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 first batch of flies were tied on a rainy evening and a rainy afternoon at a fish camp in Maine. It was 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
Fly Friendly Thread
One of the first batchThe flies were 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. I have proven to myself more than once that flies just as ugly as that one will catch fish.
For two examples of surprisingly ugly but surprisingly effective flies, see the green fly with brown hackle on the clamps and nippers page and the red fly with partridge hackle on the Trip Report - 8-25-13 page. Both caught fish.
I think the concept is good and would be a service to the community. Somebody should tie flies specifically for guys and gals who have gotten to the point where it is a challenge to thread the tippet through the hook eye.
Tested and approved.Black Brown
One of the flies was tested and was judged acceptable by the only judge that matters.
I was planning to offer the lot for sale, but after seeing close up photos of the flies, I thought 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.
UPDATE: well, they caught a fisherman as well as a fish. The first batch of Old Geezer's Wide-Eyed Flies™ has been sold. It turns out that I got an order for a second batch, and the buyer wanted them to be just as ugly as the first batch. I think he got his wish.
The currently available batch was tied with regular fly tying thread, a vise, a magnifying glass and good light. The photos below are from the current batch and are fair representations of the other flies in the batch, which consists of six flies with black bodies and brown hackle (following the color combination of Dr. Ishigaki's "go to" fly), six flies with gray bodies and grizzly hackle (Dr. Ishigaki's "alternate" fly) and one fly with a black body and grizzly hackle (shown at right in a "top view" to give a clear picture of the size of the hook eye).
Black body, brown hackle
Gray body, grizzly hackle
Flip FocalsI've done a baker's dozen of flies tied with vise and scissors (plus a magnifying glass and good light). They look better but they are much less fun to tie.
For the next batch, which will be clamps and nippers flies, I will be using Flip Focals (clip on magnifiers) and good light. The first couple flies tied that way show a marked improvement over the first batch (and truth be told, aren't that much worse than the flies I can tie with a vise). After all, squint-eyed old geezers can be expected to use clip on magnifiers of some sort (and if they aren't in some fish camp on a rainy day they probably have access to good light).
Until I come to my senses, a baker's dozen of Old Geezer's Wide-Eyed Flies™ will be $25 with free shipping to US addresses.
Not to scale. The hooks are the exact same size.
If the button says Add to cart, the item is in stock.
“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.
Warning:
The hooks are sharp.
The coffee's hot.
The fish are slippery when wet.
Beware of the Dogma
