mikechell

Crackaig ... your friend obviously has no cats. If I tried to lay out my lures or flies on a table like that, I'd have a cat or three running around with hooks in their paws.

Quit with all the weight loss and get busy on that fish tank. Pretty soon, you'll be light enough to go snorkling in it ... if you GET SOME FISH IN IT !!! Joking, of course. Does the wind on your face feel weird? It did to me when I shaved mine off ... many years ago.

Are there ant SBS's for tying on cotter pins? Do you tie to the width of both shanks, or cut one shank short before adding all the trimmings? I am curious, and always looking for new information. I didn't see anything labeled "cotter pins" in the SBS section.

That's a great looking hair popper. I am still trying to get that tight of a packing. I fish with foam poppers more, just because I am currently hooked on the sunfish bite. For bass bugs, I personally like the sound of a looser pack. If you pack it as tightly as possible, it's not much different than a cork or foam body. I love the look of hair, love the sound of hair ... I am not sure the fish care much, it looks edible !!!

Ristarwen, I don't know about experience ... but I am cheap.

Orlando outfitters is a great place. I am in Deltona and if you can comfortably sit on a boat seat on a 14 foot jon-boat, then I'll show you some fresh water places to fish.

No, there's no scent on the fly, unintentional or intentional. But channel and blue cats are true predators, not scavengers like many other catfish. Both of these catfish will attack moving prey just like any other predator species.

I've caught two channel cats on the carp fly. One of the cats was sitting in flowing water and I was drifting the fly into outside bends of this little creek i was on. Mostly, I hook a gill or a bass, but this cat wanted it. The catfish in the picture above actually took the fly while I was moving the boat. I use a paddle and scull the boat instead of using a trolling motor. So I had placed the fly near a stand of Kissimmee grass and was re-orienting the boat. When I started moving the fly, the cat was on it. No skill in that catch, the channel was hungry and in the right place.

Instead of looking at website after website ... just pull up photos of fly tying benches. From the photos, you can connect to the sites for the ones you like best.

I posted an SBS on the first one, "My poppers", mostly to explain why I put the popper body on after tying in the tail materials. This particular one is turkey biot tail, black chenille abdomen, rubber legs and flip-flop foam body. The second one is a pattern I saw for carp ... basically, I think it's a mini-clouser ... but the single tuft of hair over the hook makes it sink hook up and makes it fairly weedless. I catch a lot of sunnies on both of these patterns, and release anything I can easily hold in my hand. I keep for eating all the ones that are bigger than that. And yes ... ever since I arrived here in '92 ... I've thought of Central Florida as my heaven, thank you!!!

Color stack, starting from the head: orange, black,white, black, orange (missing black) white, black, orange, black, white, black, orange.

Spent the last two weeks getting some fishing in. I had some time off, but just fished the St. Johns River (local BOW, for me). Most of my time was spent chasing sunfish for some fish fries. Mostly using just these two patterns. Along with several dozen bream of different species, I also caught a few gar, bass and catfish. I kept all the bream that were "hand sized" or larger. And the catfish. The gar and bass were released.

I am not familiar with the camera you have, but I used to do a lot of SLR photography. If yours is a film camera, like mine was, then it can get expensive experimenting with different settings and seeing what results you get. I'd go through an entire roll of film on one subject trying to get that one special picture. If it's a digital ... experiment a lot. There are so many neat ways to get that special picture, but it takes experience. There are some good books from noted photographers to help you, and I do recommend reading up on the subject.

Pretty rod. I was looking at it on E-bay when Wife walked in and looked over my shoulder. "What makes it so special," she asked? I said it's a hand made custom rod. She said I can buy it when I break the one I have now. Wife just doesn't understand ... but she is the boss, so no sale here. It is a pretty rod, and blue is my favorite color. Maybe, someday ...

Lots of strange things here in Florida. One of those are the apple snails. I think they are an invader species, but they don't seem to cause any problems. Pretty neat seeing the occasional snail kite, which feed almost exclusively on apple snails. Anyway ... when you fish around here, you usually see clusters of pink to light red eggs. They are apple snail eggs and until a couple of days ago, I'd never seen one actually laying the eggs. Luckily, I had the camera when I came upon this one. And for size comparison: This one is about half the size of the largest I've ever seen. They get huge.

