Vacation!

I will be away until June 9. Any orders received after 4 PM on Friday, May 30 will not be shipped until June 9 or later (orders will be processed in the sequence in which they are received and I won't be able to process a week's worth of orders in one day unless it is a very slow week).

Old Geezer's Wide-Eyed Flies

Old Geezer's Wide-Eyed Flies for squint-eyed guys. Tied by and for some old geezer whose eyes aren't sharp and whose hands aren't steady. The hook eyes are seriously wide - wide enough that you really don't need sharp eyes or steady hands to tie them to your tippet.

The flies in this lot were tied on a rainy evening and a rainy afternoon at fish camp in Maine. It is a baker's dozen of flies tied in bad light with no tools other than clamps and nippers. The hooks are the Wide-Eyed Hooks (C'ultiva SBL-35 size 12 barbless hooks). The hackle is Whiting 100s. The thread is from a Singer sewing kit. It is Fly Friendly, though, (says so right on the label).

Wide-Eyed Hook.
Light Olive Brown

Fly Friendly Thread

Given the bad light, no vise and shaky hands, half of the flies probably will come apart before they are lost. If that does happen, though, get a package of thin pink Ultra-Chenille and tie Overhand Worms (sharp eyes and steady hands not required).

One of the flies was tested and was judged acceptable by the only judge that matters.

The hackles are either brown or grizzly. The bodies are just sewing thread, either black, gray, brown, yellow, red or light olive.

Tested and approved.
Black Brown

Black Grizzly

Gray Grizzly

Yellow Grizzly

Red Brown

Brown Brown

Black Brown

The flies are just about as ugly as you would expect from an old geezer with bad eyes, shaky hands, no vise and bad light. However, I am sure the fish won't care. I am firmly convinced that neatly tied, perfectly proportioned flies catch fishermen and messy, disheveled flies catch fish.

The lighting was almost as bad for the photography as it was for the tying.

I was planning on offering this lot for sale, but after seeing the photos I think I probably ought to just keep them for myself (and fish them when I'm alone). I really can tie better flies - but only in good light with a vise and a magnifying glass. I'm sure they'll catch fish - they just probably wouldn't catch any bids. (If you do seriously want some seriously ugly flies, let me know, though.

Still, I think the concept of flies tied on Wide Eyed hooks, specifically for guys and gals who have a gotten to the point where it is a challenge to thread the tippet through the hook eye would be a good idea and a service to the community.

Watch this space.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.