Flymage Magazine 26 Fifth Anniversary

Fly fishing & photography Magazine

ISSUE #26 - 2015

V

ANNI ERSARY

This is a Test.

Fly fishing is more than getting your fly in front of a fish. Take just getting there, for instance: pushing through brush, butt-sliding down boulders, climbing under barbed wire, hauling an inflatable to the put-in. Our Rio Gallegos Waders’ exclusive 4-layer fabric is built to stand up to whatever fly fishing throws at you.

Developed, tested and proven in the only lab we’ve ever known.

PATAG O N I A .CO M / F I S H

Rio Gallegos Waders and Foot Tractor Wading Boots

Find a way or make one: On the hunt for giant taimen in Mongolia, sometimes you have to do both. TIM PASK Š 2015 Patagonia, Inc.

CONTENtS 5 YEARS OF flymage MAGAZINE

6

THE TROUT AND THE FLY

8

BACK HOME

32

AROUND THE WORLD

52

NO ADIPOSE FIN

82

THROUGH THE LENS

92

EDITOR JOSÉ H. WEIGAND

CONTRIBUTORS JOHN LANGRIDGE, JOSÉ L. GARCÍA

DESIGN A. MUÑOZ

ADVERTISING advertising@flymage.net

www.flymage.net

© 2015

Flymage Magazine has just reached its 5th anniversary and we want to celebrate with all of you with a summary of the more than 2500 pages published on fly fishing and photography. A selection of articles that reflects the idea from which this magazine was born.

I want to thank all of our collaborators, fly anglers, fly tiers, photographers, writers, travel agents and brands, who over these five years have helped to shape Flymage, without them it is impossible to generate varied and interesting top quality content.

We thank all readers and followers of the magazine very much indeed.

We encourage you to stay with us.

From this autumn, a new cycle for the magazine opens. A design change, other proposals, and new ideas but the very essence is unchanged: enjoy our passion for fly fishing. We will continue publishing the magazine in Spanish and English, with free access.

Thank you all!

JosĂŠ H. Weigand

The principle of fly fishing.

Trout and artificial flies.

The art of imitation and deception.

THE

TROUT FLY AND

THE

W

e start with a review of some of our most outstanding articles of trout and flies, or those who have most liked to readers, and could not it be otherwise than with the first of all dedicated to the pellets, the best ammunition for trout.

June 2010 - Flymage Magazine #1

M

ayflies, chalk stream and brown trout: river Test, England.

“The fish are usually not shy at this time and take the flies solidly giving rise to the term “Duffers Fortnight” meaning the two week period at the height of the hatch when it seems an angler can do no wrong.”

By Paul Sharman

August 2010 - Flymage Magazine #2

K

ings of León. The cockrels are “plucked” four times a year, every three months.

The process begins when the bird is six months old and ends at about five years old. It is carried out only during the waning moon.”

June 2011 - Flymage Magazine #7

J

osé Manuel Ruíz, “Cholo”, has become, after more than ten years, one of the Spain’s most realistic fly tyers, well known worldwide.

His idea was to take to the vise what he saw on the banks of Órbigo river with new techniques that have left their mark. His flies, as well as being realistic, catch fish.

April 2011 - Flymage Magazine #6

I

t is said that plain rivers in the province of León are some of the best places for trout in southern Europe. The Órbigo river in particular, is famous beyond our borders and today has a good trout population with some really big ones. We went fishing in a summer day with José Miguel Matilla.

October 2010 - Flymage Magazine #3

E

veryone has a favourite trout fly in which, sooner or later, we place all our faith in order to fool the fish and, although many fly fishermen rely more on the presentation, than on the fly itself, we are bringing you a collection of favourite flies from great fishing friends in Europe, that will surely amaze you.�

April 2013 - Flymage Magazine #18

T

he wait is over, the time has passed slowly but the moment has finally arrived. Slowly, the sun will melt the eternal snows and give us permission to enter these small havens, isolated throughout the year and which hide in their waters the most cherished treasures.�

By Nacho Puyal

September 2013 - Flymage Magazine #20

I

designed this reverse nymph to be used in deeper waters and get it sunk in the shortest time, this is possible by placing the tungsten bead at the bend of the hook, achieving clean entry into the water and avoiding the nylon loop formed with traditional tungsten nymphs.

