A beautiful 27 inch, halibut landed off the surf last week on fly by veteran surf angler, Jim Solomon. The fish was released unharmed. @theflyzone Photo courtesy of Jim Solomon.
Author Archives: ondafly
pics of the day…
photos courtesy of Ryan Toal
photos courtesy of Ryan Toal
photos courtesy of Ryan Toal
My friend Ryan just emailed me a few pics from his trek through France. He has never fished there and is going to Ireland next. He seems to be having a great time so far, stream side in the Pyrennes catching grayling and wild rainbows while snacking on cheese, bread, prosciutto and wine, life is good! LOL
WTG buddy.
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new saltyfly calico design…
©2019 Artwork by Al Quattrocchi, All Rights Reserved.
Last year, I redesigned my friend, Vaughn Podomore’s SaltyFly logo for some tee shirts he wanted to do. This was the No.1 design in the series, “the yellowtail”, which i believe is almost sold out!
The No. 2 design, “the calico” is still just a prototype but will be revealed soon, keep an eye out for it.
Check out Vaughn’s inshore guided fly fishing adventures:
http://www.saltyflyfishing.com/
©2020 Artwork by Al Quattrocchi, All Rights Reserved.
Categories: alquattrocchidesign, saltyfly, tee shirt designs
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SoCal Grunion runs…
It’s always a good thing to keep an eye out for the local grunion runs along our shores, they bring in the predators in tight, great time to hit the early morning surf with a clouser minnow fly or lucky craft. Tight lines
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Pic of the day!
Don Okamoto retired from surf fishing for almost twenty five years. Today he decided to get back in the game and on his second cast hooked a doormat halibut using a go-to lucky craft lure. This is what is all about folks, eternal hope, the force that makes you realize any cast at anytime can brighten your world! Needless to say, Don is still shaking after our buddy Jim Solomon grabbed his phone to snap this great memory! WTG Don! 👊
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another happy angler of the FlyZone!
Still crushing them in Patagonia, our buddy Wayne, who has been working on his casting with the Fly Zone just texted us a few nice fish… “Thanks boys for the help in making this achievement possible!” – Wayne
pic of the day…
“Just returned from vacationing in Maui. Gotta thank you for guidance in casting techniques. What you told me to expect was exactly what occurred. I put your lessons to work and landed two of the largest bonefish of my career.” – Stuart
check out the Flyzone.net for expert guidance on casting and being prepared on the flats…
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the Q pinche claw…
I have been getting a lot of requests from fly tiers around the world asking about my DIY Silicone Pinche Claws. I developed these Pinche claws in conjunction with the great Bauer Crab design which ended up becoming my Qs Pinche Crab. It has been a popular pattern in Belize for permit. The great, Will Bauer showed me how to tie his amazing pattern at the San Mateo Outdoor show back in the nineties, it was and still is a stable, deadly fly pattern used in Belize where Will pioneered the permit fishery back in the late eighties. The reason to the addition and development of the Pinche Claw is that silicone is buoyant and will float. These Pinche claws will take on a defensive posture when the crab, shrimp, crayfish or baby lobster lands on the bottom. They also will land in the right orientation when they fall. Very important when stalking permit. I think it makes a positive addition to any crab pattern and really works well. Always swim and test your flies before fishing them, remember everyone is a snowflake.
I hope this all makes sense, I threw it together rather quickly so if there are any questions, please fire away. I try to keep it as simple as possible so we can push the crab evolution forward…LOL
Start with some wax paper on a board, You will need scissors, CLEAR silicone, EP fibers, bodkiin, water proof marking pens, a ruler and lighter.
measure a length of EP fibers about 1/4 inch in width, leave enough length so you can make a knot, burn and edge so you can put through loop easier, then knot piece together
Color with sharpie, use your bodkin to add and smooth clear silicone through fibers, on both sides, pull in loose fibers with tip of bodkin then set to dry.
You can make DIY eyes by burning mono, then marking them with sharpies and adding Tuffleye or epoxy to build up eyes to size. Any clear silicone will work. The sketch will show you how I cut the claw sahpes once they dry, if you want your arms to curve then hold them in that position and add some five minute epoxy, tuffleye, or zap quick set glue to hold shape. Good luck and have fun…
-Al Q
Final cut Pinche claws ready to be added to your favorite pattern.
Qs Pinche Claws slightly bent inward
Qs Pinche Claws bent inward
Qs Strong Arm Pinche Crab
Qs articulated Crayfish with Pinche Claws
Qs crayfish
Straight Pinche Claws
Categories: article, Crab flies, Permit flies, Q Flies, Q Tip
Tags: PincheClaw, Qs Pinche Claw, QsPincheClaw
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The Barbless Podcast…
Check out the Barbless Podcast interview my buddy Conway Bowman did from San Diego that aired last week!
The Barbless Podcast is headquartered out of Chico CA.
Q tip!
photo by Al Quattrocchi
Hey gang: Here’s a couple of DIY fly boxes that are easy to make, very versatile and fit nicely into a shirt pocket. You can buy the 1/4 inch foam sheets at Michaels Art Supply stores. The foam can be cut to fit and easily removed. All the flies washed and left to dry, then reinserted. I have been doing these for years. Using an old eye glass case or a cheap plastic box works great. That’s the Q tip of the day…
Happy New Year.
-Al Q
flies, sand & surf 