willowhead

What did the Dali Rauma say to the Hot Dog vendor?????............. :dunno: ............Make me "One" with Everything. :hyst:

Last time i was in Norway.....we did the Molde Jazz Festival.......what a cool place. The next day we had to take 5 flights just to get from Molde, to Balongna, Italy......and then we had a concert that night. The mosquitos were so bad in Italy that night you couldn't even open your mouth outside, without them flyin' in. And the concert was on an outside stage. As much as i LOVE Italy, i was wishin' we were still in Norway. mark.....

Thankx Rocky.....that last fly which you refer to is the ONLY fly that matters on this post/thread.........the other two pics of that different fly......were a "mistake" post on this thread..........they actually belong to another post/thread. Wish you were here...........already saw Keith, Lee, Ted, and others you know from this page/site here already. Show starts in the morning. Misa will post pics from the show later next week. Easy, mark.....

Hi Claudia.........i saw the flies this morning, very early..........bout 6 a.m. this morning, but we were headed out the door right then and i didn't have time to reply at all...........we had to stop in Manhattan on the way to Somerset, and now it's 18 hours later and we're in the hotel in Somerset, N.J. Just wanted to let you know that i LOVE both flies tremendously.........they are SOOOOO beautiful. You did a FANTASTIC job on both. And it's so nice to see that you also used one of the beads i sent on one of them. Nice work.....VERY nice work. The colors are really great. The married wing is gorgeous. Of course you already know that you have to watch the little things..............the details. But no problem.....you'll just get better and better at that. That's natural.....please keep up the great wok and stay inspired and motivated. i know you will.......... i'm glad you like the hooks, and i think the flies look really cool on those hooks, at least in terms of the color and the fact that they beat the hell out of any other inexpensive hook. Inexpensive in this case anyway.....FREE! :hyst: :yahoo: Enjoy your day later when you wake up.....for now, sweet dreams. mark.....

"all good things................."

Wow! THAT'S cool Rocky.........i "KNOW" Jim'll LOVE it. He was with us in the group of ten Anglers when we went up to Canada in Aug. to Pike fish. He'd been before and knew his way around the lake pretty good, so he took charge of one of the boats. He's a good fisherman.....and definately got his fair share of Pike and Walleye. Really COOL of you to donate such a GORGEOUS fly...........doin' your part for conservation Rocky, is to be highly respected. Good on ya. mark.....

sorry i haven't been able to post any fly pics lately..........just to busy with shows and travelling.........when we finally get back to Arkansas........i'll get back at it............ya'll have a Happy Thankxgiving! mark.....

:hyst: :yahoo:

Misa will most likely put pics of Somerset up, a few days after it's over.......Wed. next week perhaps. Somethin' like that.......... You were the first and still only person i've ever given any of the Umbrella hooks to.........you just seemed like a tyer who would use them.......glad you like them. Same goes for those Bass hooks that are in there with the wire weedgards and some of the other hooks. Maybe because you like to fish for different kinds of fish besides just Trout and Salmon...........Pike for instance. i've got these Pike hooks that Partridge makes that just KILL.....with good looks. They be BAD! Barbless too, but just a gorgeous hook. Well, we're off to Somerset in the morning.............you take care. And remember, .....second most important thing in fly tyin'.....(well, third after thread control and havin' fun.....in that order ), Materials Control............don't let them (the materials) control you..........YOUR the boss.....MAKE them do what you WANT then to do...........LEAVE THEM NO CHOICE. TAKE CHARGE!!!!! Then refere to number two. Have BIG FUN! :yahoo: mark.....

:bugeyes: DYNOMITE!!!!! An EXPLOTION of color and design............FANTASTIC!!!!! GREAT work Rocky. :rockon: .....mark..... :headbang:

Nice design.....smart pattern.....keep up the good work. mark.....

Claudia, as soon as i get home and figure out how the heck i'm gonna be able to mail the fly so that it won't get damaged.........i'll send it to you, with the blind eye hooks, and perhaps another fly tyed especially for you. i hope your enjoying the hooks i sent so far, and the beads too, if you've used any (beads) so far? i'm very curious to see how you will use the beads. i LOVE the Mayfly you did usin' the Elephant hooks i sent. Those hooks are something very different and were designed in Japan for tyin' Emergers on............i have some of the flies (Emergers) that the Japanese tyers tyed on those very "different" hooks. Pretty interesting concept they came up with. If you tye anything on any of the other hook styles i sent, please be sure to alert me to it, speicially if you post them on "other" pages of the site.....so i'll know where to go take a look. i can't wait to see what you do with some of those different hooks. Now let's see some flies. Easy, mark.....

The funeral was today.......sad affair. Pray for the family. mark.....

