7wt

Ok here is the deal, I have been tying all my flies on Tiemco hooks ever since I have been tying, well except the one pack of Mustads. I am running out of 16's and a few others and I have been thinking about jumping ship to Mustads for cost reasons. I am starting to tie a lot more now and I am looking to get more bang for my buck. Is this a mistake or a wise decision?

I have a ton of drys with the TMC200. I love the way the look. I think a straight eye is actually be better on a haystack or any other body in the water dry because the tippet isn't pulled under the suface film. I have also notice that hookset seem to be more positive on the straight eye hooks. By the way, cudos on the fly choice. I love the haystack and fish it over the compra dun any day. I have Better's book and it is one of the best reads in my library. I love the frugal nature of his flies.

My collection of tools. 4 Tiemco ceramic bibbins, 2 Rite bobbins, 2 Dr. Slick deer hair scissors, 2 Dr. Slick razor scossors and a bunch of other stuff I can't think of but I'm sure I need.

Mine is real plain and simple, just a computer table from IKEA with out the pull out keybord thingy. I love it. It has tons of open flat space for me to spread all my junk out. I just have my vise, a Renzetti tool caddy and a fly box to stick the ones I like in.

Well it looks like I'll be off to B&N tomorrow on my lunch break.

My only complaint with my Spartan is that I didn't buy one sooner. I love it. It a real tool meant for years of service. For me most of the other vises on the market just seemed too gimmicky. The HMH vise is all function. You will love the versitility.

I can do them by hand too but most of the times my fingers are on the rough side and they fray the thread. Just easier to use the tool. The point of this was pretty much to say sometimes it's cool to buy tools you don't really need. As a side note, I knew an old guy that would not tie anything off. This dude thought he was real slick by coating about and inch of thread with Zap and wrap it up, then cut it off. You should have seen his Dr. Slicks....there were all coated with CA. His heads looked ugly too.

I tied up a few baby bass on a hook just like that for my brother and they swim just fine. Nothing as nice as yours, it was just a clump of bucktail up top and a heavily dubbed body. That fly looks fantastic. Next photo you post has got to be a big ol stripper that ate it!

I was in Marriott's store the other day and I decided to by a Materelli whip finisher. I had been putting off the purchase for a while because the old Thompson one I had been using for years works just fine but still, I knew I had to have one. What a joy this thing is to use. It is amaizing how $15 bucks spent can get a guy all excited about tying again.

Great job, I haven't caught a bass like that in a long time. Did ya kiss him?

That is a great vise to start out on. Some people bag on the knob design vises but I like them. Like Frank said, you want to make sure that the hook just bearly slides between the jaws with the jaws parallel. Then use the large knob to tighten the vise. If you do it right, the hook will not slip.

It depends on just how tight you bobbin is. If you are breaking thread, wax won't cut it, you'll have to bend it. I have bent all on my Tiemco bobbins. No big deal, just bend it in several small steps to get it just right. All of my Tiemco bobbins are pretty loose and if I want a tighter bobbin I just use one of my Rites.

First of all if this pal of yours can't tell you why it is crap then help you fix it, it is not worth asking him. Your fly looks real good. I can point out some things that will make it a little better. First of all that little tag of thread sticking up, this will become a mess after it gets wet and you pull it through some weeds a couple of times. Try this, after you get your last bit of hair on the hook, wrap your thread only a couple of times around the hook then put a half hitch or whip it off. The take a small square of plasic bag, about 2" square or so, punch a hole in the center and pop this over the hook eye. Use the bag to pull the hair out of the way and start a new layer of thread and build a nice tapered head. I like to put 2, 3 turn whip finishes right behind the hook eye. You can put some thread sealer on it at this time. Then just cut a slit in the bag up to the hook and peel the bag off. There you have it, a nice neat durable head.

It may have been said many times but it isn't always true. I went back to a "fixed" head after rotary. I like my Spartan way more than I ever liked my Traveler. I like to tie a lot of bassbugs and I fing the fixed head angle easier to get to the back of the hook. Plus it gives my non thread hand a better place to rest. I shake awfully bad.

I can think of one out of my collection I could not live without. Fly Fishing- Fly Tying by Fran Betters. His book helps keep me grounded. His flies have that simple buggy look without all the modern glits and glam. They reinforce the idea of right size, right color and you'll catch the fish. I also have a really odd little book that kinda does the same thing. It is....drum roll please, Making & Using The Dry Fly by Paul H. Young. What a treat that book is, although hard to read in places the patterns in the back of the book are worth the twice what the book is worth. This was his only book by the way.

I think too much is made about spinning. Stacking hair allows you to put a whole lot more on the hook. More hair on the hook lets you pack tighter. This is especially true for getting a bunch of hair up near the hook eye. It also gives you more control.

An Adams trude.

Man great job. I'd fish those. I really like the tail end of the deer hair. Yours is sticking straight up like it was cut from cork, nice,

I started on a Thompson A then got sold on the "you gotta have a rotary" thing so I picked up Renzetti traveller. I liked it ok but the head angle was goofy for me and the only thing I used the rotary for was to turn the fly about 10 degrees or so so I could twist a dubbing loop without getting the hook point in the way. I finally landed on a HMH spartan and LOVE it! For me the search is over. Bottom line is if you like the Thompson and feel comfortable with it, you might want to stay with a draw tube type vise like the HMH or go with one that pushes forward like the Dyna's. Above all, try before you buy.

I put a half hitch at the post, finish dubbing the a whip finish at the eye.

The most fun I had when I lived in Corpus was fishing of the Port Mansfield jetties. I mostly used small clouser and sinking lines. I miss the little snapper I catch just before I picked up the line after a long retreive. Good times. You do have a four wheel drive don't you?

If getting it even is your problem the don't spin at all. Instead use the stacking method. Place the clump of hair parallel to the hook and hold it in place, wrap two turns around the hair in the center of the clump and pull tight without letting go of the hair. This will flair it on one side of the hook only. Now repeat on the other side. You will most likely see this method done top and bottom but I like to use it side to side on even color portions of my fly. If it still winds up uneven....it is because you are not using the same amount of hair on each side!

I have got to get some longer hooks! That thing looks great. I bet it would be murder on redfish.

I use turkey flats on everything that requires calf tail because it's "trimmer." If I need buggy I use snowshoe hair. They both compress better for me than the calf tail.

Parachutes. Just can't do them. My hackle looks like crap.