z fisher

Holy off topic, Batman. I've always used a thin head cement and I can't imagine it has any impact on how the fly floats. Once is dries there's virtually no additional weight.

Nicely done. This is my favorite fly because it's so effective, especially in some of the smaller tailwaters in the Northeast. I tie this in several colors: Sulphur, Olive, Adams though they all seem to be effective. Below is a version I tied with Olive Dubbing. It's an earlier attempt. I now tie the abdomen with only one PT barbule to make it even leaner. The shuck is Zlon though I've found it sometimes causes the tail to float so I've gone to using PT for the shuck though I like the look of the Ostrich herl that you've used. I also generally use about twice as much deer hair as pictured. I like this fly to float perpendicular to the water surface. I have found that the sparser I make the hackle the better it rides. The combo of the deer hair and the sparse hackle keep it floating just enough to be visible. I'll try and whip up a "new" version later today.

Every fly can use a little flash! Pretty much every nymph I tie has some flash included in it, most often as a wing case like you've done but I've also become very fond of ice dubbing for abdomens. As suggested in other places, try for a narrower silhouette. Caddis tend to be chunkier, but the mayfly nymphs are little wispy things. Also, for a rib you can use all sorts of materials. Following along with the thought that everything can use a little flash, I've used a dark Krystal Flash strand for ribbing. Keep tying!

Quigley Cripple

A #12 Bergmans Fontinalis and an Alexandra in the same size.

Beautiful fly! How do you get such a glossy head on the fly? I've seen them shiny, but that's like a mirror.

Very cool set-up for the photos.

All good advice above. Make sure you get some peacock herl. When you have those materials together with your dry fly materials, you begin to have no end of nymph combinations. Just a few standard patterns that come to mind are WD-40s (thread, dubbing, PT), all manner of midges (mostly just thread or wire), some basic stonefly patterns. Of course, this becomes a sickness like everything else. How many colors and styles of dubbing can one person have? The answer is: more than you could ever imagine. But that's the joy of our sport.

The ladies do dig a fly tyer.

I've fished with my flies, with local flies and with the mass-produced global flies. They all seem to fish well. I tie and support local tiers because I prefer to. But I don't think the trout care all that much.

Good for you, man. You must have a nose for value.

That's gotta be the find of a lifetime! I was shocked that his prices were so low. He could have broken that into smaller lots and made multiples of his $200.

So what's this guy's deal? Hobby that got out of control (139,000 hooks!!!!) or bought out a shop that was closing?

#8 Olive Wooley Bugger

Size 32!?!?!? I would skip the search for #32 hooks and check into a good clinic for some counseling. Don't let small flies ruin your life. Get help while you still can.