neoFLYte

Very cool! Rock on!

I've had it for about 3 months and I'm not crazy about it. I use it sometimes - usually when it happens to be already threaded with the thread color I feel like using. A more traditional bobbin I picked up lately that I really like is the Umpqua Ergonomic Bobbin. I don't remember exactly where I got it, but you can find them online.

I have not tried using true epoxy yet, but it's on my list of methods to learn. First, the following is not necessarily a glowing recommendation - just an option. One alternative to epoxy that you might consider is Tuffleye products (http://www.wetahook.net/). I will say that Tuffleye seems to be better suited to one-at-a-time fly applications. I haven't gone nuts with the stuff or exposed the treated flies to toothy fish, so I can't speak to the durability of it. It's possible, though, to tie some nice looking flies with it and have them pretty much ready to throw in 10 minutes or so. One thing I don't like about it is that the newly-cured Tuffleye product is that it has a greasy feel to it. The "grease" can be removed with alcohol, but that's a step I could do without. Take Care! neoFLYte Austin TX

Go for it! I have access to a (live) llama. I can't wait until the weather gets warmer so I can shear that sucker and see what can be done with her hair. Take Care! neoFLYte Austin TX

Interesting point. I don't use Danville very often because I think it flattens too easily and I have to spin it to keep it from fraying. I have come to prefer UNI thread, even though it breaks on me from time to time. Maybe it breaks because I let it become too tightly spun. Thanks for the insight!

Lookin' good! Better than the first *several* flies I attempted. I'll bet you can throw that sucker at anything that would hit a wooly bugger and if they're biting, they'll eat it up! Take Care! neoFLYte Austin TX

Good for you! I have a non-rotary Montana Pro that I actually prefer to my rotary Peak. I like the Griffin's jaws (access to the hook) and grip *way* better. I've been thinking about springing for a Montana Mongoose for a replacement rotary vise.

Not to suggest that fly tiers have no sense of humor, but... This morning I was reading/surfing through my new favorite book, "The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference" by Ted Leeson and JimSchollmeyer. I ran across a section titled "Flame-Shaped Bodies". The quote that struck me is "The pitfall here is obvious. A little too much enthusiasm [when flame shaping] will transform the fly into a deer-hair Hindenburg." I can just see myself doing just that. LOL! Does anyone have funny "Adventures in Fly Tying" stories to tell?

So far I've never *had* to tie any particular fly often enough to get sick of it. I fish when I can and I tie when I can. So far, I haven't found a pattern that that works without fail. I tend to surf fly pattern sites until I find a pattern I think is interesting or challenging. As a rule, I'll try to tie pretty much the exact pattern at least once. Sometimes the fly will stay a "work in progress" for days. After I get the knack of using whatever material(s) or technique(s) the pattern requires, I might tie a few true-to-recipe specimens to improve my technique, then tie a few variations. After that, it's on to the next challenge/debacle. :-)

My first vise was a Griffin Montana Pro. Later, I got a Peak Rotary with all of the optional brass stuff they have. The Peak looks cool, but I still use the Griffin 95% of the time. I think the Griffin holds hooks way better with a lot less fiddling. Take Care! neoFLYte Austin, TX

Wow. Those are some nice small flies! Take care! neoFlyte Austin, TX

Lots of times you can find taper specifications online for specific brands and varieties of fly lines. I haven't seen a taper yet that didn't have at least several inches of "level tip" (terminal thickness). See, for instance, http://www.cortlandline.com/products/default.asp?id=94 Take Care! neoFLYte Austin, TX

Fly fishing for catfish. Interesting idea! I'll have to give it a shot! Do you weight the heck outta that leech to get it on the bottom?

I think the concept here is quite good, and one could benefit greatly from following a video (check YouTube, but there are LOTS of other sites that provide fly-tying videos) for each of the flies mentioned in this thread. Perhaps a suggestion for the next installation of this series... the Matuka wing.

I like J Stockard also. I buy about 95% of my stuff from them. I'm not a huge shopper, but I haven't seen any really big price differences between Storkard and some of the other "usual suspects". For me, J Stockard has been exactly what I expect. Prompt delivery, good customer service, and pretty good sales from time to time.

As stated earlier, Dr. Slick makes some good tools. One tip about scissors. Don't use your delicate scissors to cut "gnarly" materials. Get a pair of relatively cheap general purpose scissors to cut wire, big wads of hair, etc. Use the "jaws" (as opposed to the tip) of any of your scissors as often as possible so that when you need the tip to make that critical snip, it'll do the job. This part is more of an opinion. Consider getting a bobbin with a solid ceramic tube. Some bobbins have ceramic inserts at the ends. I find that threading the bobbins with inserts is a little more of a hassle, even when using a bobbin-threading tool. I use those little plastic dental floss threading thingies as threading tools. As a point of reference, I tie "warmwater" flies, so most of my flies are neither terribly delicate nor the works of art you've seen. For thread, I started using Danville "Flat Waxed Nylon". I later switched to 6/0 UNI-thread. The Danville thread is great when you need "flattened" thread (as the name suggests). For my purposes, the need for flattened thread while tying is minimal so the UNI works better for me. BUT... as alluded to earlier, there are as many "best" products as there are fly tiers. Have fun! Neoflyte Austin TX

Most likely, as you tie bigger flies and smaller flies, you're not going to be happy with one vise. I suggest finding a vise you like for your bigger (or smaller) flies, then finding a different vise, or different jaws for the vise you have, for the other flies you tie.

I agree with Fred H. Just tie the dang things and enjoy it!

I don't know about poppers in particular, but you might take a look at the Tuffleye product.

Great thread! I'm an ex-camera (35mm manual everything) junkie, and wondered if some of those gorgeous fly pics could be done without a second mortgage worth of high-end digital equipment. Thank you home-made rig posters for showing your setups! Cheers, neoFLYte Austin TX

I started tying at the same time I started fly fishing, about a year ago. I am a galaxy away from being able to tie presentation flies, but my catch rate with self-tied flies is *much* higher than it ever was when I was using spinning/bait-casting gear. Cheers! NeoFLYte Austin, TX

Getting away from it all - fishing - is the object if *my* game.

I have a Peak pedestal vise. I have never had a problem with the pedestal slipping or wobbling when tying, however size 6 hooks are the bigggest I've tied. I frequently switch out the Peak vise with a Griffin Montana vise, since they have the same size shaft. So far, I have not had the desire to take my fly-tying on the road. Lugging the Peak pedestal would not be much fun. Cheers, neoFLYte Austin TX

I bought a couple of packages of those dumbbell-looking metal eyes and a pack of 3D Eyes a few days ago. The 3D Eyes were a pain to remove from the card they came on and a bigger pain to get stuck onto the metal dumbbells. I went to the trusty toolbox and found a piece of scrap heat-shrink tubing that just fit over the "cornea" of the 3D eyes. Press down, give a little twist, and the eye will stay lightly adhered to the heat-shrink. You can put those eyeballs just where you need them with minimal hassle. If you want to use some Zap-a-Gap gel on the dumbbells for some extra stick, you can get a smaller piece of tubing to fit inside the outer tubing to push the eyeball onto the Zap-a-Gap. I got the heat shrink in an assortment pack from Radio Shack. Cheers! neoFLYte Austin TX

Those are some nice fish! I think bluegill are the best-eatin' fish ever. They are my primary target when I fish. Do you scale them or fillet them? When I was a kid, we used to scale them and fry 'em up. We learned to deal with the bones. Mmmmm! Good memories.