Meet the Fly Guy

Mah working on a fly secured to a fly-tying vise. His table has an assortment of materials for him to tie flies with.

ANGLING is like any sport – the end objective is not the only reward.

Of all the ways of sport fishing, few styles speak of the self-imposed rules, sophistication and attention to detail than the way of the fly fisherman.

Outside, you see them standing sometimes in hip-deep water, whipping their brightly coloured fly lines in graceful loops overhead to send their flies out.

This pellet fly is just a carved piece of cork stuck into a hook, and it works.

Back at home, fly fishermen become engrossed in something else: tying their flies.

Fly-tying is an art form that some achieve with such high levels of mastery of craftsmanship that other fly fishermen are willing to buy them.

They can tie flies that look exactly like dragonflies or their larvae, beetles, butterflies and moths, miniscule shrimps and grubs, fish fry and baby crabs, the list goes on.

Put simply, fly-tying involves wrapping bits of feathers, animal hair and a dizzying variety of synthetic materials around a fish hook.

Puritan fly fishermen might even insist on using freshly harvested duck or goose feathers, which still have natural oils to ensure that the flies they tie will float on the water surface, looking exactly like a struggling insect that a hungry fish cannot resist.

To make it easy to tie minuscule flies, these purpose-built bobbins holding spools of synthetic thread make it easy to wrap the thread around the bits of hair, feathers and so on onto the hooks.

For the majority of fly fishermen, however, looking for a duck or a goose to pluck feathers from could pose difficulties, so another preoccupation takes over as they search for materials to tie “practical flies”.

Dr YL Mah, 71, is a zoologist academically and has spent 16 years on fly-fishing.

He likes to visit handicraft shops, the type people go to in search of material for embroidery, knitting or custom-made costume jewellery.

“One time, I went to a shop and bought many beads, thread, tinsel, colourful cellophane strips and what-not.

“The lady proprietor was impressed and asked if I was into making costume jewellery.

“She was insistent and kept trying to find out what it was I wanted to make, but how could I explain fly fishing to her? So I just told her it was ‘something like that’ and left it at that,” Mah said with a laugh.

Called clouser minnows, these are well-known fly designs that work on many target fish.

He even entered a party paraphernalia shop once and bought several cheap clown wigs.

“They are made with synthetic hairs that do not absorb water. As material for flies, they make sure the flies keep their form even underwater, since the hairs won’t get water-logged,” he explained.

Natural or classy fly-tying material abound, though they can be rather costly because many are imported.

“Certain animal hairs have microscopic air bubbles in them so they either float or sink slowly, or perhaps their natural molecular structure ensures they stay rigid even when wet.

“But the hair of a rabbit, mink, muskrat, fox, bear, deer and so on can be costly when bought here, so I picked up the habit of browsing handicraft shops often to find other possibilities,” he said.

Mah admits he cannot tie “beautiful flies” and feels that many fly fishermen in Malaysia share the same predicament.

“When a fly I tie works for a certain fish, I try to repeat the form, perhaps change the colour a little. As long as it works, I don’t delve too deeply into how my flies look to the human eye,” he said.

He said to date he had caught numerous species on fly, including tilapia, common carp, rohu, jelawat, keli, baung, red-tailed baung, climbing perch, jaguar cichlid, mayan cichlid, red devil, black belt cichlid, peacock bass, grass carp, lampam jawa, haruan, toman, patong, sebarau, tengas daun, marbled goby, pacu, siakap, jenahak, mangrove jack, red drum, grouper and tarpon.

Mah finishing up a fly while holding it in a fly-tying vise.

For the uninitiated, the weight of fishing flies is measured in milligrammes.

They are impossible to cast by themselves using modern-day rods and reels, which depend on the weight of the lure or terminal rig to “load” the rod and generate the necessary momentum for the cast.

Fly fishing, a technique tracing back to the year 2AD, uses a weighted line that the angler can “shoot” out after figuring out the physical dynamics necessary for sending the line and fly out to a practical distance for the purpose of fishing.

The light weight of fishing flies make it possible for a quiet presentation that will not spook fish, an ability that modern-day fishing gear and techniques cannot grant.