jburge

The last of my materials will be here Monday. After that, shouldn't be a long turn-around. Funny thing is, I really wanted to tie these on Kamasan hooks, so I ordered some from the UK. They're here now, and they'll be making quite the round trip back to you Piker. Ha!

He comes down off the mountain. ⛺️ Ah ha, must be a reference to my "abbreviated" hike on the John Muir Trail :-) Have to say though, while it was short, it was visually spectacular. Just wish I had more time to fish.

And it'll be the Kate McLaren for me...

Hey Piker, if there's still room, I'm game to join in. Pattern TBD. John

"That's just not right. I'm not jealous. Nope. " I'd say take it up with fishybob, but gotta admit, *sometimes* I can find food alternatives. Still, it's hard to compete with the guy--he knows where to find great sushi, amazing Chinese, and now (a new place), awesome smoked BBQ. We need to go to these places to swap flies, yeah, that's right, we need to swap flies. LOL :-) We always leave a chair open for you... he, he...

Had the privilege of joining fishybob for lunch (Chinese this time, instead of sushi) and picked up a great set of flies. Can't wait to try 'em out. Thanks again Bob for another cool swap!

Hey vicrider, got room for one more? I can jump in with a wingless bee.

Sent you a PM...

Well, Bob and I must be on the same route, because mine arrived yesterday afternoon. Really, really nice set of flies. Thanks Piker for hosting!

So glad y'all have received the flies--particularly in the nether regions north of us. Ha, ha! I really appreciate your being a part of this swap. My nephew is in complete fly tying heaven right now.

Where did you go? I just got back from a backpacking trip from the Sierras myself Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. Fished a lot of the upper reaches of the East Fork Carson--below the falls, though :-0 How 'bout you? Where were you? Very nice. I was in the Golden Trout Wilderness, up and over the Cottonwood Pass at 11,000 feet fishing some creeks. Beautiful country up there. Oooo, yeah. I know exactly where you were. I did Cottonwood a couple of years ago. Big Whitney meadow, Volcano Creek (aka Golden Trout Creek), Little Whitney meadow, back up to Mulkey Creek and over Trail Pass. You're right, it's stunning country! Just wish I could get up there more often :-)

Where did you go? I just got back from a backpacking trip from the Sierras myself Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. Fished a lot of the upper reaches of the East Fork Carson--below the falls, though :-0 How 'bout you? Where were you?

He, he. Nice hook. I found 'em when fishingbob and I were at the NW Fly Tying Expo in Albany, OR last March. They're a European style scud/Czech nymph hook manufactured for flytyingspecialties.com. I also picked up some of their dry fly hooks, which looked very appealing as well.

Just returned from a backpack trip in the Sierra Nevada (too much fun catching fish), and I find a great set of emergers in the mail. Thanks to all for tying a really nice set, and thanks breambuster for hosting!

Joseph, David, and atx, glad they made it!

Gotta chime in. - If your first choice is a commercial product, there are plenty out there. - If you want to DIY, try "Albolene." It's sold as a "makeup remover," but works exceptionally well as a floatant. Here's the issue I see. IMHO when you first put your fly on the water, use a "grease" type floatant, because it will insulate the cells in the fibers on the fly from saturation. However, once the original "grease" has worn off you do NOT want to try to reinsulate with more "grease" based product. At that point, you should try a dry shake dessicant, which will repel the water from the now soaked fibers. Funny thing is, everybody has an opinion. The best thing to do... get out on the water and try it. John

It's official... all flies have left the building and are enroute to their wide-scattered destinations. Let me know when you get them. Thanks again!

FWIW, I just finished a swap (Inspire a Tier) and Steve P vanished. Frankly, I'm surprised given he's an "advanced" member. I sent 3 PM's and no response, so who knows...

Just to keep y'all up to date... I am packaging and sorting today (Saturday), so all will go out on Monday morning. And yes, we're a swapper short, so there will be one extra fly in each set. I can't thank you all enough for helping to inspire a young tier. Gotta keep the tradition going :-) John

Alrighty, just to let you all know, everybody's flies are in except one. I've sent two PM's neither of which have been read, so I'm not sure of our swapper's status. That said, I'll send one more PM, and I'll begin sorting our sets so they can get outta here ASAP. My nephew has been chomping at the bit to see everything that's come in. Again, thank you all for joining! John

And a beautiful set of flies arrived today! Thanks not only for the flies, but the feathers too. He's gonna love 'em!

Great! Glad they made it safe and sound.

Piker, mine were mailed some time ago -- May 19. Still haven't received them??? Yikes! John

PM sent. I'll be on the lookout for them. Appreciate it.

Whew! Thanks, BB. Glad they arrived. I was beginning to wonder :-)