Blues Brother

To be honest with you, this is my first year fly fishing! I am fortunate, though, to live in an area where I can fish for trout and warmwater species without having to travel very far. This year I will be targeting trout in the spring and fall and during those scorching mid-summer day, bass and 'gills. ~Bryce

:bugeyes: I'm not even gonna post mine after seeing some of these! ~Bryce

Glad you came out of the surgery fine, Steelie. I wish you a speedy recovery and good luck with the PT. ~Bryce

Definately a sweet fly, I've just got one question. What do you do with the wire after you have twisted it enough? Clip it? ~Bryce

Very nice! Kind of reminds me of OLB's emerger that won an award in the FTOTY contest. ~Bryce

Thanks, Pat! I've used that site before. It's great! I just picked up 40 sheets of 8x10, 2 mm, foam from the local craft store for $4. I'm gonna be busy for a while.

E-mail adress? ~Bryce

Lately, with school and tennis practice becoming more and more intense, I haven't been able to tie any during the week. My tying has been limited to just a couple of hours on the weekends.

Wow! Great flies, guys! I love tying with foam! Those are some killer foam humpys! Is there anywhere I can get instructions for those? ~Bryce

All right, cool Sean! Come on guys, seven more and we've got a swap!

greifs, I have a plastic container with a few drawers in it for hackle. I will pluck an entire feather from a saddle, and if I don't use the whole thing I will just put it back in the drawer. Simple as that. ~Bryce

For any beginning fly tiers, there is a swap specially for us newbies going on in the swap forum. Feel free to take part! Beginner's Swap

Ok, I'm in. I'll tye some buggy looking foam terrestrials. Keep in mind, though...I'm still a noobie! 13 flies, right?

Welcome to the forum! As already stated, there are lots of very knowledgeable people on this site and all are very willing to help newbies. Just stick around a while, don't be afraid to ask questions, and I gaurantee you will learn super fast. ~Bryce

Here's one for the Great Smokey Mountains: Great Smokey Mountains Hatch Chart

Hmm...Could someone please explain to me how exactly to participate in a swap? If it sounds simple enough I might be in. I'm just a noob...but I can tie some mean terrestrials!

Welcome to the forum! I'm also a tying-teen. The guys here are very helpful! They will go completely out of their way to help in any way they can. As far as easy hopper patterns...a Stimulator isn't too difficult and if you add some rubber legs it can make for an excellent hopper imitation. Good Luck. ~Bryce

What kind of hackle do you use for something like that?!? :bugeyes:

I can't recall any specific patterns that require those, but I do know that fox face is used for very "spikey" bodies. Hope that helps. ~Bryce

Awesome! Just be sure to have enough tied up by the time opening day rolls around!

I'm looking at some dry fly necks and some are #1 grade, while others are #2 grade. Is there really that much difference, or is it just a ploy by the company to get a few extra bucks? By the way, the brand is Keough, if that helps. Thanks. ~Bryce

Don't know if this will help much, but I always tie my wings about the same length or just a little longer than the hackle. ~Bryce

Mustad is my favorite. I know this isn't a fly hook, but in my opinion, Owner makes the best hooks on earth. I wish desperately they would put out a freshwater fly hook!

Thanks guys. It's a snowy day here in NC, so while I'm stuck inside I figured I'd try something new. I tried a partridge soft hackle wet fly. It's not very good, but I think I have a basic understanding now of what soft hackle is. Thanks! ~Bryce

What exactly is soft hackle? I've been seeing a lot of soft hackle wet flies lately and really liked them. I just don't know how to get this look. A little help, please? Thanks. ~Bryce