This question undoubtedly crops up eventually when interacting with folks from the web, so I thought this would be a good place to give the answer. It's quite simple, really.....it was an internet "handle" I came up with which is formed by the initials of my first and middle names (R.A.) and the first three letters of my last name (SKE). Little did I know that there are actually people in the world with RASKE as their last name! So....once and for all....I'm probably not related to you, but thanks for asking!
A Little About Me...
Born and raised in Maine, with the exception of a few years in the U.S. Army, I've lived in Maine all my life. New England Streamers and bucktails are such an integral part of the fishing sport here, that I naturally assumed that others throughout the world used them as well. Imagine my surprise to find that was not the case! A bit dismayed at the lack of publications and web pages on streamer heritage, tying, and fishing, I decided to make my own: Raske's New England Streamer Page.
How gratifying it was to find that many folks from around the world took an interest in my little site, and to help me promote the heritage of these productive patterns.
A successful hunt with Dad
I tied my first bucktail back in 1978 while taking a Hunter Safety course to pursue my first love, whitetailed deer hunting. I lost interest in fly tying and fishing for a long period while chasing the wiley whitetail, ruffed grouse, and snowshoe hare around the Maine woods. After getting out of the service I found myself back at the vise. I still hunt a bit, but now find much more satisfaction in chasing wild brook trout and landlocked salmon around with streamers, dries and wet flies tied by my own hand.
Hen hackles have long been the source of confusion to many fly tyers. Whether they are looking for wings for their dry flies or hackles for their wet flies, there seems to plenty of head scratching when it comes time to purchase the appropriate feathers.
I've been fascinated with spey flies for a long time. The first I had ever seen was a Purple Spey tied by Tim Purvis, which arrived in a swap of steelhead flies a bunch of us FF@'ers exchanged several years ago. The next was an Olive Spey tied by Juro Mukai in a swap of atlantic salmon flies.
There is a story behind "The Garage". Not too long ago my wife and I were renting a two story house that had a tiny little room upstairs with no closet. Since we already had a spare bedroom for family visitors, this room was quickly claimed as the "Sports Room".
I have to admit a particular fondness for woodduck flank. Ever since I was given my first baggie of feathers from a duck hunting friend, I was smitten. The color - the texture - the barring of the feathers.
I don't expect much from a rod drying motor. It should turn smoothly and hold a rod section securely while it turns. Bumps and wobbles and starts and stops are most unwelcome. Sections that come loose and stop turning are definite no-nos. An on-off switch is nice
I'm not sure how floating bass flies got the name "bug", but it certainly has stuck. Whether constructed of wood, plastic, foam, or hair, they all seem to be lumped into the generic category of "bass bug".
Recently I've begun working with a material that was introduced to me through the tying of Dave Whitlock. In particular, his "sheep series" of baitfish flies. It's Icelandic Sheep Hair, although some distributors refer to it as "Streamer Hair" or "Secret Streamer Hair". I've found it to be a wonderful tying material for large streamer type flies.
"In many ways, it was a rod builder's dream finish." Bob Petti writes about Trondak U-40 Duragloss LS Supreme and hands out one of the rare Global Class scores of 6 in his review. He also looks at Trondak's U-40 Rod Bond, which 'only' scores a 5.
This swap has gathered a collection of patterns from diverse sources, including Maine regional favorites, patterns from the wider northeast, regional patterns from the West and from Alberta, and newly created patterns. They all share three things in common - hair wings, small hooks, and a tremendous attraction to brook trout.
What's so exciting about a simple white marabou streamer? It doesn't have any exotic ingredients. No epoxy. No goggle eyes. No genetic hackle. You could tie a million of them for the cost of a gallon of milk. There are no fancy techniques in the tying, so everyone who can wrap thread can tie their own.
Although there are a couple rivers in New York with the name "Salmon River", only one has an international reputation. That is the Salmon River that flows into Lake Ontaria near Pulaski, a small town along the lake's eastern shore.
Roddy MacLeod hails from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia where he's been a lifelong resident. Husband and father of two (Katie and Donald) he finds rare moments for fishing.
"...my hats off to the folks at Mustad for having the ability and willingness to make a change." GFF partner Bob Petti has had a look at the new Mustad Signature series and parts wth a Global Class mark for the new, improved and very consistently produced hooks - with a naming convention, which is a blessing to fly tyers.
"I had heard about East Branch's $20 "test drive" program so I gave them a call. Sure enough, come the Friday before opening day, the mailman delivered a large tube with a pair of fly rods." Read Bob Petti's review of the 9' 3pc GTX 6wt.
Tom Kirkman's book "Rod Building Guide" is a cover-to-cover brain dump of the author's experience building all manner of fishing rods. He doesn't tell the reader as much how to do things, as he does why, and almost as importantly, why not.
