I also received some fly-tying dubbing from Waldo Troot Flees
The blends are really excellent and especially with the added flash through the blend it gives it that extra bit of sparkle to the fly and should entice the trout to take your offerings.
The dubbing would be great on the bodies of nymphs, thoraxes of emergers, and bodies of wet flies and some lures.
You can get the dubbing in 40 different colours, mixes, and shades.
See below the dubbing box and some flies tied with it.
https://www.upavonflyfishing.co.uk/
I received some Straggle Hackle from Upavon Fly Fishing to undertake a review of the material.
I received the following colours and sizes from them: -
4mm Olive Mosaic
6mm Camo
8mm Black Mosaic
10mm Blue Flash Damsel
12mm Copper Flash Damsel
All the above packs come in 2 metre lengths and are suitable for tying up a number of great lures and the smaller 4mm sizes are perfect for tying collars on nymphs etc.
The straggle hackles are exclusive only to Upavon, as they are designed, manufactured and processed in their own UK workshop. Their manufacturing process ensures that they make the right materials for the fly-tying enthusiast. Also, their exclusive Pure Colour formula negates post-manufacture dying, resulting in consistent, vivid, 'pure' colours that won't run or fade.
And at only £3.50 a pack great value for your money.
As you can see below, I tied up a lure in each one they sent me, and I must admit it is really good material and colours. The sizes I really liked were the 6mm & 8mm as they gave a really nicely shaped body. However, the larger sizes would be perfect for that added movement in the water to attract the fish, and for the predatory fish like pike the 14mm would be perfect for that pike fly, especially the Copper Flash Damsel as it has that added sparkle and movement for getting the pike interested.
Semperfli Fly Tying Materials
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I also received fly-tying stuff from Semperfli to try out. Some Semperseal Subs dubbing in Medium Claret, Sooty Olive, plus some Semperflash in Krinkle Fluorescent Green and Mirror Orange along with a reel of Chartreuse 0.2mm wire.
The Semperseal Subs dubbing is not like your usual seal fur and rabbit dubbing. When using it you don’t lose some of the dubbing onto the fly-tying desk or the floor as it is robust as all you need to do is just pull a few strands from the pack and wrap it around your thread.
The dubbing is really soft and has a nice finish to it, it also seems to have a nice little sheen to it, which should appeal to the trout.
I also tied up just a plain olive PTN as you can see below.
The Chartreuse wire I used to tie up some Brassie Nymphs for my fly box as the wire is really fine and gives off a great shine under the water.
I’ve been using the Semperflash Mirror Orange and Krinkle Flouro Green as tails on some of the lures like the Orange Blob as seen below. The Semperflash in either colour gives off a great shine and is ideal as a target point for attracting the fish. The Semperflash can also be used as a breather on emerging buzzers or as a trigger point under the thorax.
You can get the above-mentioned materials and plenty more quality Semperfli products from any good fly-tying shop.
Uni Products 6ply Axxel Threads
I received a pack of 20 Uni Products threads through the post from Uni to try out. The texture and thickness of the threads are ideal for making up bodies on buzzers, or a hot spot thorax on the buzzers. Cormorant and lure bodies.
Or even mix and match the threads when making up a buzzer/midge body I used the Fuc Blue thread with silver through it to make up the Silver-Ghost Spider and tried it out at Bowden Springs Fishery on Thursday 16 December 2021.
I used a size 10 on the point and a size 14 on the dropper and the fish absolutely loved it, they either took the point fly or the dropper. In total for the 6 hours, I landed 10 to the net including 2 x 8lb 8oz and a cracking 9lb 8oz rainbow. So needless to say, I’ll be tying up a lot more of them from size 10 to 16 in the future.
Fly Tying Scotland
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I got some fly-tying material sent to me from Fly Tying Scotland to undertake a review on them.
They had sent me packs of the following to try out, UV Perfect Egg, UV Chenille, Various Fritz, and Mosaic Chenille.
I must say the material is excellent quality and what you get in the bag is unbelievable, for example, I measured the bag of Fritz and Egg material and they were 2 meters long, plenty to tie up as many flies/lures as you want.
I really loved the various chenille material that they sent it was perfect for the bodies on numerous styles of lures, and at £3.75 a pack very good value for your money.
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All their other products are very reasonably priced as well from only £3.00 a pack.
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All the egg officiants out there will love the new UV Egg Chenille for tying up the eggs, great colour choice to be had.
The material is that good, I have ordered more from them to top up my fly-tying drawers with products that I'm needing.
See below just some of the flies etc I have tied up with what they sent me.
Star Rating 5*
FLYCAST
Fly Tying Vice Rotary and Full Set of Tools
Received this as a Christmas present as I was needing a new vice, but got the full setup instead.
It’s a great vice and toolkit as it has everything you need and would be ideal for anyone starting up fly tying for the first time
The kit has every tool you would need for tying up your flies and comes in a great wooden case for storage if you want to take it away with you to tie up any forgotten flies or lures. A lovely little pedestal vice and toolset and great value for money.
Only £45.75 through Amazon