DonH

It's all over Craigslist too. I searched for feathers and there were half a dozen or more people advertising them (that they put them in).

Dennis is not answering his phone right now due to all of the fashion industry calls he is getting. He refuses to sell to them. He usually returns emails inside of 24 hours.

I caught 20 bluegill in about an hour Saturday evening on what I call a Black Gnat tied with grizzly hackle and a red tail - size 12. Many were small but I would expect that this time of year. In a month, that fly will be a size 10 and catching 50-60 hand size to 1lbs bluegills and shellcrackers. It works great fished tandem behind a popper too. I have caught two at once that way - one on the gnat and one on the popper.

Absolutely! The embroidery hoop method is great. I know spraying from a can is the same as airbrushing. I was just pointing to the fact of backing it off to get a finer spray. If you get too close the scales don't come out as good or the netting will get gooked up with paint and mess it up when you pull it away (if you have used the wrapping method). Everyone, I am sure knows that, but I was just making the point for conversation purposes. Sorry that I missed the point. You are absolutely correct about placing the netting around the body. It can make a horrible mess!! Learning the proper distance to spray from seems to be the hardest thing to learn; but it can be done with a little practice. perchjerker No biggie! I am going to make one of the embroidery hoop setups. It seems so much easier than trying to keep that mess straight in a wad. I've been looking at airbrushes lately is kinda what made me bring that up. Thinking about buying a setup in the near future. They are actually pretty affordable. I'm honestly not begging for praise. I would like to know what some of you guys who do this a lot think. I know it is not award winning, but what do you think of the first one I posted? That is chrome with black on top and red on the bottom, hackle and flash.

That is pretty cool. Look forward to the review.

Absolutely! The embroidery hoop method is great. I know spraying from a can is the same as airbrushing. I was just pointing to the fact of backing it off to get a finer spray. If you get too close the scales don't come out as good or the netting will get gooked up with paint and mess it up when you pull it away (if you have used the wrapping method). Everyone, I am sure knows that, but I was just making the point for conversation purposes.

This is my very first finished popper. Not perfect by any means but a good start I think. Also not the best photography. But you get the idea. [img/]

what kind of netting do you use and where do you get it from. I buy one of those "scrunchies" that women (mostly) use in the shower. They are basically a big ball of netting. The netting is the perfect size for poppers too! Can you only use the netting if ur spraying the paint on?? That's all I've ever done. But it is really easy to do. Wrap it tight and spray from a foot or more distance away is how I get the best results. My thinking is the fine mist is more similar to airbrushing and doesn't "gook" it up with paint.

Another option would be to coat them with a water based head cement. Or something like Aleene's Fabric Fusion but you will need a turner for this also as it takes longer to dry than epoxy. Leaves a nice clear flexible coating though. Most of the Sharpie products run when coated by the majority of stuff we use. They run when you apply Sally Hansen's nail polish also. Yep, learned the hard way on the Sally Hansen's as well. I'm leaning toward trying to build a turner this weekend and using epoxy.

Olorin, Thanks for the reply. I may try the Copic marker route. You may know what I was talking about, but just in case, these are Sharpie paint pens not permanent markers. To be honest, I don't know if they have an acrylic, enamel or other kind of paint in them. Just looked online. Apparently they are oil based.

Olorin, Thanks for the reply. I may try the Copic marker route. You may know what I was talking about, but just in case, these are Sharpie paint pens not permanent markers. To be honest, I don't know if they have an acrylic, enamel or other kind of paint in them.

Cool turner. I've also been looking at microwave turntable motors. They are pretty cheap brand new on ebay.

what kind of netting do you use and where do you get it from. I buy one of those "scrunchies" that women (mostly) use in the shower. They are basically a big ball of netting. The netting is the perfect size for poppers too!

Those look great! I especially like the colors of the first one.

Thanks for the welcome and the answers. I think I will try using some standard acrylic like you are talking about. I have some already. I'm going to build a turner soon so I can epoxy them. For now, I will keep using a spray of some kind - I guess. I bought a chrome paint at Lowes the other night. I used it for the base then did the back (top) with black and the belly red. It turned out really nice. Gonna do some more of those using different belly colors - maybe blue and green. Oh, and also used the netting for scales on the chrome layer. Thanks again for your replies. I've really enjoyed lurking and learning.

Hey folks. First post here. As a quick introduction, my name is Don. I spend the vast majority of my time fishing for bass and bluegill. Just got back into fly tying again after a 10 year or so hiatus. I am using Perfect Popper bodies to make my poppers. I am using Testors model paint to paint the body with the base colors. I use 3-4 coats. I have then been using Sharpie paint pens to make any smaller detail markings. I let that dry overnight. Then when I try to coat them with Polyurethane, the Sharpie paint runs immediately. Am I using the wrong paint (Sharpie) or not letting it dry long enough? I'm trying to avoid epoxy because I haven't built a turner yet. The ones I do without anything but base coats look fantastic. It's just the Sharpie paint. Any ideas? :dunno: