lay down a heavy thread base on the rest of the shank. This will give the glue something to grip on when you install the foam head.
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Coat the thread base and the front of the collar with a heavy dose of Zap-A-Gap and slide the head on over the shank. You have about 5 seconds before the glue takes hold so get it on and positioned quickly. You will only get one shot! Build a nice thread dam in front of the foam and head cement this to finish off the fly.
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The last three pics show the finished fly. As mentioned this Bleeding Shad color combo is a favorite of mine followed closely by Fire Tiger. 

When fishing be sure to mix up your retrieves and most importantly pause between strips. You will be surprised to see, even when you are not moving the fly it is always in motion. Often the strikes will come during the pause. I  hope you enjoy tying and fishing this pattern. It has become one of my favorites over the past few years. Till next time...

​                                                                                                                                          Tight lines - Tim  
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Stars and Stripers

8/21/2019

Comments

 
We have been Pretty busy the past few weekends here at Norvise. We will get back to the top 5 Smallmouth flies next week, I promise. I wanted to share this with you first.

Many of you may know that Project Healing Waters is a program that was near and dear to Norm's heart and we have continued that tradition. Anyone involved in PHW as a participant, volunteer, program lead or administrator will receive a 40% discount on any Norvise product. We believe wholeheartedly in this organization and believe it to be one of the best programs out there for helping our veterans. This past weekend we got to see an organization as passionate about PHW as we are. 

Stars and Stripers is an annual outing for disabled veterans from Project Healing Waters. The Kent Island Yacht club id located right off of Rt 50 in the Stevensville, Maryland area. One day, typically in August many boat captains, mates, cooks, and volunteers descend on the club to host this great event. This year, the tenth year for this event, around 25 boat captains donated their time (and boat) to take close to 50 PHW veterans fishing for the day. We were invited down to set up a area to tie flies and show the veterans how we do what we do. 

This was such a rewarding day getting to tie and talk with several of the veterans. The event was very well run, and the food was fantastic! We would like to thank the Stars and Stripers organization for having us, we are already looking forward to next year!  Check out some of the pictures from Saturday. 
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Team Norvise at the event; Tyler, Myself and Braden Miller
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Presenting the colors.
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Mark was the organizer of the event, the MC, and the gentleman who invited us to participate. Truly a class act.
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There were some sweet rigs at the boat dock in the morning.
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Braden spinning up a Fair Flies Fly Fur baitfish.
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This and all of the great pictures were taken by our staff photographer Casey Miller (Braden's Mom).
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Spawn Fly heads rock!
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Braden working with one of the veterans as he spun his first bug on a Norvise!
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The group photo. This is a big event with a lot of moving parts. Great job to all involved for pulling it off without a hitch.
As mentioned it was a great day, very fulfilling and for a great cause. I would encourage everyone in the fly fishing industry to be involved with Project Healing Waters on some level. These great men and women risk it all so that we can live in the greatest country in the world and do things like this everyday. Honestly, we owe it to them and it is the least we can do. Till next time...

​                                                                                                                                         Tight lines - Tim 
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