Its movement is irresistible�

By Mikel Elexpuru

December 2010 - Flymage Magazine #4

T

wo years ago I made one of the best purchases I’ve ever made, a secondhand float tube.

The beginnings were not very encouraging we might say, since I tried it out on a fairly strongly flowing River Ebro, without even knowing how to turn it on the water.�

By Eduard Cesari

Winter 2015 - Flymage Magazine #25

I

t is a remarkable thing that nearly a hundred and fifty years on since Halford first trod the banks of the River Test his principles still guide us today. Yes, the tackle has changed but we all still crave that moment when a fish rises to the fly we have so delicately cast. In that fraction of a millisecond, hours or days of frustration melt away into joy. It will always be a magical moment and for that we must thank Frederic Halford.�

By Simon Cooper

Summer 2014 - Flymage Magazine #23

since 1997

The Anadromous!

Born in the river, they migrate to the sea and return to the same river where they were born to complete the cycle of life.

Sea trout and salmon.

BACK HOME

A

t low tide we reached the mouth of a river in Kola Peninsula and found a paradise for... Silver Surfers.

October 2010 - Flymage Magazine #3

M

y main interest in fly casting and indeed my working life in salmon fishing, began when I was a teenager. I started working on the River Tweed in Scotland as a ghillie in 1988 on one of the river’s most photogenic beats Makerstoun.�

By Eoin Fairgrieve

June 2013 - Flymage Magazine #19

T

he island of Tierra del Fuego is considered the world’s best area for sea trout fishing, migratory brown trout (Salmo trutta trutta).

Each year hundreds of anglers from around the world, monopolize the existing lodges on both sides of the border in Chile and Argentina.”

By Leonardo Ramírez y Rafael González

April 2011 - Flymage Magazine #6

M

ythical waters. Waters full of history.

Where it all began. The Scottish River Dee is included in that select group of the world’s best rivers for Atlantic Salmon fishing. A river to be fished at least once in life.�

By Miguel Aguilar

September 2013 - Flymage Magazine #20

W

e found out that lots of sea trout were eating aggressively on whatever hatch was on. So it was simply a question of matching the hatch the traditional purist way.

It was truly a revolution for us. Suddenly we could fish in the daytime. Much contrary to traditional folklore dictating that sea trout are shy creatures that only come out at night.�

By Thomas Weiergang

August 2012 - Flymage Magazine #14

I

t is not easy to put into words the feelings that come to you in a place as extraordinary as the Kola Peninsula.

I know many anglers who, after their first visit, have made it a must destination for annual pilgrimage. If not for its extent, its people, landscapes, rivers, history or its salmon (the latter playing a major role since of course) it is everything taken together and especially the sense of its being the real thing that gets the Kola hook into you. Throughout the rest of the year, I remember Russia continually and always in black and white.�

August 2012 - Flymage Magazine #14

R

io Gallegos is amazing, it has everything someone that is looking for the fish of a lifetime could ask for. It runs through a wonderful landscape where the eye can range over broad meadows surrounded by volcanic areas, with giant cliffs that transport you to another era, all bathed in almost perfect crisp light.. and there are migratory trout of spectacular size.�

By CĂŠsar de la Hoz

Summer 2014 - Flymage Magazine #23

I

started this study about 5 years ago, when I created Bicho Prods, a small video production company focused on the Natural World and mainly on water.

Since then, I have spent many hours trying to see under the surface, just what might be happening behind the water mirror. The results were amazing, photos of the last really big Trout remaining in Spanish Rivers, getting close to the mythical Spanish Atlantic Salmon and to the impressive migratory Sea Trout, from the most famous rivers in Cantabrian Mountain Range.”

By Carlos Rodríguez Villafañe

June 2012 - Flymage Magazine #13

Âż

Do pristine places still exist for the Atlantic salmon?

