Leave it to fly tyers to come up with the niftiest new gadgets out there. From gizmos which fasten to our vests, to fly testing devices which rest on our bench, we're a creative bunch, undoubtedly obsessed with taking our flies and skills one step further.
It wasn't that long ago when I first heard about a new gadget on the market which lets fly tyers test out their creations right at the bench. Originating in Finland, a unique new contraption will soon find it's way to many of our fly tying benches. The Kalax float pipe, a new product on the North American market allows us to test our flies in a controlled environment by observing the action of the fly under various current speeds. The creator of this new instrument, Tuomo Petäjä-Suvanto, has been an active fisherman for 27 years. Based on his experience and enthusiasm to build a unit which could test fishing lures, including flies, the development of Kalax fly testing device began in 1998.
The now patented device, which is made out of wood and water tight plastics, has a current speed control dial, enabling tyers to see how their streamers, nymphs, wets or any other types of subsurface patterns behave in moving water situations, up to 1.5m (3.3 ft) a second.
Although I firmly believe that the ultimate test of all fly patterns is on the water, this little gadget gave me a pretty good indication of how my flies act underwater. While testing out this unit, I immediately started noticing the subtle difference in the way certain materials behave when submerged. For instance, various dubbings trap and hold air bubbles much more so than others, promoting them for use on emergers. Woolly buggers tied with a bead-head had much more wobble to them than non bead-headed versions and rabbit fur out danced marabou on one of my favorite leech patterns. Although these actions and behaviors are disputably predictable, the Kalax also revealed some surprises.
The most important discovery was that I could really observe how flies which are ordinarily stripped in, streamers in particular, behave. I tested streamers because they are the most relevant fly category which could benefit from with this device. Nymphs, wets and emergers are most commonly drifted; they tumble, rotate and bounce around as they make their way downstream. Streamers on the other hand are retrieved against the current. The Kalax provided me with a glimpse of what these flies will look like in this situation.
To my surprise unweighted streamers had the most tendency to spin along the
axis of the hook shank when tested under faster current speeds. This was a fact that I was oblivious to prior to this test. Questions immediately started running through my mind. Would I have had better success last year if I had known that some of my unweighted streamers, which looked perfectly symmetrical in my eyes, were spinning as I was stripping them in? By adding a small strip of lead wire along the underside of the shank and retesting the pattern I was able to prevent the spinning effect, even at high current speeds. Will this new found discovery result in more fish brough to hand? I'm not too sure yet as the Canadian climate isn't particularly
accommodating to fly fishers during our prolonged Winter months, but in theory, these streamers should now run true, more closely imitating natural prey. The final jury is still out.
The Kalax Vision Company, manufacturer of the Kalax float pipe is now in the process of establishing a distribution chain in North America which will put these devices in fly shops around the country. One of the premier retailers of this device will be the already strong Hook & Hackle Canada
(http://www.hookhack.com).
#3 Fisher Crescent
Box 625
Okotoks, Alberta, Canada
T1S 1A7
Although I doubt that we will ever see one of these units on everyone's bench anytime soon, the theory behind it and the fact that someone has engineered the Kalax is sure to leave an impact on the way we think about our patterns. This isn't by any stretch of the imagination a necessary tool for tyers, however after using it I know
that I will be tying my flies with a more stringent eye, focusing more on action than ever before, thus making it a solid "nice-to-have".
For more information, including a short video of the Kalax in action,
please visit http://www.kalax.net
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