Fred&Ruth

Mickalo, try the thrift or second hand stores in your area. I have gotten two grinders for a dollar a piece and they both work. I buy a lot of stuff at those places especailly furs like rabbit and fox mink and beaver for around two bucks each. Good luck Fred

I just wanted to say to you guys who replied that on sat. I am heading to nj to the symposium with a good friend of mine and hopefully after seeing all the sites and famous fly fishin guys it will jumpstart me and have me back at the vice as soon as i get home. I did go over to the shop yesterday and tie two rs2 quill flies after whatching ak bests dvd of wet flies.so again thank you sharing your best ideas with me I know they helped. I will let you know how the symposium was when I get back. Fred

wash it in dawn dish liquid and then use a hair conditioner on it. That will make it softer and easier to work with. Hang it till it dries again and its ready to go. If you store it in a baggie or whatever put a mothball or two in with it.

thank you guys for the sharing your thoughts.I think the best piece of advice is leave it alone for a while.We are going to fl. at the end of jan. for three weeks. I also like the idea of having some tu members over to the shop to tie on a weekend. I think I will take my fly rod along to fl. and fish in the lake at my dads,should be some well needed medicine.thanks again guys for the advice.

I posted this topic earlier but i think I put it in the wrong forum so I will try it again here. I love to tie flies although I havent been at it all that long. Lately this past month or so I have been tying flies that I have tied before but they arent coming out very good. I also am not very enthusiastic about tying any patterns at this point. I am hoping it is from not being able to fish since the creeks here are all frozen over hence I am not able to use any flies I have been tying.If this has happened to anyone before please let me know how you gained your enthusiasm and ability back thanks Fred

I fished before I tied and I will fish after they take my vice from my cold dead hands I think?????????????

I have an anvil atas and like it a lot cost around 150 full rotary they also make one for 100.oo thats not rotary both are good vises and made like a tank.

how many sit downs did it take to tie all those flies? By the way very nice job also they look great.

hey brian if its not too late I would like to get in also. exactly how much postage do you need and what size of an envelope are you talking about? I must say its a generous jesture on your part thanks for the offer. Fred

I made a tying bench a dubbing brush from a 22 cal gun cleaning brush and melted it into a cut off toothbrush handle. I tore apart and old computer and took the magnet out of the hard drive I put a string on it and pick up all my metal tools and hooks I drop. TheI magnet is the so strong it will pull a hook from 6 or 7 inches away you only have to get close I never lose hooks anymore in my tying shed. I made a rotating vice from an old drill I tore apart and used the chuck. It actually works but not for anything smaller than a size 16 hook and also it doesnt look real pretty. I made a tool caddy and a very cool thread holder it holds more than 80 spools of thread and only takes up about 6 inches on my tying bench. I am always looking for things I can make from scrap things I find I never throw anything away anymore without taking a good look at it and checking to see if it is useful for tying. I have only been tying for a year now but have never bought any dubbing I live in the country and have all kinds of animals here that I have skinned and dyed and bleached and I also have been given ducks and other things from the local hunters since I dont duck hunt. I do buy hackle of course until I start raising some good quality chickens after I do a little more research on the subject. cant think of much more right now but I am sure theres more.thanks for the topic. fred

these me I hope the ppl in washington dont read this forum or youll have to send 15.oo of that profit for the national debt

utyer, thanks for the info. I have gotten some underfur from the raccoon but I didnt get any when I combed the opossum out with the dog comb. The possum is very long and white with black tips I am not sure yet how to use it. I may try to use it for wings or tails. I havent put any in the dubbing blender/coffee grinder. I have tried to use the raccoon hair for wings but it is very slippery. I havnt been able to tame it yet although it has great color. I am going to try to make some tails with it . I will be sure to let you know how I make out with both I think the coloring is nice on both and the white from the possum can be dyed any color again thanks for your reply. fred

I just got a partial opossum pelt and almost a whole raccoon. I just finished cleaning and boraxing and all the good stuff and I would like to know if anyone has any suggestions on using both furs. The opossum underfur looks very nice its fluffy and a nice color it also has very long guard hairs. The raccoon on the other hand is very course and long I do think the tail will make tailing and perhaps wings on a dry fly. I washed both of them and then soaked them in a hair conditioner so they are very managable. I have combed the raccoon with our dog brush and got some underfur thats a nice light brown color. any ideas you all have will be greatly appreciated. I did see a video where a guy made a dubbing brush out of groundhog fur and I think the raccoon would also work for that I am going to try it and see. I have only been tying a short while but I do have access to lots of natural fur where I live. thanks all Fred

