Obi

Hi everybody! My story of a rude shop-owner isn't related to flyfishing, but I used to be a motor-cyclist before I figured this is a pretty dangerous passion............ Anyway: I was looking at a new sport-bike, a SUZUKI GSX-R 750. And then, I was stepping into the local Suzuki-Shop the other day. The following conversation is translated from my mother tongue (German), and it's a bit simplified........ Me: "Hi, I would be intrested in the new GSX-R 750. What would be your price for that bike" (Note: I was only asking for the regulare price of the bike, no discount or anything. JUST the price, guys!) Shop-guy: "Our price is the same as in the other shops" Me: "???" (Frankly, I didn't know what to say. Remember, we are talking about a new bike, worth about several thousand Euros) Then the conversation went back and forth on horse-powers and technical stuff, but the shop-guy wasn't really cooperative. He was more like "Yes", "Nope", "150".... But finally he was willing to hand out some info-materials and to look up the price for the new bike. Then we came to the topic about purchase..... Me: I 've got this Suzuki 650 - it's only 4 years old and in good condition. No accidents and such........ would you be willing to take that in commission? Shop-guy: "Uhhhm - not really ........ that bike is not easy to sell at the moment.......... (Side-note: That was crap! That bike was easy to sell back then.) Me: Well, that's typically no problem........... Shop-guy: ^Sigh^.......... [grabing his calculator, followed by a bit of unmotivated typing. Then showing me the display with a ridiculously low number on it] "I would probably take it for that price........... " Me: Well thanks - have a nice day ["Was not my pleasure to talk to you, I thought by myself....] I left the shop pretty upset - and two months later, I bought a new TRIUMPH. The guy running the TRIUMPH shop was really a nice guy. It was a pleasure to do business with him. Taking my SUZIKI into comission was not a problem, and we made a deal that was ok for both of us. That could have been the end of the story. But no.......... Next thing I did is ride my new TRIUMPH to the SUZUKI-shop. I parked my brand new bike right in front of the shop. Went in to the owner and said: "Remember me? See my brand-new TRIUMPH?? I just picked it up. I payed it cash ......... If YOU would have been a bit more customer-oriented, I would have bought a new GSX-R from you instead." Then I stepped out, and left this guy staring with his mouth wide open. I feel like you don't have to accept everything. And a little customer-feedback now and then really helps ......... :-)) Cheers, Obi

Hi everybody! I was considering the purchase of a NorVise as well, and for quite a while........... but then decided on another vice. I truely believe the NorVice is an excellent piece of equipment. However I feel that the Nor is just not for me, the reminent aspect of fly-tying gets a bit lost IMO. Cheers, Obi

Hi everybody! My 2 Cents - NEVER EVER begin with fly tying. Once you started, you will get hooked to it. And that will be expensive! Don't you ever think you will save any money when tying your own flies............. you will find yourself collecting every tying material under the sun. Same goes for hooks. (That text meant to be sarcastic - of course I enjoy fly-tying *GGG*. Those dang smilies just don't work for me ................ ) Cheers, Obi

Hi eveybody! I love my JVice as well. What I really like about it is the simplicity of the design. No joints that would come loose, no ball bearings that would wear off, etc. And Jay offers some really nice customer support. I recently upgraded my "J" with the Stainless Steel Pro-Jaws and the "marriage-saver" (waste basket), and I simply placed it on an inexpensive wooden plank, size 25 x 30 cm. That comes from a hardware store. So I don't have to care about messin' 'round with super-glue, varnish and such things. Cheers, Obi

Hi! I use it for Paraloop-Posts exclusively, because it's a bit "slippery" against the tying-thread when you tye the post down wnd pull it tight........... I am sure you could use other materials as well, though. Cheers, Obi

Guys, thanky for the replies and in particular for the great links you supplied. Does anybody use RS2's with a clear white glass bead? What's your opinion on that glass-bead-version? Cheers, Obi

Dear all, thank you so much for your replies! I was not expecting to get replies form people here who know the originator of the RS2 in person. That was a surprise to me, really. And I see myself tying this nitty-gritty stuff again :-) #20-hooks ans smaller ........ wow. I will give the olive and grey versions a try. We will see how they perform at the other side of the pond, and how Bavarian Brownies like them. Thanks again and take care, Obi

