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J-Kno

Macular Degeneration and fly fishing?

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I have an older lady friend who's husband hasn't fly fished in a number of years. I showed her some photos of a recent jaunt I made and she said her husband really enjoyed fly fishing, but just struggles with tying on bugs. Has anyone tried the C&F threaders, TyePro or the Orvis hook threader? I'm willing to go fish with him to help out but I'm sure he'd like some level of self sufficiency.

 

Orvis

C & F Threader

Tyepro

 

Thanks!

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C&f threader works well to thread the hook eye, but they're expensive and break too soon. Good for your adventure, though. If your hook eyes are big enough, you could use a regular old needle threader instead. (The C & F threaders are thinner)

 

For tying the hook to the tippet once the hook is threaded with the c&f threader, I have used and liked the Tie Fast tool. It's thought of as being for nail knots, but actually it's great (when you can't see well or when your hands are too cold) for improved clinch knots (fly to tippet) and also for blood knots (tippet to leader). The only major catch being you use more line than when tying without the tool.

 

Here's a video showing how to use it for fly to tippet

https://youtu.be/9rZw_dRpD0I

 

Here's one showing tippet to leader

https://youtu.be/611JWRtkjOc

 

That's a nice thing you're doing, hope he enjoys it.

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I've used the C&F threader but don't really like it as sometimes it's hard for me to insert the threader on small flies. I have also used a magnetic dohickie (don't know what i's called or who makes it) that puts the tippet through the eye of small flies. The device holds the fly with the eye in a ceertain place and has a groove for the tippet that aligns it with the eye. I'll dig through my gear to see if I can find the name of it. Bought it at a tackle shop. Good luck with your friend.

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I had problems with depth perception until I got a cheap pair of reading glasses from a dime store. With no contacts or glasses, the correction of the "cheaters" makes it much easier to thread hooks and also for fly tying. It also helps to use a shirt, vest, or other solid color background when tying on a hook. Hopefully that helps.

 

The problem I have with the threaders is that I still have to get the threader through the hook eye. As dadofmolly states, small flies can be a problem with a threader and that is when I would need it the most.

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I think the largest part of this will be how well he sees. I would have him look at hooks and see if he can see the eye.

Macular degeneration can affect visual acuity.

 

Rick

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I was diagnosised with macular degeneration - where you loose some or all of your central vision in one or both eyes, but retain your periphrial vision - about 30 months ago. It sucks, and I really haven't tied much let alone make a bamboo rod in that time frame. It affected my left eye first but has now begun to affect my right eye, so I am slowly going blind. I still fish lakes in a boat,but no longer fish rivers as I have lost my balance. I have had 3 surgerys on my left eye and now 2 on my right which has only slowed the progress of the disease process. Magnification is definately a necessity as even reading texts on my phone is impossible without it Like I said it sucks, and I'm not even 60. I can still drive and do the macro stuff, but working with anythig small is tedious and frustrating.

 

Doug

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I've used the C&F threader but don't really like it as sometimes it's hard for me to insert the threader on small flies.

They make three different sizes. I've found no problem using the smallest size on flies down to 20, even 22, as long as I haven't crowded the eye with thread. Fwiw...

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Thanks, chug. Glad to hear they make different sizes and that you have had good success. I may need to revisit the tool some time in the future.

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What I use is dental surgical binocular loops, in 2.5x or 3.5x, clip ons becfause I use glasses for everything elese. They can be as expensive as you want to go, but the ones I use for fishing cost around 50 bucks. Invaluable for tie flies to your leader.

 

Doug

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The magnetic gizmos with the funnel would have a better chance of working for me than the C&F thing, I think. My vision loss is at least partially due to cataracts but other impairments exist also, not sure what, just wear the glasses and do the best I can. Not completely sure what macular degeneration is.

The thing is the tippets disappear, poking the tippet through the hook is no more difficult than poking the threader through the hook, if I can see it and if I can't then finding the end to poke through the threader is just like finding the end to poke through the hook, eh? A different brand of tippet sometimes is easier to see, and of course larger tippet is easier than smaller, I'm in the 5X most of the time and can find no real necessity to fish flies smaller than #16; but, the most effective eye crutch I have found is back ground color. Certain colors like black, blue, dark green, some shades of brown can effectively magnify the tippet by 10 times. I carry a solid colored cloth or take off my vest to use as background when tying leaders or tying to the flies. I also carry a small folding stool to sit on while doing the work. Solid contrasting color back ground cloth and some colors work better than others for different tippet materials. I have a hat that is prefect for some brand of tippet but ineffective for another brand.

 

Try a few colors of cheap t shirts an see if one stands out as an improvement.

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Macular degeneration gives you this ...

 

macular denegeration.jpg

 

No glasses or amount of light helps, really. I tool that allows fro threading the eye of the hook without seeing it is almost a requirement.

 

My sympathies to all of you who have it. It's one of the few things I dread.

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The macula is located at the fovea of the retina. It is the location with the highest concentration of cones (the color sensors) of the retina. 6 million cones are concentrated mostly in and near the fovea, and few cones are scattered throughout the rest of the retina. The cones allow us to see color.

So with macular degeneration, there is both a loss of fine detail with color vision. In bright light, the rods recede into the retina. So the high concentration of rods in the rest of the retina are of NO USE in daylight. They do not function during bright light.

Therefore a person with macular degeneration has very poor vision even in the daytime. Since there are no rods in the macula, even at night, there is poor fine vision.

post-27478-0-27974500-1536263780_thumb.png

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10848/figure/A763/

http://www.indiana.edu/~p1013447/dictionary/rodcone.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macula_of_retina

Magnifiers really don’t help. Basically it is like getting closer to a low pixel count monitor. It does not allow us to see any better detail.

post-27478-0-82427000-1536263813_thumb.png

 

 

 

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Guess I need to learn more about eye doctor words before I start making out like I understand and start giving advice. I apologize for over-simplifying a serious condition.

 

Well, if you just have trouble with depth perception related to not being able to see close up, try some cheaters.

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I have 2 different devices; Quick Tye Tool made by S&S Manufacturing, P.O. Box B7521, Loveland, CO. and the other has no name or company on it. It is black, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long, maybe 3/4 wide. Has a magnet to hold the fly and a grove to run the tippet. You can place the fly point up (usual orientation) or point down; slide the tippet in the groove to thread. Of the two devices, I prefer the second one. The first one has a slot to put the fly eye and then the tippet is run through a funnel; not as easy for me to use. My attempts to include a picture do not turn out well.

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