The best addition I've made to my bench in some time. This thing is so cool.
Damn it! Now I want one!!
Cool!
Who makes it, and where'd you get it?
BTW, do they make a larger model for saltwater and musky flies? Some of the squid and mackerel patterns I tie would be hanging out both sides.
Hi SF,Very cool. I'll have to add one to my bench - when I get one again (lost my cave while we're stuck in a rental). The only critique is I would question the accuracy of fly motion given the induced turbulence from the nozzle jet (as opposed to action imparted by the fly simply moving through water). Although that wouldn't be too difficult to fix by rigging some sort of flow expander with a grid of laminar flow vanes.
BTW, do they make a larger model for saltwater and musky flies? Some of the squid and mackerel patterns I tie would be hanging out both sides.
My largest to date was an honest 9".The original was much larger. You might can find one on ebay although from what I hear, they are a pain in the ass to clean.
But how big do you need? I put a fly in yesterday that was 7" and there was plenty of room.
Simple/elegant solution. Love it. But yes, no shortage of turbulence in the prop wash. Can't wait to do some @Cabezon style tuna bucktailing later this summer.Hi SF,
You can create a very simple "flow-straightener" by gluing together a block of plastic soda straws. If you put that block between the nozzle and the viewing segment, that will create near-laminar flow through the viewing section. I agree that a larger "viewing" chamber would be helpful for larger flies. Even in the case of Swimmy's video, there are likely to be wall-effects because the fly extends so close to the wall of the chamber. In fact, you could upscale the whole apparatus quite easily by using a larger aquarium and a larger "viewing" chamber plus "flow-straightener". You can purchase these kinds of submersible pump at any decent aquarium store.
In any real-world application (i.e., a trolled or stripped fly), there will also be environmental turbulence. That is certainly the case when we are trolling our flies for albacore or stripping them back at a stop.
Steve
sadly, seeing what a fly does in a simple straight line current won't really tell you very much about how a musky fly will actually fish. Now, if you could build it much wider, and have the ability to stop the current instantly and the restart instantly that might work.BTW, do they make a larger model for saltwater and musky flies? Some of the squid and mackerel patterns I tie would be hanging out both sides.
I'm thinking if the fly was tethered to a thin wire rod that could be manipulated to simulate different retrieves. A larger tank would be necessary though.sadly, seeing what a fly does in a simple straight line current won't really tell you very much about how a musky fly will actually fish. Now, if you could build it much wider, and have the ability to stop the current instantly and the restart instantly that might work.
I mean, those are great for seeing what a trolled fly is going to look like.
A simple solution to your stop/start scenario is to turn the submersible pump on / off. A more elegant solution would be to connect the pump's power supply to a rheostat that would allow you to ramp the current (and therefore the flow) up and down.sadly, seeing what a fly does in a simple straight line current won't really tell you very much about how a musky fly will actually fish. Now, if you could build it much wider, and have the ability to stop the current instantly and the restart instantly that might work.
I mean, those are great for seeing what a trolled fly is going to look like.
Awesome! I'm going to have to try that sometime (once I get enough fly tying materials that is)Couple other cool additions to the bench. My peg board was getting a little crowded so I decided to put some items on cable loops.
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Like with anything there are trade offs. Packages are not as easy to access as just being on pegs but I can fit a lot more in the same amount of space.
oh hell yeah! that's just ridiculously simple.Couple other cool additions to the bench. My peg board was getting a little crowded so I decided to put some items on cable loops.
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Like with anything there are trade offs. Packages are not as easy to access as just being on pegs but I can fit a lot more in the same amount of space.
oh hell yeah! that's just ridiculously simple.
And visually I like it better as I can see all the colors and know what I have/don't have.