Gary Madore

Nope, She did black buggers with green tails and the two I did up were green with black tails. All had toe-tags. Bummer Cheers! Gary

FC, Did mine make it there in time? There was a tin of ties from my daughter and a couple extra that I did. Cheers! Gary

Guys, Paul's a perfectionist, by the way... I saw his last "screwed up" fly box and would have loved to have taken it home. (I was gonna swipe it but the sneaky dude distracted me with a hunk of jalapeno cheese and hid the box when I wasn't looking.) Cheers! Gary

Not a problem, my friend. It's one of those "live and learn" things. Kinda funny, though, that you can send something out express/courier cheaper than plain old mail, huh? I guess Canada Post must want to go bankrupt. Not that it matters, mind you: They're a government corporation that can "afford" to lose money at an obscene rate.... Cheers! Gary

Adventures With Canada Post So, I went to the post office this morning. Took the dog and decided to walk to the post office in Brighton, which is a leisurely 5 mile stroll through the back roads... Stepped up to the Canada Post counter and sent off all the ones to the USA. They were all around $4 or $5: No problem. OK, it's time for the domestic ones... Next, I plopped all the "ExpressPost" (postal courier, 2-day delivery) envelopes that people had included and off they went. No problem. Next, I sent off the package going to Whitby (near Toronto) and it had enough stamps and was accepted. No problem. That left 2 parcels: One to Nova Scotia and one to Quebec. The lady at the postal counter plops the Nova-Scotia one on the scale and announces that it'll be just over $9 (NINE!) dollars plus tax. "There must be some mitake" I say, "this same package (different envelope) arrived safely at my door with about $1 worth of stamps on it." She says "I doubt that happened, sir, the postage is $9 plus tax." I asked her to give me the postage rate for the other package (going to Quebec), secure in the knowledge that, on the second try, she'd figure out her mistake and give me a reasonable rate. "Hmmm... about $8, plus tax" she says.... "WHAT?" I said "You gotta be kidding me!" $9 to send a teeny-tiny envelope in Canada? She nodded and replied with a bored "Uh-huh. So, you gonna send them?" I still couldn't believe my ears "Not likely" I said, "not for $9!!!" Then I had an idea. A great idea that would show her the error of her ways. "Tell me" I asked, "how much is an ExpressPost envelope? You know, one of those ones I can stuff anything I can fit inside for one rate?" She turned behind her, grabbed one of the ExpressPost envelopes off the rack and, looking rather pissed at me now, scanned it: "Around $9, with tax." Feeling triumphant I said "OK, so, you're telling me that it costs the EXACT SAME amount of money to send a small packet via ExpressPost courier as it does to send it the slowest way possible, presumably strapped to the back of a snail?" Glaring at me now, she replied "looks that way." I gathered up the 2 parcels and stormed out of the post-office. I had a plan: I would head down to the drug store (it has a Canada Post outlet) and mail 'em there. Surely the nice (and rather attractive) lady who works there will have a clue.... Arriving some minutes later I plunked the 2 envelopes down, said hello (smiled my prettiest smile too) and asked how much it would cost to send these 2 LITTLE envelopes. "Sure" she said (with her own pretty smile) and dropped them on the scale.... "About $7 for this one and $9 for this one" she said. OK, now I'm about to freaking LOSE it! "Surely there's a mistake" I pleaded, "these 2 packages both arrived at my door with about $1 postage on 'em" She looked at me like I had 3 heads and expressed her doubts about that: "I can't even imagine that could have happened" she said. OK, I'll try convincing her with reason: "How much for ExpressPost envelopes?" I asked. (Here we go again!) "Well," she said "this one to Quebec can go for around $6 plus tax and the one to Nova Scotia will be around $9 plus tax." Exasperated now I asked if she thought it was a little bit funny that you could ship a package with Expresspost Courier CHEAPER than snail-mail. "Yeah, isn't it weird?" she replied "So, whatcha wanna do?" I'm serious, gang: It was going to cost me over $7 to send a small envelope to Quebec via the slowest method possible, but it only cost just over $6 to send it via 2-day ExpressPost. What the $#%$ is Canada Post thinking?????????? Anyway, long story short: All the packages on on their way. I sent the packages to Nova Scotia and Quebec via ExpressPost so you guys should have 'em by the end of the week. So, In the end, this swap cost me a fair bit of money (there's a lesson here for any other Canucks who may be thinking of hosting....) I look forward to hearing what ya'll think when the flies start to arrive. Cheers! Gary

No hurry at all on the rod blank, etc: I have to scrape up the cash to pay you for it anyway Cheers! Gary (Geez, I expected more giggles over my "come and pick them up, gang" joke... I thought it was rather witty! )

OK gang, I got bad news and I got good news: Bad news: I had to go on a trip before I got the flies sorted and mailed. Good news: I am back from the trip, the flies are all sorted and packaged, and we're ready to wrap this swap up! So... All the flies are ready for pick-up. You all have my address and can come by any time to pick up your flies. Please be civil and try to arrive between 9am and 9pm. If you're traveling from far away and need to arrive outside those times, you may make an appointment and I will try to accommodate you.... :hyst: OK, for real: The flies are sorted, packaged, addressed and will be going in the mail tomorrow morning. Gary K: You can take possession of yours at a Timmy H's of your choice Paul C: I have yours in the ExpressPost envelope you sent but will be happy to hand-deliver them if you have a day off any time soon and would rather fish than do yard work or something. If I don't hear from you by tomorrow morning I'll drop 'em in the mail with everyone else's. A heartfelt "THANKS!" to everyone who participated. All-in-all it was a great experience. Only one person was a no-show, only a couple of people forgot toe-tags, only a couple of people forgot return postage, only a couple of people forgot return envelopes, and only a couple of people forgot both return postage AND return envelopes! LOL A super-duper "THANKS!" to everyone who included an extra tie or two or three despite my request to the contrary. It's MUCH appreciated and I am going to have a heck of a hard time deciding whether to display these flies or fish 'em. Alrighty then: I am waiting for one return address and for Paul's prefered mode of delivery. Except for those 2 things, this one is a DONE DEAL! :yahoo: Thanks again, Cheers! Gary

