Tippets: In Praise of Small Water, Breaking a Law of Physics, How to Add Extra Movement to Flies

October 28, 2012 By: Erin Block

  • In big water we often find ourselves lost in awe. But in small streams and rivers we are able to see ourselves, writes Matt Smythe, “And therein lies the truth.” And therein lies its purpose.
  • New research has found that small fish such as sardines and herring are able to break a basic law of physics: reflection. By evolving with not one, but two types of guanine crystal, “These fish have found a way to maximize their reflectivity over all angles they are viewed from.” Says Dr Nicholas Roberts, one of the research team supervisors out of the University of Bristol.
  • To add more movement to flies, especially streamers, learn to tie the non-slip loop knot, as demonstrated by John Frazier on Fly Fishing in Salt Waters.