Hi everybody, in search for new fly patterns, I came across this simplistic fly pattern called "RS2". It is refered to either as an "emerger" odr "nymph" type pattern - which, at least to my understanding, are two different animals. Also, the hook-sizes, materials and colors vary a lot when you read the tying recipes.I don't think this pattern is widely used in Europe (where I am located) so I hope you guys could clue me in a little bit: How do you tye your RS2's? What type of materials do you use for tying? How do you fish the RS2 - preferably as a nymph ar as an emerger? If used as an emerger - how do you maintain flaotability? (There is not much to this fly that would keep it floating, right?) If used as a nymph - do you use additional weight? And finally, what size & color does work best for you? You see - a lot of questions...................... Thanks in advance for your replies. Cheers, Obi

Dears, thank you very much for your replies. @Crackaig: Good point about the hair stacker. Sounds pretty straight-forward, I will give it a try. :-) @flytyre: That's exactly the pattern - thanks. Also good suggestions for simplifying the pattern. I was also considering natural hare's ear, but the idea about the multiple-color deer hair seems pretty cool. I will see if I can handle it. Thanks also for the SBS-descriptions. I will give the stacker-mix-method a try, and then spin the deer hair without a loop. We'll see how that works out. Cheers, Obi

Hi Piker, thank you very much for the detailed description - makes total sense :-) I am planning to tye a similar pattern on a jig hoog. Tungsten bead, no lead. I d' like to use different types of deer hair colors. Natural, rusty brown, black and light. When you mention dubbing loop, I suppose that implies the use of a clamp for holding the deer hair prior to placing it into the loop. I wonder how that would get along with different colors............ ? And then I want to use a partridge-hackle for the legs........... Mmmmmmh, still a bit of thinking to do there. ;-) Cheers, Obi

Dear all, I wanted to tye a peeping caddis pattern on a jig hook, and in search of inspiration I found this interesting pattern in the net: http://www.swedneckflyfishing.com/nh_peeping_caddis.htm In found the tying-solution for the case very interesting - however, I got no idea how it's supposed to be spun. Could somebody kindly explain to me? A step-by-step tying-instruction for a similar pattern would be helpful as well. Thanks in advance, Obi

Dear Hans, Thank you very much for your precise description. Makes total sense for me, no further questions :-)) @Crackaig: That peccary-hair-kinda-thing makes me completely nuts. ;-) We don't get peccary-hair in Germany. I was looking for replacements and found that peakock-quill and moose-mane are acceptable subsitutes. Cheers, Obi

Hi everybody, I came across this nicely tied Emerger-Pattern: http://thewayofthefly.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/cdc-quill-and-partridge-emerger-cqp-emerger/ It loolks pretty interesting, and it is quite clear to me how the main part of the fly is supposed to be tyed. It's pretty much like an advanced "Once & Away" Emerger. But I am clueless on how the thorax is supposed to be tyed. It says Hare's Ear Dubbing and Partridge feather........ Could somebody kindly clue me in how the thorax is made and how the CDC-Feather coms into play? Thanks in advance. Cheers, Obi

Hi everybody! I am currently looking for the best option as well. Has somebode here ever tried these so-called Cast Connectors: (Sry, the page is in German. But the photos will explain sufficiently............) http://www.royalflyfishing-shop.de/cast-connector-p-396.html If so, would you mind sharing your experience? Thanks, Obi

Hi everybody, thanks a bunch for your comments! The hints on tray winders is very helpful! I see your points about rigging up at the waterfront. You are rigt, part of the fun is taking care of your gear. On the other hand, there is no way that I tye a complete rig with dropper tags and such when I am already out for fishing. I'm far too nervous then - the adrenaline starts to kick as soon as I see the first rise..... :-) Cheers, Michael

Dear shoebop, Thank you very much for your reply! Since I am not a native speaker: Could you kindly explain what a snell keeper is? And you are right - we are probably not talking flies already tied onto the leader. Cheers, Obi

Hi everybody! Does anyone here prepare his rigs at home upfront and then carry them ready-made to the water when you go out fishing? I was thinking about rigs other than a simple tapered leader for dry-fly-fishing. You know, rigs for multiple nymphs, czech or french leader, rigs for dry fly/nymph combinations and such ........ ? Out of curiosity: Which types of rigs do you prepare upfront? And more importantly: How do you store your ready-made rigs in order to avoid terrible tangling. Just think about a leader for multiple nymphs and such things......... The benefit of preparing upfront is quite abvious - it sure safes a lot of time at the riverside. Thanks, Obi

Dear Piker, thx for your reply! I really want to stay with Barrio because of the good first experience I had with the GT90......... Not being an expert concerning this matter, I think the GT90 behaves pretty much like a DT, and unfortunately, that did not work out too well for me. Don't know why............. :-( Mr. Barrio himself indicated that - at best guess - the #4 would probably be better for overhead-casts, whereas the #5 would perform better in roll-casts and speys. But I think that statement doesn't really help me out. Couldn't I get a 4.5 wt??? :-) Cheers, Obi