The answer is yes. An example are the rivers Kharlovka, Eastern Litza, Rhynda and Zolotaya in the so called Atlantic Salmon Reserve, in Kola’s peninsula, Russia.

June 2010 - Flymage Magazine #1

Travels and adventures around the planet. Near and remote havens.

Beaches, jungles or mountains.

We take off!

THE

AROUND WORLD

T

here’s an Arabic saying that you’ll hear throughout the Middle East, Insha’Allah, which literally translates into God willing. It pretty much sums up the Omani attitude, but also can be used to console the permit fisherman. Insha’Allah, there will be another.”

By Ray Montoya

June 2011 - Flymage Magazine #7

N

ick Reygaert -Gin Clear Mediashows images from the South Island of New Zealand in summer, as an appetizer for his new video The Source: New Zealand

December 2010 - Flymage Magazine #4

W

hen one thinks of Montenegro, the first image that comes to mind is of the beautiful sandy beaches and turquoise waters of the Adriatic, some of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean.

However, the true wonders of God are hidden among the mountains, canyons and cliffs, where the rivers hide large salmonid species, some of which are only found here.”

By Srdjan Bošković

April 2013 - Flymage Magazine #18

P

ermit! They say it is the most difficult fish to catch on fly. Its fame precedes it and some people spent years trying to catch one, considering it the Holy Grail of fly fishing in saltwater.

August 2010 - Flymage Magazine #2

I

can say with my hand on my heart that I think the European Bass is the most magnificent fish I have ever hunted. I have landed thousands of these silver eating machines on fly and yet for some reason the love of this species just seems to deepen with time. The European Bass is the sport fishing love of my life. I may travel to other worlds and have short exotic affairs with other Silver ladies but I always come home to Cornwall and await the arrival of the European Bass after they have spawned.�

By Austen Goldsmith

June 2011 - Flymage Magazine #7

R

ío Dorado y Río del Valle in the Yunga forest in Salta, Argentina, are two small jewels for clear water dorado fly fishing.”

By Chip Drozenski

February 2011 - Flymage Magazine #5

W

ith my normal luggage, together with eight fly rods from #8wt-#17wt, umpteen fly reels, all the fly line combinations, and leaders to accommodate and match any eventuality plus boxes and boxes of flies tied over the previous months of anticipation and waiting. At Cairns, I met the rest of the guests joining the trip.

A mixed bag of company, 12 of them fishing and one camera man for a crew filming an episode of their fishing program.�

By Earl Hamilton

December 2012 - Flymage Magazine #16

T

he end of summer marks one of the most prolific fishing seasons in the waters of Strait Gibraltar with the arrival of the flying fish. Few natural spectacles are as impressive as the flight of these magnificent fish escaping from predators.

October 2011 - Flymage Magazine #9

I

grew up in the Danish countryside on a little farm as the only kid in a small village. With no friends, I spent a lot of time alone in the local woods. Through my imagination even the smallest perch from the local lake was a magnificent and wondrous creature, and Nature became my best friend in a way. But as I grew older, the friendship began to grow stale, and I dreamt of more distant places to rekindle the magic. Since then, wanderlust has been the driving force of my life and taken me to places all around the Arctic circle and beyond.�

By Peter Christensen

December 2011 - Flymage Magazine #10

A

lthough the Chilean Patagonia is definitely a paradise on earth, there are pitfalls for the traveling Do It Yourself fly fisher. If you are prepared for this, you can put together a Once-in-a-lifetime trip on your own, with no lodges, no guides, less hassle, lots of fish with just a little help from your friends...�

By Thomas Weiergang

February 2013 - Flymage Magazine #17

A

few years back while surfing for potential fly fishing flats within the Arabian Peninsula, I stumbled across a collection of stunning images of Socotra, an island sandwiched between the coasts of Yemen and Somalia. For the past eleven years, I‘ve had explored much of Oman’s coastline, and while I regularly target permit, I have yet to encounter a single bonefish.”

