A South African fly tying journey with Ed Herbst and friends Volume 2

I previously highlighted a short clip of Ed Herbst first video A South African Fly Tying Journey with Ed Herbst and friends and I am exited to say they Ed has just released “Terrestrials” the second in the series.

Background info

The first in the series with Ed Herbst as narrator, interviewer and fly tyer and Andrew Ingram as camera operator and video editor was extremely well received both here and abroad. It was generally agreed that it significantly raised the bar for DVDs of this genre and this was hardly surprising given their decades of experience in the communication field and Ed’s acknowledged expertise as a fly tyer and fly fishing historian.

The DVD covers five innovative interpretations of insects which are important to trout and other fish, the grasshopper, the ant, the beetle, the inchworm and the crane fly.

Ed contributes two flies, his hopper with its effective leg configuration – a pattern which Tom Sutcliffe describes on his website as the best such pattern (http://www.tomsutcliffe.co.za/fly-tying/111-tying-ed-herbsts-hopper) and his Split-Back Beetle. The latter incorporates a sighter post combining orange egg yarn and krystal flash to provide both a contrasting colour and small sparkles of light on the back of the pattern. Foam beetles, while deadly, are notoriously difficult to see because they float flush with water surface and Ed’s pattern solves this problem.

Renowned Rhodes Guide, Fred Steynberg, demonstrates a foam ant pattern which he has developed over several years and which he says, when correctly presented to a sighted fish, is “never refused”.

Well-known Aliwal North custom rod/net builder, Mario Geldenhuys,(http://www.customflyrods.co.za/) demonstrates an ingenious inchworm pattern. The extended foam body is built on a needle and then transferred to a #18 hook. The comparatively large body floats the tiny hook with great buoyancy and Mario says this quick-and-easy to tie pattern is as effective on yellowfish as it is on trout.

Tony Biggs’ RAB has been catching trout for decades and Philip Meyer’s parachute version is easier to cast into the wind and is exceptionally effective when a breeze is ruffling the water and activating its squirrel tail “legs”. Philip says it is exceptionally effective when crane flies are on the water but also works well as a searching pattern when nothing is hatching and fish are not rising.

My thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed the first DVD  and was looking forward to this second in the series. The flies in this volume is well known flies to the South African Fly fisherman but before this DVD there was no real step by step tutorials on how to tie them properly. I know that I have tried to copy them myself with varying degrees of success. This DVD has certainly helped me and with no doubt it will be a great help to both novice and expert fly tiers. These flies were designed by South African Fly tiers for South African conditions but will work equally well wherever in the world you might find yourself. The video footage is expertly shot with clear instructions and the tiers explain the history of the flies as well as why they use the material that they do.

A South African Fly Tying journey with Ed Herbst and friends Volume 2 is well worth adding to your library.

Volume 2 is 60 minutes long and is available from my shop or Stream X