The reason i am asking is...i fished with the same fly for approx 3 hours catching several fish before the thread came undone. This happened again when i put another fly on (same pattern). I paid good money for these flies from a forum member and would like to know if this is the norm.
Where pliers were used to unhook the fly, it was done so very carefully.

Thanks Diarmid.

It depends on the fly to be honest. Delicate dry flies can become damaged relatively quickly, where as lures, buzzers etc can catch all day and still be fine at the end of the day.

it will also help if they are barbless, less twisting turning etc to get the hook out.

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WHEN YOU LEAVE THE RIVER, TAKE NOTHING, AND LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINT'S!!!

THA CAN TELL A YORKSHIREMAN ,BUT THA CAN'T TELL HIM MUCH !!

Diarmid,

I can assure you this is most normal, remember trout have teeth, very sharp most of the time. I doubt the tyer is to blame. When fishing for grayling flies will last a lot longer!

Walker

ps. How's the demon?

Personally I just can't get the trees to pay for the ones they take from me

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Carl

http://www.wandlepiscators.net/
http://teiseangling.co.uk/index.htm

TOMORROW THE TRENT COULD BE YOUR FISHERY! When are YOU going to JOIN THE ANGLING TRUST?

Diarmid,

It's difficult to isolate a single cause.

If the thread came undone from the front, near the eye, it may suggest that the fly was not finished with varnish. Two schools of thought here. Those who prefer waxing the thread before finishing and those who prefer varnish, e.g. Hard as Nails.

If the thread has been cut on the body of the fly, you may be looking at a greedy trout with sharp teeth. That's where slim copper-wire used as dubbing cover, if appropriate, can minimise the damage.

If you can post a photo of the fly you were using, we may be able to do some further diagnosis

It's almost impossible to answer that question, like, how long is a piece of string.

I've bought cheap flies that have disintegrated whilst casting and others that I've caught a dozen or more fish on. It depends on how well they've been tied and how "delicate" the materials used for specific patterns, but a trout's mouth can quickly damage a fly.

If the head came undone you might want to put a drop of head cement on them.

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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*****©(

Sounds quite acceptable to me

I tie my own flies without finishing with varnish etc(barring an epoxy finish if required) and would hold the view that if a fly has caught you only one fish... then it has done its job. And as you have found, the true 'cost' of a fly can be divided between several fish making the overall impact on your day/seasons cost absolutely minimal.(this comming from a Yorkshireman)
If the flies were tied incorrectly or 'shoddy' then you would have a recourse with the supplier......and if you are still not 'happy' then the answer is to change supplier until you find someone that can make them impervious to Trout teeth and forceps.If these flies do exist then they probably wont catch you fish AT ALL.
As a comparative.....were you to go fishing with maggots.....these are going to cost you about a fiver PLUS the cost of going to the shop to get them.....You still only have one days fishing.

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Two things to have in life - A good bed and a good pair of boots -and if you aren't in one you should be in t'other

How Long.....is a Chinaman isn't he?

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Two things to have in life - A good bed and a good pair of boots -and if you aren't in one you should be in t'other

If the head finish of a fly comes undone after landing only a few flies, there is probably something wrong at the head. As I have written in a recent thread, my head finishes are 4 half-hitches from the eye back to the root of the hackle, wing (spent wing ) or base of wing on a winged wet fly. After last half-hitch, I finish with a 4, 5 or 6 turn whip, always winding towards the eye of the hook. That is the only right way to make a whip finish -- they must finish at the eye. The tying silk is then covered in 4 to 6 turns, before the tag end is cut off. Winding a whip finish from eye back to root of the hackle etc ends up with a short length of tying silk overlying the whip from back to front. If unvarnished, this can unwind in use. To prove this point, use a garden cane and parcel string. Try whipping in each direction to see which is the secure way.
I'm bragging now. I once sent Roy Eaton, one-time editor of 'Fishing', 'Trout And Salmon' and finally 'Salmon,Trout And Sea Trout' a selection of 12 North Country and Border wet spider patterns --- Snipe and Purple, Sn and Yellow, Partidge and Orange, Part and Red, Waterhen Bloa and Greenwell's Glory. I think those were the flies. I knew Roy personally, as I once fished with him, and I wrote for all three magazines while Roy was editor. He sent a letter informing me that he had taken 34 ( yes, 34 ) brown trout and rainbows on one of the Partridge and Orange flies, size 14, at Weir Wood. I think it was in Kent; and he gave me permission to quote him. The dressing and hook were still functional when he lost the fly in a fish.
In my old Wheatley dry fly box I have a magnetic bar on which I used to put any dry flies that had taken 20 trout. Mrtrout has seen it, and I certainly had one that took 22 in one day at Kirkoswald on the river Eden. It was a size 16, Badger and Yellow. I used to be able to catch more than my share of trout in those days, but it was easier, in the period, 1960 to 1990, than it is today. More fish (but smaller) more flies, far more ranunculus weed. Of these factors, there is absolutely no doubt. There were numerous members of our club who could recount similar catches to mine in those days -- nothing special about me!! I lived at the right time. Simple as. TC