Took me a couple of days, but my package is actually on it's way as of 10:30 today.

Now I know what a white popper or lure is imitating !!!

I like your design and wood work, but I couldn't use it for myself. I usually don't take the reels off. Once I've got a rod reel combo I like, I leave the reel on. It only comes off for cleaning or maintenance.

Here's a simple pattern for re-usable foam poppers. I don't need any critics ... I know there's better looking ties from better tiers. But this is how I make my cheapies. hook: popper hook ... size optional thread: polyester sewing thread ... your choice tail material: fibers from a dollar store duster ... your choice body: foam punched from flip-flops ... any flexible foam material legs: black rubber ... your choice Start the thread, wrap back to about even with hook point. Tie in tail material ... you can do whatever tail style you want. Do not take up too much hook shank. This step is optional. On my crickets and hoppers, I want a larger profile rear leg, so this works better than putting something through the body. Hold punched out body to hook backwards ... mark the body for proper length. Trim the body to size and skewer for position. I like to use the whole round body as punched from the flip-flop. If the punch out is slanted, put the hole near the bottom so the slant leans over the hook eye. This will give a better pop. I use a skewer for this ... it makes a larger hole than a bodkin, which will be handy in a minute. Sew in and glue into place the front legs. I put my front two sets of legs on while the body is on the skewer ... easier to handle this than the hook later. sometimes I position them as shown, sometimes I cross them. If you did not tie legs to the hook shank, you can sew three sets of legs through the body. Sorry for the fuzzy next two pictures ... but you have to move quickly for these two steps. Apply super glue to the hook shank threads. Be generous if you used a large diameter skewer like I do. By using a larger skewer, I can do the next step much easier. Remove the body from the skewer and slide onto the hook shank, rotate into proper position as you slide it on. Be sure to push it on far enough to clear the eye. Trim the legs, paint on eyes, finish the popper as you wish. I don't paint or finish most of mine, since the gar and other fish tend to tear up the bodies. But that's part of the charm of this pattern. This hook is getting it's fourth body ... a gar ripped the previous one off earlier today. Bluegill did in the 2 bodies previous to that one.

Nice bobber set up.

Google it ... you'll probably do best with someone getting out of tying and selling all their stuff on E-bay.

One of my favorite rods is a $50.00 combo from Wal-Mart. It's not pretty but it's light and it'll throw a medium sized popper just fine. If you have the opportunity, be sure to get the rod in your hands before purchasing ... see if you like the feel of it. I prefer lighter, since I usually am on the water from dawn to dusk and all day fly casting wears on your wrist if the rod is too heavy. (cheaper rods are sometimes much heavier) Just buy what you like ... if it doesn't work out that fly fishing is for you ... you can keep it for those occasions when you want to try it again.

Yeah, sounds like Lake Monroe, north of Sanford. The clouds of chironomids is like a fog some days. They put floating spotlights out on the lake to attempt to lure them away from Sanford. I don't think it worked.

Okay, my package is ready to send. It'll go out tomorrow. Here's some pictures of some flies. Not the ones I am sending, of course ... just some flies.

I am 53, and I still don't have a large "stockpile" of stuff. With the exception of my fly tying equipment and my boat, everything I own for fishing fits in my van. My 14 foot jon-boat and 15hp outboard get me to all the fish I can handle. (In Florida you need a boat, wading isn't very easy with mud bottomed shallow lakes, weed lined ponds and alligators.) Keep your fishing simple. If you're fishing streams and rivers you can wade, then all you need is a pair of chest waders. Get a light pair, slightly larger than you are. During colder months, layer sweats and "long-johns" under the waders for warmth. In the cool times, just a pair of pants to keep the waders from chafing. In the middle of summer, no waders, just a pair of shoes and shorts ... the water's cold, but you can always get out to warm up. A couple of weeks ago, I was in California. I was fishing a river east of Sacramento and was wading. The only mistake I made was not have a pair of wading shoes. The water was cold, but I was working hard enough to keep warm. But my feet were so cold I could have sliced myself open on a clam or glass and not known. Building up a garage full of equipment isn't necessary to enjoying fishing.