I am sorry but I just have to ask the age old question. they are so tiny how did you get thier little legs apart??? fred

I am looking for a new set of rotating hackle pliers. I would like some opinions on which are the best I have had 2 sets now and both are broken. I did revive the one set and used the small hackle pliers that came with my first tying kit and attached them to my rotating handle. They work ok but they are a little big for some applications. I would appreciate some goo advice from you guys and gals. I have gotten it before and am grateful for it. fred

I ACTUALLY CLAMP MY PEDESTAL DOWN WITH MY C CLAMP IT KEEPS IT FROM HOPPING AROUND. IF I DONT IT MOVES ON ME I HAVE A ANVIL ATLAS VISE AND THE BOTTOM IS FAIRLY HEAVY. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY MORE THAN ONE PERSON I AM BEING TOO HEAVY HANDED WHEN TYING. I DONT BREAK THREAD OFTEN OR BEND HOOKS. SO AM I IN ALL YOUR OPINIONS BEING TOO HARD ON MY FLIES WHILE IN THE VISE? FRED

SAN JUAN WORM VERY SIMPLE LITTLE MATERIAL AND EFFECTIVE FRED

when I tie a new fly I take it over to my friends at the fly shop and they look at them and say well they will catch fish!!!! I am usually happier at the outcome than the better tiers I have critique them but they are right they do catch fish. I have only been at this since last summer so at this point what more can I expect I know that next year my flies wil look a lot better. I have been told that when you compare say an adams from last summer to one you will tie a year from now there is no comparison. I cant wait fred

I dont have any pics yet just got started on this site but today I am tying egg patterns and woolybuggers and nymphs for my first ever steelhead fishing trip to erie. perhaps its best I dont yet know how to photo my work and put it on here just started tying this summer and havent had a lot of time to practice but I like it very much. Fred

Thanks Deeky I will try it in the morning with some rabbit I am all out of mouse dubbing till I catch a few more. Fred

I have no fly reels or rods to trade but I will shortly have quarts of pure maple syrup straight from the maple trees on our property its good stuff for pancakes and ice cream etc. Once youve had it youll never go back to mrs. butterworth just food for thought or should I say syrup Fred

Bruce, thank you for responding. I have tried that once and it worked a little but the bottle was very small and it was a pain putting it on. I would have needed ten dollars worth of the stuff to do a small batch of rabbit fur that I dried. I cant believe my dubbing just disintigrated completely . When I poured out the liquid into my netting there was absolutely nothing left. Again thanks for the response appreciate it. Fred

D. we live in tioga county and fished kettle creek a few times the last few years. I really like that creek and we have done well there. We like ole bull state park for camping when you said potter county I just assumed you fish kettle creek perhaps We will see you there sometime. Fred

Hi everyone, My wife and I are new to fly fishing and tying we have been at it for about 6 mos. We love both aspects of the sport. I am retired and we live back in the mountains of northern Pa. I recently took small game hunting back up cause we both like rabbit, grouse, squirrels etc. but also for the feathers and fur. We both have fished all our lives but we had ultralight spinning equiptment and I used minnows and Ruth was a corn fisherman mostly and believe it or not she didnt come in far behind me on our fishing excursions and occasionally cought more than I did. We got into the flyfishing through some friends who had ask us to go out west to yellowstone this summer so when we looked at all the fishing regulations it was mostly set up for fly fishing so we made a late spring trip to cabelas and headed west. That is another story but thats how we got here. hope to meet some new friends on this site and share some insights and stories. Fred and Ruth

how do you bleach dubbing? As I type I am waiting for a book from alibris by A.K. Best about dyeing and bleaching but I could not wait anylonger so today I attempted to bleach my mouse dubbing which is very nice to work with real fine and a nice soft grey color. I first washed it in dawn dish liquid then I soaked it in peroxide for a while and when I drained it it was still the same color so I headed to the house for some clorox and after adding the bleach and after what looked like and alka seltzer tablet had just been added to the canister my dubbing dissolved. I think I accidently found the original formula for nair. Oh well any help would be appreciated till my book arrives. got to head to the store for some more peanut butter for my traps. Fred