Cheers, everybody? Please help me a bit in choosing the correct line-weight for my Echo3 fly rod I would highly appreciate your thoughts on the following problem: I own an Echo3 fly rod, 4 wt, 9ft - the manufacturer classifies it as a "fast" rod. My personal exprerience and a side-note in the yellowstone-angler 4wt shootout say, the rod is actually a 5 wt. I am currently fishing it in combination with a Barrio GT90 WFF5 line. The combo works pretty good for me, easy and precise to cast and the rod loads well - when overhead-casting, that is. The line / rod-combo really does not work too well for me when I am trying to perform a roll- or switch-cast. This is certainly due to the taper - the GT90 must be considered a long-belly-line. That roll-casting issue is really mind-boggling - that's why I want to change to another Barrio-line, the fairly new SLX. This line is definately a different animal. I would describe the geometry as a triangle-taper, which should definately improve the situation when roll-casting. What I am struggling with is the correct weight-choice. The manufacturer, Mike Barrio says, the SLX is a bit on the heavy end. When I did some research I figured the 5WT is actually a 6WT on the gram-scale............. The lines are sold directly - So no chance to test upfront. Guys, any suggestion as far as correct weight-choice? BTW - here is a link to both of the lines: http://www.flylineshop.com/barrio-fly-lines.html Cheers, Michael

Hi everybody! What I do to finish my parachute-flies without spoiling the paracute-hackle: 1.) Wax the thread with bee's wax 2.) Wrap a few turns of thread behind the hook eye to form a nice head 3.) Finish with a few half-hitches, using a half-hitch tool. I typically apply 5 half-hitches, but this will depend on the size of the fly 4.) Apply a little head-cement ....... done! -> Never had a problem with that. The finish is pretty durable, and the use of the half-hitch-tool helps to keep the hackle-barbs in place. Cheers, Obi

Hi everybody! Thanks a bunch for your kind comments. I hope the fly will perform in real life. That's all that really counts, right? For those who might take an interest: This dry fly is a hybrid out of two patterns - "Theo's Maifliege" and Morten Oeland's "Danica Dun".... Cheers, Obi

Hi everybody! I was sittin' on my tying-bench yesterday - and this is the result I want to share with you: A large dry fly pattern that is supposed to mimic the Ephemera Danica dun. That is one of the lartgest mayflies that appears over here in northeastern Germany. Hook: Gamakatsu F13, #8 Thread: Light Abdomen: - Antron dubbing cream - 3 fibers of Moose mane (sic?) - ribbing brown tying thread 6/0 - silicon glue Wings: - 2 CDC-feathers, natural gray - synthetic yarn, cream Thorax: - Cell foam, tan Reverse Hackle - Wing post: Cell foam, tan - Hackle: Barred ginger, 6 wraps My 1st attempt was with only 4 wraps of hackle. A foating test showed that the extended body is sitting a bit deep in the film. Hence I decided to apply two more wraps of hackle which gave a better result....... Guys, what do you think - please share your thougths ...... Cheers, Obi

Good day! French Nymphing, anybody? I would be looking for some good instruction on how to build your own French Leader. There ts various recepies out there, and I don't really get the point on what teh important aspects are....... What length of leader do you fish / recommend? What materials do you use for buliding the leader? Is it a "stiffer" or a "more flexible" type of material? How many "steps" in the taper should one consider? What monofilament-diameters do you use, and in what length? Which type of knot do you use for connecting the monofilament-pieces? Do you buld your own spring-type monofilament sighters? What material (type, diameter) do you use for that? Lots of questions, I admit. You may have already guessed that the topic is fairly new to me.......... :-) Cheers, Obi

Dears, thank you very much for your comments. The TMC 5212 might be an option - but it's hard to find in size #8 and #6. Any other suggestions? Cheers, Obi

Hi everybody! Guys, I need you help! I want to tye a special Mayfly-Pattern to mimik the largest Mayfly over there, the Ephemera Danica. It is a mayfly with a length of up to 30 mm (app. 1.25 inches) - without the tail filaments, that is. The pattern I do have in mind does not have an extended body, hence I need a special hook with a very long shank. The tying recipe suggests the use of a Partridge YH1A hook in size #8, which is a long nymph-hook with relatively thin wire. The only thing is - this hook seams to be discontinued or something. It is not available anymore. Folks, do you have any suggestion for a suitable replacement? Thanks a bunch upfront! Cheers, Obi