By Ray Montoya

June 2013 - Flymage Magazine #19

F

ishing in Chile has its synonym not only in Patagonia, there is another Chile, one perhaps less fascinating but that has very attractive fishing indeed. That strip of land we call “The Central Zone” is an area of poets, wine and country people who work the land with the sweat of their labours.”

By Martín Aylwin

October 2011 - Flymage Magazine #9

T

he superb African yellowfish are closely related to various European barbel species. The South African Organisation the Orange/Vaal Yellowfish Conservation Group works for the conservation of these species and for the promotion of catch and release angling, which, moreover, is flyfishing only.

There are various stretches of the Vaal and Orange Rivers where this style of fishing is the only method allowed.�

By John Langridge

December 2013 - Flymage Magazine #21

They have no adipose fin. They usually live in nonetoo-clean waters.

We do not care.

They are the kings of still waters.

NO

ADIPOSE FIN

T

his could be termed the new “gold rush”. There is a great love for carp fly fishing worldwide. In Spain, with the arrival of the bleak, carp behavior has changed and it’s common to see attacks on baitfish schools like marine predators.

October 2012 - Flymage Magazine #15

S

ince its illegal introduction into Spain in the mid 70s wels catfish has colonized waters and is growing to over 100 kilos. For the fly fisherman it is a challenge, especially to catch the largest fish of his life.

December 2010 - Flymage Magazine #4

I

cannot get the image out of my head, of a great pike gobbling up my fly, I need to see that image again, it´s close by, I know, I can feel it.

Needing to see it again is like a drug, like an obsession... maybe it does not want to bite today, maybe tomorrow, or the day after... I am in no hurry, I know that sooner or later I´ll get it. I know it is not easy, and maybe with luck and many, many hours, I can catch one or two big pike each season.”

By David Tejedor

June 2012 - Flymage Magazine #13

I

t is one of the Iberian species of barbel and becoming increasingly more popular.

The gypsy or Andalusian barbel is a fish for fly fishing.

Forbidden for fishing during most of the year, more than ever we can say that it is pure Andalusian Gold.

August 2011 - Flymage Magazine #8

Time frozen.

The preferred capture.

Art and memory to fly fishing.

Just an instant, through the lens.

THROUGH LENS THE

© Javier Fernández del Rivero

O

ne of the most innovative and talented underwater photographers working today, Marc Montocchio specializes in capturing unique and stunning images of ocean wildlife in their natural habitat.

“One of the questions I get asked most because of the type of subjects I shoot is “are you a fisherman?” It’s hard to give a yes or no answer. The answer is a bit more complex.”

By Marc Montocchio

February 2011 - Flymage Magazine #5

Marc Montocchio

March 2014 - Flymage Magazine #22

I

wish all fisherman always wear on orange, red or yellow shirts. They change radically the result of a shot, by contrast with the blue sky. To me this picture has a unique composition and a certain grace, by the hair of the fisherman and his body slightly bent down, as if wanted to get into the frame.�

By Nicola Zingarelli

October 2010 - Flymage Magazine #3

多

Have you ever tried to capture a fish feeding on natural flies, with your camera? We do, quite often, and the result is almost always disappointing. Either the fish is out of focus or moving, or the surface of the water creates a subliminal curtain that blurs the sharpness of the image, or the fly that was being taken is hardly visible ... In fact this kind of photography seems extremely complicated, so when Jason Jagger offered part of his exceptional photographic material to publication it in the magazine we did not hesitate for a second.

By Jason Jagger

February 2013 - Flymage Magazine #17

A

s with my first fly rod, I had to earn my money for the things I wanted.

So when I was fourteen, had saved enough money I could buy my first reflex camera.�

By Bo Hermansen

Winter 2015 - Flymage Magazine #25

U

nfortunately the best time to fish coincides with the most favorable time to take pictures, so you’re always left wanting something, in my case I usually take the rod and it is the camera that goes into the backpack.�

By Javier F. del Rivero

April 2011 - Flymage Magazine #6

5

YEARS in COVERS