MIKE*A

Great Tie! What type of foam did you use for the body? Mike

Sounds like fun! I didn't have much time to get out this year, when i did, I focused on river smallies....I am going to have to dedicate some time next year to some panfish on the fly....a basket of fish fries sounds pretty good! Mike

There is a little independent fishing store near me that carries a lot of materials for lure makers....I have purchased the one-sided mylar sheets w/adhesive backing from them.....I will stop in and see if they have any of the double sided stuff you have described.... Mike

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. Mike

Hey guys, I am as guilty as the rest when trying to find a good deal and/or discount.........Keep in mind, they are financial backers of this website and w/out them, Will aka:smalliehunter would probably not be able to keep this website going for us to enjoy.....from my experience, their prices are pretty good....can you find a better deal on select items somewhere else....probably, but given their reputation for customer service as well as the fact they financially support this site, I'm not sure that it would be appropriate to approach them for a "deal" to FTF members......Several years ago we lost a big sponsor because of a couple members trashing them on this forum and Will almost had to shut down the website because of the cost.............Please keep that in mind.....

When the water is high, I work the shoreline in the high grass....look for them tailing and watch for the grass moving......they love leaving the river bed and getting up in the grass looking for bugs/worms...... Mike

We definitely plan on going back sometime! We rented a house on the bayside near Exmore.......caught a mess of crabs off the dock for our first dinner there and enjoyed sitting on the deck watching eagles/osprey fishing in our little bay right off the Chesapeake..... Mike

Very nice! The family and I vacationed on the E.S this past Summer....beautiful area! Didn't get in as much fishing as I would have liked, but were out in the kayaks everyday! Great time..... Mike

Welcome aboard! Green Caddis Outfitters was started by Will (aka smalliehunter) the developer of this website as well as the "sister" sites....rest assured, he appreciates any purchases.....Jstockards is also a sponsor of this website and has a large selection of materials and great customer service....I stumbled on this website nearly 10 years ago when I was home rehabbing from knee surgery and it re-kindled my passion for flytying.....my flies will never win any contests, but they catch fish and I've met a lot of great people thru this site......you would be amazed of the number of world class tiers that frequent this site and everyone is always willing to offer advice/inspiration.....Enjoy! Mike

Looking Good! :rockon: Mike

Looking Good! They will definitely catch fish! In addition to putting head cement on the face, I also put it on the bottom of the flyafter trimming....I think it helps w/durability.....IMHO, I would echo Chefbend's "quaklity of hair" as the number one factor in spinning and/or stacking hair.....I used to get most of my hair from Chris Helm, a true deer hair master.....I think his website was whittailflyting.com I heard he was ill last year and haven't ordered from him in a couple of years, but was hoping to place an order w/him this Winter......A lot of what you find in the flyshops is pure crap.....keep up the good work! I am sure in no time at all, your deer hair will rival your cork work! Mike

Nice! Did you launch from st. Andrews state park? Mike

Very nice! Wisconsin is a beautiful state......every time I drive thru headed up to the boundary waters, I tell myself I need to plan a trip to Wisconsin.... Mike

Hang in there....Will is very dependable......I think he had hi sumpteenth surgery no to long ago, that may be part of the problem...... Mike

Several years ago, I was fishing a local stream for smallies. I was wet wading in water up to my thighs when I saw some swirls at the edge of a weed bed, as I got closer, I could see dozens of damsel flies hanging on the tops of the weeds drying/spreading their wings. There was a light breeze, and I could see the occasional damsel falling into the water at the edge of the weed line. There was at the time what I thought to be a smallmouth sipping the damsels off the surface like a trout, I was fishing streamers at the time and after rummaging thru my boxes could only come up with a humpy as a dry fly. I tied it on, and made a perfect cast, the "smallie" sipped it off the surface, I set the hook and the fight was on.....it made a short run up stream, turned and came at me like a torpedo, I couldn't strip line fast enough. It went between my legs, wrapped the line around my right leg and got off....I never got a look at it.....for days I cried about losing a trophy smallie, but the more I replay that in my mind, the more I believe it was probably a 3-5 pound carp..... Mike

My pikefishing experience is very limited.....There was a tutorial done on here by a couple of long time members..Sean Juan and double haul i think it was titled Pikefishing 101...it was a great article covering everything from tackle/flies/tactics....I have tried looking for it, but can't find it...maybe somone smarter than me can play on the search feature and come up w/it for you...i will say this, the primary fly i used for my pike fishing was bunny strip leeches, both single and double in chartreuse, olive or red 4-5 inches long and i caught pike up to about 35" on them. They are very durable... Mike

One other consideration i don't think was mentioned that should probably factor into your purchase....How are you going to carry it.....I agree, SOT's are probably the best all around boat...also the heaviest, however, for my purpose, I went for a hybrid Native Watercraft ultimate 12....not because it is a better all around boat, but because it works better for me....90% of my fishing is in the local rivers....come July/August, there are some very shallow stretches...due to it's considerably lighter weight and inherently shallower draft than a SOT, I can drift thru the shallow stretches pretty easily. I chose the 12' because i can easily toss it up on top of my Jeep by myself and go....the 14'er would be more versatile, but that added two feet makes it a little more unwieldy to toss up there when I'm alone.....There is no one perfect boat...A lot of great advice from everyone here.....you really need to consider what will work best for you....Good Luck with your decision! Mike

welcome aboard Chris! Mike

I think the search engine for the pattern database is down.....I was playing with it a couple days ago and having problems......I know for a fact that there are lots of northern pike patterns in the database...... Mike

You will enjoy the area! They call it "The quiet side of the Smokies"....There isn't much there...as I recall, there is a "Subway" and a "mom & pop" type restaurant that was pretty good....If your not in the mood to hike, there are miles of roads along the rivers w/pulloffs where you can jump out and fish some of the pools....or my preference is to hike back up some of the trails and fish some of the smaller streams... mike

Go to the little river outfitters websit, they are I Townsend tn. Right at the entrance into great smoky mountains nat park......they are a fantastic fly shop with a great forum on their website.....between the shop and the forum, I think you will find a lot of great info. It's been a few years since I have been there, but I think you will find what you are looking for.....ther is a private campground next door situated on the little river and just in the entrance of the park is a rustic campground.....plenty of trails along smaller streams..... Www.littleriveroutfitters.com Mike

I use the plano boxes as well......I would typically stck one or two boxes for trips down to the river....if i am in my kayak, I just load everything up in the boat bag.....That Cliffs box Croatalus suggested might be the ticket....I haven't seen one yet, but wil certainly look into them.... Mike

congratulations! Mike

That's outstanding! I bought the same vice last Fall to use as a travel vice as well......absolutely love it! It is now my primary vice....Glad to here about the great customer service! Mike

Welcome aboard! Mike