PANTHER BRANCH BUGS - How to Tie the Carp Kwan

The other week, I made a trip up to North Carolina to carp fish with Dave Fason (T.F.M. post) and the only fly that we fished that day was the Carp Kwan from Brandon Bailes of Panther Branch Bugs.  Dave has long been sold on this fly for his local carp lakes and he has a fly box full of this pattern in various colors and sizes.  I quickly became a believer on it's effectiveness when we found a carp mudding on a shallow flat, I made a misguided cast a bit too far to the left, and it still lunged out of the slit to slurp in the fly from several feet away.  Who says that carp have bad eyesight?  This one sure didn't.

When I got back from the trip, I asked Brandon if he'd put together a step-by-step post on how to tie the Carp Kwan and he not only provided the information and images for the post below, but we'll follow this with a how to fish the Carp Kwan post in a few days, which should not be missed.  

Break out your vise and tie you up a few dozen of the Carp Kwan.

 

Brandon wrote...  "Over the past few years I have become quite addicted to carp fishing for several reasons but mostly because I love redfish.  I’m 6 hours from the salt and need a regular fix!  Naturally carp fill that void since they tail, fight hard, and feed very similar to their salty cousins. 

My dear friend and mentor, the late Dave Whitlock, described these fish as having some of the best attributes from permit, bonefish, redfish and cutthroat...on top of being a “Super Fish” by their ability to thrive in all kinds of environments.  What’s not to love about them?

So when I sat at the vise to come up with a pattern I immediately drew my ideas from my redfish fly box...Kwan flies specifically.  I knew I needed to downsize and add a few things to make it "carp-worthy" and I can honestly say that this is the only pattern that I got right on the first try without a thousand tweaks.  It’s honestly what I fish 99% of the time and has worked in a variety of conditions because it looks like lots of different forage but not one specifically."

DESIGN FEATURES AND RECIPE:
The EP fibers provides a light weight body, good silhouette, and makes a more noticeable mud cloud when crawled on the bottom due to the wide shape.  Skworm tail material is used because it doesn’t collapse like regular chenille but also a dirty little trick, the tail being elastic makes for a good slingshot when a bow and arrow cast is needed when fishing heavy cover into exact spots.

HOOK - Tiemco 2457 size 8

THREAD - UTC 140
EYES - Medium Dumbell or Large Bead Chain Eyes
DUBBING - Cohen Carp Dub
BODY - EP Fibers
HACKLE - Hen Saddle
TAIL - Nash Flyworks Skworm Chenille

STEP 1: Attach bead chain eyes using UTC 140 thread and space the eyes back about a hook eye length.

STEP 2 - Cut and singe a piece of Skworm chenille that is 1.5 times as long as the hook shank.  Attach the tail and secure it to the halfway point of the hook bend.

STEP 3 - Take a small amount of Cohen Carp dub, preen it to align fibers and cut into thirds.  

STEP 4 - Take the dubbing and create a dubbing loop, spin it up, wrap the loop until just before being even with the hook point.

STEP 5 - Tie in a hen saddle feather and palmer forward, including a turn or two of the “fluff”.  Wrap back on the feather until just short of the hook point.

STEP 6 - Begin tying in sparse amounts of EP fibers. “X” wrapping each stack, one right next to the other until there’s no more room.

STEP 7 - Finally for the trim job, I make a straight cut on each side that’s roughly double the length of the bead chain on each side. After that I trim the top and bottom the fly to be as flat as possible.  Finally with a pair of curved scissors, I round the front and back to create the desired shape.

STEP 8 - GO FISH!  You now have a finished Carp Kwan!

Follow Brandon on Instagram and if you'd rather have him tie you a few flies, send him a DM.

BLUESKY FURLED LEADERS - Back & Better Than Ever!!!

Longtime T.F.M. readers should remember BlueSky Furled Leaders, and hopefully even have a few of their furled leaders in your kit.  What you might not know is that for years now, Nathan Register has been going through a series of health setbacks which sidelined the business and understandably greatly affected his family.  They have recently announced that BlueSky Furled Leaders is back in business with Kayla Register, Nathan and Rebecca's daughter, taking charge of this "Made in USA" business.  

If you'd like to learn more about Nathan's kidney transplant journey, take a few minutes to watch the trailer, the short film, or the entire story on YouTube.

 
To kick off this announcement, and the upcoming Independence Day holiday, BlueSky Furled Leaders is offering 25% off all their furled leaders through July 12, 2026, using code "JULY4" at checkout.  

 

 

From BlueSky Furled Leaders...  

"We’re so excited to let you know that BlueSky Furled Leaders is back and better than ever! We’re still making those amazing, handcrafted, high-quality furled leaders we’ve been doing since 1999. As a family-run business, we’re super passionate about the outdoors and fishing, and we’re thrilled to keep sharing that love with you.

Our family, led by Nathan and Rebecca Register, has always been dedicated to making tools that make your casting and outdoor adventures even better. While Nathan is stepping back, we’re so proud to announce that our daughter, Kayla Register, who just graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay , is taking over the company. With Kayla at the helm, we’re staying true to our roots—same great product, same great family, and everything still made by hand in the USA.

