Improvising hooks and flies from hotel freebies

[Paul G]

Hi, I put up a blog post yesterday sharing a little quest to catch a fish using the materials found in the sewing kits that the Yorkshire Bridge Inn provides as a complimentary gift. This is where we stayed during Dr. Ishigaki's visit to England - and also where the evening meal, auction and his fly-tying demo and slide show presentation took place.

If part of the joy in fishing is that it gives you permission to play as we did in childhood, then there is definitely something to be said for using the bent pin, no reel and a long "stick" to try to catch fish. That's my excuse anyway

Here is the video from the blog post:




Here is the link to the short blog post:

Ishigaki Sewing Kit Kebari Link

[flatsghost]

Paul
Already posted a reply on the DT website but worth repeating here that it is a real fun piece of footage which I thoroughly enjoyed and which was capped off perfectly with a fish on the bent pin fly - brilliant.
Ishigaki san would have been massively impressed.
Thanks a lot
Glyn

[Paul G]

Thanks Glyn, and thanks for your reply on the blog pages too

[cm_stewart]

Excellent! A fun project well executed. I have never tried bending a needle like that, although I do know you can catch small fish with just a sewing pin, bent without heating it.

[Deleted]

I sell sewing kits at our youth hostel, maybe one quiet evening on reception I will give this a go. Just need to persuade the pheasant that lives in the garden to donate a feather and I can have a complete home produced fly.
Will have to wait until March to test it though, as the season has already finished on my local Cairngorm rivers.
Steve

[daves]

So when are you going to make your own Tenkara rod from bamboo??

Great fun & obviously effective.

[jonathan27]

That just encapsulates the romance of tenkara in one! Pure simplicity at its best

[Paul G]

Sept 26, 2013 7:36:29 GMT @stevef said:

I sell sewing kits at our youth hostel, maybe one quiet evening on reception I will give this a go. Just need to persuade the pheasant that lives in the garden to donate a feather and I can have a complete home produced fly.
Will have to wait until March to test it though, as the season has already finished on my local Cairngorm rivers.
Steve

Believe it or not, I looked at the hotel pillows and duvets to see if they had any feathers in them

Unfortunately, they were filled with synthetic insulation rather than down...

[Deleted]

Sept 27, 2013 10:20:58 GMT Paul G said:

Sept 26, 2013 7:36:29 GMT @stevef said:

I sell sewing kits at our youth hostel, maybe one quiet evening on reception I will give this a go. Just need to persuade the pheasant that lives in the garden to donate a feather and I can have a complete home produced fly.
Will have to wait until March to test it though, as the season has already finished on my local Cairngorm rivers.
Steve

Believe it or not, I looked at the hotel pillows and duvets to see if they had any feathers in them

Unfortunately, they were filled with synthetic insulation rather than down...

Hi,
I had the same thought, but synthetic fillings here as well. 
The garden wildlife got me thinking of feathers and fur. As mentioned there are pheasants as well as numerous other birds. For fur there are a number of red squirrels, rabbits and also the occasional red deer strolls through. Can't see any of them donating fur though.

[Paul G]

Sounds idyllic! If you do find some feathers in the garden it would be worth freezing them for a few days to kill off any bugs. That way you won't come back to a moth-eaten fly box!