"Land of Little Rivers, A Story in Photos of Catskill Fly Fishing" by Austin McK. Francis scores a Global FlyFisher Global Class mark in Bob Petti's review. Read about the book whose beauty is only exceeded by the majesty of the subject.
In the world of fly fishing in the 21st Century, Lamiglas is making some of the best blanks available to anyone, anywhere, for any price. In this review by GFF Partner Bob Petti we look at the Perigee blank, which is only available to custom rod builders. He concludes: "People like rods made from Perigee blanks simply because they make excellent fishing rods." Read Bob's Review.
Preston Jennings was one of those rare individuals who saw things differently than most folks. It would certainly be in our best interested to learn more about his work and his thoughts on color separation when we design our own flies. Bob Petti shows you a few patterns in the Streamer Section.
"While the mention of modulus does continue to pop up from time to time in advertising, most anglers, and indeed most rod and blank manufacturers, have gotten over their numbers fetish.". Read Bob Petti's review of the excellent and interesting Sirrus Co-Matrix 9' 2pc 6wt.
Truly influential fly tyers are rare. Mike Martinek is such a tyer. He has been the initiator and a major contributor to the revival of the American streamers. Read Bob Petti's article about Mike's beautiful, classical streamer patterns.
Take this virtual outing to the Beaverkill and Willowemoc - the cradle of the Catskills. Global FlyFisher partner Bob Petti had his camera out during his last visit and brings you this portfolio with streams, bridges beautiful landscapes and gin clear water.
A rod with a titanium section built in! Strange maybe, but the reviewer's verdict is clear: "All I know is that it's better than most other rods I have fished with." Read the review here.
Not only do all the major rod companies sell their blanks, there are several companies that produce and sell only blanks. Where to begin? Rainshadow might be one choice. Great, afordable blanks.
The grand prize for the Flymeister 2001 contest was a custom built fly rod made by Neal Hall, owner of Classic Destiny rods and president of the Custom Rod Builder's Guild.
Recently, GFF partners Bob Petti and Steve Schweitzer had the chance to visit Bob Venneri at his house and get a look-see into his workshop and how his seats are made, by hand, one at a time.
Andy Dear hits a home run with his custom reel seat spacers and complete reel seats. It's a rare thing for a product to get a "Global Class" GFF rating, but Andy's woodworking skills earn him that high honor easily.
Realistic flies are not only for the display case. As Steve Thornton shows us, realism can also be applied to practical and effective fishing flies. Trout and grayling beware!
My first thought was probably the same as yours - what is "paraloop"? Paraloop is part technique, part style. Take a piece of a parachute, a bit of a thorax dun, and some thoughts of a comparadun, mix, and you'll arrive at a paraloop.
On your knees, casting to a small spot fifteen or twenty feet away. Float the line behind you and then "flick" the line foward. Man, I love this rod for that kind of fishing. It's like it knows what I want to do and casts a perfect narrow loop with impressive speed.
Does anyone remember the early to mid 90's? The rage in the US, at least among tyers of trout flies, was Polish woven nymphs. Fast forward to the dawn of the new century and these articles and flies have all but disappeared? Were they a fad? What happened?
Ray Bergman is the originator of these three simple mixed wing streamers. The three were included in the updated version of Col. Bate's wonderful book "Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing". The combination of materials, the overall shape and color of the streamers really caught Bob Petti's eye.
The Austin blanks from All Star Rods are quickly gaining a reputation among custom rod builders as being among the best performing blanks on the market, regardless of price. Bob Petti had a chance to build and fish a 4wt recently.
It all started when I had to toss my bottle of Pharamcist's Formula in the trash. Scanning the net for a suitable replacement, I found a husband and wife team that are producing a bunch of interesting products for fly fishers and tyers.
Partridge has come out with a new line of trout hooks called "Flashpoint". Most fly tyers are hook junkies, and Bob Petti is no exception, so he jumped at the chance to review these new hooks.
This past season, I had the pleasure of fishing rods built from two blanks from Lamiglas, the XMG50 and the "Blue Ridge". These two blanks are Ying and Yang, fast and slow, high modulus graphite and fiberglass. As different as can be.
When the bottle came in the mail, I got out an old hankie and wet a small bit and ran the line through the hankie a few times. Out to the yard to see how it cast. Hmm ... it was noticeably slicker and flowed through the guides with ease. Nice.
Painting eyes on streamers is nothing new, but as with any other tying procedure, there are some tricks that can help, and some pitfalls that should be avoided. This article shows you how to do it on-the-cheap with readily available materials.
Wet flies have been around as long as fly fishing itself. Are they starting to see a renaissance? In fly tying circles at least, that may be the case, as tyers look for new challenges and new sources of inspiritaion.
Dick Stewart and Bob Leeman's book "Trolling Flies for Trout and Salmon" has inspired fly tyers for the 24 years since it's publication in 1982. Here, finally, we get to see some of the patterns listed in the back of the book that did not have supporting photographs.