At BlueSky Furled Leaders, we’re still all about helping you succeed. Our furled leaders are made with the same care and skill that have defined us for over 25 years. Whether you’re catching trout in the High Sierras or exploring saltwater marshes, we’re here to help you enjoy the outdoors as much as we do.

If you have any questions or want to share your fishing stories, please don’t hesitate to reach out! We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for your continued support, and we can’t wait to be part of your next big catch."

 

Visit the BlueSky Furled Leaders website to check out their offerings and use discount code "JULY4" now through July 12th for 25% off your online order.  Follow along with the latest shop news on Facebook and Instagram.

Mark Erickson's Rodmaker 24/7 Glass Spey Review

A few weeks ago, I posted a write-up from Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods on his Rodmaker 24/7 Glass Spey blanks and soon after, I received an email from Mark Erickson who passed along that he had built one of these blanks up and would follow-up soon to share a short review and photographs of his experience.

If your interest is perked on this glass two-hander blank, then read Mark's review below...

Mark wrote...  "Here's a quick-and-dirty write up on the Rodmaker 24/7 11' 5/6-weight Glass Spey fly rod I built up and finally got on the river for some angling.  I purchased it last fall and took my time pulling together parts and completing the build.  I'm an ok-not-great rod builder and went with a minimalist design for the rod.  I got the blank in matte clear and built it with a full metal reel seat, off-the-shelf switch grip, and snake guides, all sourced from Proof Fly Fishing.  The built-up weight of my rod is 8 oz, which sits in between the 10'8" 3wt and 11'10" 6wt Echo glass Spey rods, which weigh 6.5oz and 9.2oz, respectively.  To me, it feels denser/heavier than the two Echos.  After I completed it, I did a little lawn casting to check out the balance.  I found my Hardy St Aidan reel to be a little too light, so I went with a a Hardy Marquis Salmon 1 reel."

"A few weeks later I got it on the water for a couple of sessions on my annual trip to the McCloud River.  I mostly use two-hand rods to throw streamers with Skagit setups, so I went with a 330 grain Airflo Skagit Scout head, 10 foot T-8 tip, and a mid-sized Skulpzilla. This setup is on the lighter end of the grain range that Shane publishes for the rod, but it's what I have so I went with it. I’m no great shakes as a caster, but I had easy time getting this setup to load and fire with Double Spey and Snap-T casts. The rod and reel combo do feel on the heavier side, but the balance feels good to me. A friend who is a much more experienced two-hand caster than me tried it out and said he liked it and thought it would be a good Klamath rod.

On the McCloud, I swung the Sculpzilla through a run that has a deep section up against a rock wall on the far side and I had no trouble bouncing the Skulpzilla off of the wall.  I got a couple of grabs and landed a bass of all things.  I swung through another run with similar results - a couple of good tugs and something big that I hooked and fought for a while but came off before I got a look at it.  There aren’t too many glass trout Spey options out there and the price point of this blank makes it the budget option. I put my rod together for probably about $300 including shipping costs - less than the cost of competing blanks.  As a five piece rod, it’s also uniquely packable.  I’m looking forward to finding more places to use it, possibly on the Trinity at the end of September skating dry flies or riffle-hitched muddlers for summer Steelhead."

Visit the Graywolf Rods and Rodmaker 24/7 websites to learn more about the Spey Glass blanks and remember to use discount code "TFM15" for 15% off your online order on either site.

THE PERRY PORK - Miki Prawn for Riffle

I don't know why exactly but out of the half dozen The Perry Pork films that I've shared here, they've always fit into the content flow on a Sunday.  Take twenty minutes and enjoy this tutorial.



Visit The Perry Pork website for more and be sure to follow along on YouTube and Instagram.

6 Good Reads

The weekend is here and with it, a six-pack of good reads to ease you into your Saturday morning.

GARDEN & GUN - IN THE BEGINNING THERE WERE BREAM

FIELD MAG - Q&A WITH STEVEN WEINBERG

CALIFORNIA FLY FISHER ON YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

LOON OUTDOORS - KEN MORRISH ON SUMMER TRAVEL TIPS

ATOLLAS - FLOOD TIDE PRIMER

THE OLD GHOSTS - THE BUDDY'S GOLF TRIP

In the Forest there was a Stream...

Judging from the comments, I'm not the only one who appreciates Rolf's unique take on fly fishing and videography.  So good.  Enjoy this one...



Dive down a rabbit hole on the YouTube channel and on the Rolf Nylinder website.

HOWLER BROTHERS - Privateer Dispatch - Week 1 & 2

I am home after almost two weeks in Michigan and while playing catch-up with my email inbox, I came across the first dispatch from the Howler Brothers Privateers.  This summer's twosome, Joe Buceti and Graham Mcalister, started their trip in Austin and are working there way across the west.  

It's been a few years since Howler Brothers gave away the keys to the van and Joe and Graham are making the most of it to "Heed the Call" with this unique opportunity.  

Check out the Privateer Dispatch of their first couple of weeks on the road and make sure you're following along with their latest exploits on Instagram and TikTok.