Nope, I missed all the previous meetings and, to be honest, I am rather put off by the bickering that I keep hearing about. I'm the kind of guy who prefers to just go fishing with friends and stay away from the politics. I'll call you when I have yours ready for you. I'll have to test 'em out first, though. Cheers! Gary

OK gang, the deadline has gone by and this swap is a done deal. Thanks for all the flies, I promise to cherish them and.... Oh, wait, I have to send 'em back? What's up with that? Why bother hosting, then? Seriously, on Friday I had a notice hung on my door that a courier had been by with a package but nobody was home. Given that I wasn't expecting any new toys and that my wife swore that she wasn't either, I guessed that it must be a package of flies for the swap. I was correct, and bright and early this morning the courier dude came by (again) with Brownsnatcher's contribution. That means that everybody but one person got their flies in, and I haven't heard anything from that person. What I'm gonna do is pull a Gary Kyte (Fryflier) and add a second tie in place of the missing set, that way everybody gets the number they're expecting. I'll divvy them up tonight and hit the post office tomorra Cheers! Gary

You're kidding, right? :dunno: Cheers! Gary

I think that there are about a zillion different flies called "Steelhead Candy" but, in my experience, the term usually refers to something both pink and fuzzy.... Do these help? :dunno: Cheers! Gary

My 9'8" 8wt chucks big flies like this with ease.... Don't think you can go wrong with either the 9'6" or 10 footer. I haven't gone Walleye fishing with a flyrod yet, but 99% of the Walleye I've caught have been on a yellow jig/grub with a spinning rod, so I can't see how a fly wouldn't work... Especially something that looks like a yellow jig/grub, maybe a bright Wooly Bugger would be the ticket. :dunno: Cheers! Gary

Now worries, mate: If they make it before 23:59 on the 31st, they still make it Cheers! Gary

Same here: Address, please Cheers! Gary (and Taylor)

I'll be flying down and so will be sporting a sage green one-piece, but I'll see what I can wear under my flying suit.... Maybe a thong this time? Yeah, a thong. A zebra thong to match the grizzly hackle on some of the flies.... :headbang: Cheers! Gary

These are for a friend, and I have no idea what he's gonna chuck 'em with. Brian? Have you got a big cannon ready for these flies? Cheers! Gary

A friend who builds fine fly rods but doesn't tie flies (what's up with THAT???) asked me to tie up a few Pike flies for him and I was happy to oblige. I posted some size 2 ties I did for him earlier, and here are a half-dozen size 6/0 monstrousities that I've been fooling around with. My inspiration was a quick peek at the flies another buddy just received from the recent Pike swap. All of these are straight out of my head.... I'm bummed about the colour quality here because you can't see the big, fat, green belly on this guy! I rather like this li'l porker and may keep him for myself. For you non-metric types out there, 25cm is about 10 inches. :bugeyes: He won't be catching "hammer handles" with these babies!" Brian: One word of caution.... Most of this batch of 6 are weighted. Weighted a LOT. Do NOT, under ANY circumstances allow one of this lot to hit you in the back of the head! :hyst: In fact, I'll have to get you to sign a waiver when I deliver hand-deliver them to you in April. Cheers! Gary

Heh heh.... Dropping The Boy Child off at 11 then booting over to NAPA in Trenton. Let's say at the TH's at the foot of the bridge (downtown side) at noon? Cheers! Gary

We'll have to tee it up, bud: I have to take my boy to a BD party tomorrow then hit a couple of auto parts stores (look HERE to see why!) around noon. I had planned to spend all day Saturday fishing but may have to settle for the afternoon. Or Sunday. What works for you? Cheers! Gary

Oh boy, are you guys in for a treat: 3 ties by our very own Gary "Football Fingers" Fryflier! Get 'em tied up, dood I'll take posession during a fishing outing this weekend. Cheers! Gary

Again, Mike, sorry to hear it, and no problem. So, (the other) Gary: Gonna tie up a 3rd set? Cheers! Gary

Check out this Muddler by Joe Hard! The photo doesn't do the iridescent peacock herl justice.... Only 3 more ties to recieve, guys. If you're one of the 3 and are not gonna make it, please let me know asap so I can wrap 'er up. Thanks. Cheers! Gary

Yeah, whatever. Aaaaaaaaaaactually, the part I forgot to add is that you're not getting ANY flies, dude! Well, that's not entirely true: I'll bring ya fishing and let you keep the ones I snag in the trees and break off. hee hee hee Hey, whatcha up to today? Cheers! Gary

OK gang, it's the 21st of March. Not only the first full day of Spring, but also 10 days before the swap deadline. That means that if your flies aren't in the mail, they're not likely gonna make it here in time. So, for anybody who's not gonna pop 'em in the mail today, please let us know so we can wrap up the swap. For those whose flies I already have, I have a question for you: If there's a dropout or two (meanign there will be an extra fly or two), do you want your own extra flies back or would you prefer that I mix 'em up and you get a random duplicate of someone else's? Cheers! Gary

Joe, I've no idea what a Clouser Half 'n' Half is but I just imagined a fly that has a hackle tail and a clouser (bucktail) body.... Thanks for the idea (and is that what a half and half is?) Cheers! Gary