Autumn is my favorite time of year. All summer long I look forward to that first crisp morning where it feels good to put on a fleece shirt even though there is not a cloud in the sky. This past weekend, the weather was about as perfect as one could expect.
One of the most effective methods of drifting a fly through deep pools in Great Lakes steelhead rivers is to use a slinky. You can buy slinkies from a shop, but you will pay a premium. The components are pretty cheap and they are very easy to make at home.
Awhile back, I received a shipment of hen necks and saddles from Whiting Farms. The saddles struck me with their intense colors and solid web, then necks with their stem length and shortish barbs. These feathers were perfect for the wet flies I was working on.
Chuck-n-duck fishing isn't for everyone. Morality aside, it is an effective angling technique, one worth learning if you find occasionally find yourself in a situation where drifting a nymph along the bottom of a distant lie is the difference between catching and casting practice.
The International Fly Tying Symposium was held on November 17th and 18th in Somerset, New Jersey. As usual, the place was wall-to-wall fly tyers, tying everything from giant saltwater streamers to trout flies. Streamers, salmon flies, you name it - someone was tying it.
Having wrapped my share of thread over the years, I thought it was time to revisit a long held interest of mine - traditional salmon flies. My first attempt years ago was pretty disappointing, and I was hoping my skills had evolved enough for me to take that next step and produce a better result.
There's nothing like a good fly swap to get the fly tying knuckles cracked, the creative juices flowing again. The reasons for joining a swap are many - but for me it's fun to tie flies for something other than my fly boxes, and I truly enjoy the friendship and comraderie that comes with participating in a swap. It's not about who ties the best flies or who has the best feathers.
While tying up a batch of streamers for a fly swap, GFF partner Bob Petti remembered an old tinsel trick that reduced some of the hand cramping thread wrapping that is all too common with long shanked streamers.
Some of these flies are among the most well known of any genre of fishing flies others are a little on the obscure side. Some are simple and some are a bit complicated. I like 'em all. They all have their place on the water, and they all have a story to tell.
I am as likely to sit down and tie six different flies as I am to tie six of the same pattern. Speed is not a concern, but I don't want to waste my time either. There are things I can do to make my life easier which may be different from a professional production tyer.
Someone asked me how to create the "slightly tapered" body on an Oatman Silver Darter and it was pretty difficult to describe in words, so I tied up a sample and took some photos along the way. Here for your enjoyment is a Lew Oatman favorite, the Silver Darter
The flies of Ora Smith that have captured my imagination were the little casting streamers with duck flank wings. They are like elongated wet flies. I sat down one weekend and tied up a selection, imaging some late spring day when I could cast these flies on a light line to some spooky trout.
A friend of mine once said that New York is an outdoorsman's paradise. For those who live outside the state, that may seem hard to believe, but it's true, at least from a fisherman's perspective. There is an amazing diversity of freshwater gamefish available able anglers year around. Over the past ten years, I've accumulated quite a few digital images of NY fishing that I thought it would be fun to share.
One day last year I was thinking about how best to illuminate flies for photos when I thought of using a LED flashlight as a sort of spotlight. They were very cheap - $3 at the checkout of any office supply store - but pretty wimpy. I started checking to see what other options were available and was surprised to find that LED lights are already very popular among photographers.
Wet flies are once again very popular, but most we see are tied for presentation and not so much for fishing. Bob Petti enjoys tying wet flies and tries to style his after the fishing flies that are popular in the UK using colors and materials that work well in the water.
The highlight of every fishing season is the trip to a small lake in northern New York where my buddies and I leave our trout gear at home and chase the king of the warmwater lakes - the largemouth bass.
I saw a post by Ted Patlen on a fly tying bulletin board. It was a simple post - a photo of a group of flies and a short statement stating his intention of tying the flies as close as possible to the way the originator tied the flies.
Gate Crasher - Bob Petti Tied by: Bob Petti Originated by: Mike Martinek Jr. Hook: Unknown 4xl #6-#12 Thread: Black 6/0 Body: Copper twist or copper...
Super Sleuth - Bob Petti Tied by: Bob Petti Originated by: Mike Martinek Jr. Hook: Mustad 3665A #4 Thread: Black 8/0 Tail: Golden pheasant crest Body:...
Gierach Special - Bob Petti Tied by: Bob Petti Originated by: John Gierach Source: Trout Bum, John Gierach (1988) pg. 190-191 Hook: Unknown 4xl #6-#12...
Gierach's Little Brown Trout Variant - Bob Petti Tied by: Bob Petti Originated by: John Gierach Source: Fly Tyer Magazine Spring 2004 Volume 10 No. 1...
Waterman's Silver Outcast - Bob Petti Tied by: Bob Petti Originated by: Charles Waterman Source: Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass, Harry Murray, page...
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Martin - martin@globalflyfisher.com
I have been trying t
I have been trying to find an email address for Bob Skehan but have had no luck. Can anyone help?