Ray.............THANKX!!!!! i've been wanting to get a Grey Peacock skin for years and now i got it. :yahoo: :headbang: i contacted the seller and just threw $400 at him. He caved. :hyst: HELL, i mighta over-paid for all i know.........but i'll never need another one.......should last me forever. And that thing is BAD!............as in SUPER GOOD QUALITY. It's huge.......and LOADED with eyed feathers. One more skin off the list of MUST Haves..............there's a lotta nice stuff there and i'd like to get more...........but enough is enough already. i went way to nuts last weekend.....THANKX again, mark..... p.s. as per our last conversations bout skins a couple weeks back or so ago............i'm Tapped! i'll let you know if that changes...........way next year sometime..........

Nice design Rocky.....really pretty fly.......i like it very much. That's some body you got on there. mark.....

Already have both skins Ray, and much better specimens i might add. Good luck to those bidding. Hope the prices are fair. Ray, if your interested there is a materials collection up for sale as a benifit for the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum........they come from the late Paul Pitalis' collection and as he wished, all monies go to help the CFFC&M. Paul was a trustee of the CFFC&M and it was his wish to help the CFFC&M survive and prospere. i bought some of the collection this past weekend, directly from those in charge of executing Paul's wishes, and can attest to it's quality. If you'd like to help a cause that was very dear to Paul's heart, PM me for details. mark.....

Not a bad idea.....i may just do that one day......"Most" of "My" fly designs seem to me to be something either a fish will run from outta pure fear.........or attack out of pure aggression...........but i've very rarely hadda chance to find out which...........and now we're livin' even further from Steelhead country than we used to.........i'm in New York now, but that fly is in Arkansas at our other house...........so. Anyway.........no biggie.....i mostly tye 'em for the pure joy of tyin'. Thankx for lookin'. mark.....

Thankx Claudia..........looks exactly like what we call a Chucker here in the states. They are mostly out west in Montana and in that area of the country. I have a couple Chucker skins. It's beautiful material........Marvin Nolte, the noted Salmon fly tyer, was the one who first got me interested in the feathers. He uses it on some of his Irish wet fly patterns. Keep up the great work Claudia. mark.....

Some real nice work there. mark.....

Claudia, it's beautiful.....just BEAUTIFUL.....and the tail really did come out VERY nice. It has that wispy look of a real bug.....light and airy.....like the natural. Sould be a wonderful fish catcher. Can you tell me if the French Partridge is the same thing as Chucker.....looks very much like a Chucker feather. Thank you for naming the fly after me.....i am VERY honored and flattered. Your a sweetheart. mark.....

There's a new painting at my wife's "photo album" site and 142 pics from the Danbury show.........go to http://www.kodakgallery.com/misakoishimura ENJOY, mark.....

Hi Futzer.....we usually do the East Idaho Expo in Idaho Falls every April.....bout the third Fri. and Sat. of the month. However we may not make that show next year as we have spent a fortune this year and we're thinkin' of only doin' "mostly" new shows that we've never done before next year. We keep gettin' more and more invites all the time.....but at the same time the folks from all the shows you've already done keep expectin' you to come back every year......it turns into quite a quandry tryin' to decide what to do......ya hate to say sorry to anyone, but it cost a fortune to keep doin' all the ones you've done over and over and also add new ones. We could prolly put you up here, (wait i'm in Roscoe, not here but at the other house), at the house in Arkansas, if you ever wanna visit durin' either the Sowbug Roundup or the FFF Southern Council Conclave. Both times of year are great for fishin' and you'd get to go to a great show. Lemme know your thoughts by email @ [email protected] Take care, mark.....

Sorry i never did get back at ya...........our schedual this year has been "Something ELSE!" ..............we had one actual time at hoime that lasted a whole 30 days.........all the rest were 10 days or less.........cept for one in June which i think was actually 13/14 days.............but we have been on the road CONSTANTLY...........doin' bout 30 events. New Zealand and Japan for my wife, and we also went to Canada.........and did shows from Oregon to Florida, Conn. to Louisiana.........Montana, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Arkansas, Oaklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Georgia and more........... Please let us know for next year...........maybe we can get it in, in '09. It's been a hell of a year........hope your Shin Dig went well. Take care and stay in touch. mark.....

Claudia, you are much to kind.............the credit is yours...........you did the work.........and yes, i "know." mark..... Futz.....you funny, and good people.

i have fixed a couple spelling errors in my reply above.....please re-read.....i was just so excited to let you know how much i liked the flies............ no one tyes a perfect fly the first try and i have yet to ever tye a perfect fly............not to mention...........i doubt i ever will.......... a VERY wise man.............a musical genius, and spiritual prophet, once told me......."Mark, you'll never be perfect.........all you'll ever do.....is reach a certain degree of excellance." .........and the truth is stranger than fiction...........but after all..........it IS, what sets you free.............. the more you tye, the better you'll get...........so get to it and look forward to the hooks..........i don't do what i do to share, with you or anyone else, because i need to..........but because i can, and i want to................and i believe we should when we can............it's only fair............the reward is all mine..... Easy, mark.....