Inconnu

I've been swapping since 1995. I live in Canada so what I do is where the value of the package is to be put on the Customs Declaration form, I put NCV which stands for No Commercial Value. Nowadays this isn't so important as we do not pay duty on anything manufactured in the U.S. The folks that mail flies to me if I am swapping, send cash, I in turn save that to send to U.S. swapmeisters to pay for my postage back. I always put "Fishing Flies" on my packages going south and I am pretty sure that is what the folks in the U.S. put on their packages coming to me, though I think I remember a few people putting "Craft Material," on theirs. I do not think I have had many problems over the last 14 years, so it should work for you as well.

I almost hate giving advice on lead since I have been trying to cut down on how much I use but since I have been tying Czech nymphs I have been using again. Maybe try using flat lead strips or cut narrow strips off the adhesive backed lead sheets and wrap layer on layer until you get the desired amount/effect. That way you don't have to worry about the wire being too largefor your hook?

The only problem I see with it, is that it is not in my fly box! Very nice job!

I started tying Czech nymphs and they are addictive. So many colour combinations etc. You can't tie just a dozen!

Hey the pigeons finally arrived! Got my flies and they are great! Good job everyone, thanks for holding the swap Justin......Kerry

Thanks Steve, Iwill look forward to their arrival. Hope all is well with you......Kerry

Justin I would be happy to join another swap you host if you decide to pick it up again. Take care.....Kerry

Czech Nymphs and Budgie Spiders

I tie for perfect fishability...........yeah, that's what I do.

I suppose Mustad because they are readily available and usually in a pretty good selection. I also like Tiemco, but they are a bit more money. The hooks I am starting to use now are Togen hooks. The are not too far off Tiemco in style but probably the least expensive hooks I have found. They seem to be of good quality but do not come in the same wide selection of styles.

Yah!!! Glad they made it! Sorry about the mess, damned Canadian pigeons? Probably lightening their load for the trip home!

I suppose I got the low budget pigeons again!

I'll try to be honest. I think over all you are doing pretty well so I do not intend this to be critical of your work just suggestions from my point of view. #1 Looks good.....Griffith Gnat? #2 Parachute hackle looks okay, it is a dark photo and hard to see all of the detail. #3 When you tie off the wing, or just before, lift the butt ends and wrap a few wraps of thread under them to hold them up, then snip the butts off on an even plane. The dubbing on the body could be a little smoother but that really doesn't matter to the fish, more aesthetic than anything else. #4 Use finer scissors to trim butts off behind the bead and if needed just a hint of dubbing to cover anything left looking unfinished. #5 it looks okay, not sure what it is so I can only say it looks good as it is shown. #6 I always like to use the tips of the tail feather fibres rather than cutting them short, put a couple of wraps of thread then pull them back to the correct length, then trim the butts. #7 Possibly snip the wing post shorter. #8 Maybe a straighter slightly shorter tail #9 Wrap the hair for the shell back, far enough back so that when you pull it forward and over, it doesn't expose thread wraps. Nice job though, they are all fish catchers!

The other set I sent to Justin in California arrived there, so hopefully you should receive mine any day here......Kerry

Glad they made it!!

Flies are in the mail Steve, They should be there in time.

Mine in the mail tomorrow. Thanks for holding the swap Justin.

Great pictures! I saw one at a place in Southern B.C. a few years ago, they are tres cool indeed.

Well I am done! I have to apologize to anyone who has one eye. I didn't think this was going to be that tough, but it was tougher than I ever could have imagined. Trimming anything was hard, but I found that touching what I was trimming, with a finger of one hand made it easier to operate the scissors by placing them against the locating finger and going from there. The other thing that suprised me was that I got a mild sense of motion sickness while tying and I had to take a couple of breaks. Did anyone else have this problem?

Nice and simple. Simplicity rocks! Thanks for the link!

I'm done. I changed my mind and tied "The Thing from Uranus." Yeah I know, it wasn't me who named it. I will put the flies in the mail this coming week.

Wow! Thanks for sharing this pattern. Beautiful nymph and the step by step is awesome!

Sorry for the delay! Mine arrived on Tuesday.....actually I think Monday but the postman left the wrong key for the mailbox they were in. Great tying effort by everyone and the patch was a nice suprise. I wanted to mention on this thread, that Project Healing Waters has given the go-ahead to our Canadian Branch. This means alot to Ray and myself, there have been many ours of writing and phoning over the last 2+ years to get to this point. I will be talking to Ed Nicholson after New Years to start the organizational proceedings etc. I plan a Spring event with Canadian Veterans. Thanks Steve for your help, support and even though I do not show it, for your friendship, it has been a support to me even though I have not said as much......Kerry

If you cannot rant amongst friends who can you rant on to? One thing I have learned about this board is that we are a strange eclectic family of sorts. I lost my own brother many years ago and I can only say that it has helped to embrace all of the good things he was and remember him out loud to friends and family. Nothing I can say will ease your pain, time, friends and family will do that. Best wishes, my thoughts will be with you.....Kerry

If you can get hold of McFluffchucker on this site, he has some pretty big stuff, though I am not certain of the sizes.