mikechell

Liar ... you didn't tie those ... you just stuck a hook through a bug and took a picture, right? I am just getting back into tying, and I see these realistic flies you people do and despair. I love tying but I don't think I'll ever be that good. I don't think I'd be able to bring myself to fish with one if I did tie one anyway, so I guess it's better that I don't. Beautiful work there, Mike.

Those are good looking lures. I am waiting to hear if they catch fish. I'd have to go with the darker colors for the tannin stained water here.

I love using my whip finisher. Practice with it and look for videos. The main thing that threw me when I was first trying to use it was the thread movement. On SilverCreek's drawings (pretty good ones, by the way) ... look at figure 4. The thread from point C to point B must be able to "feed". If you are wrapping too tightly to allow more thread through the wraps, you'll bind up the tool and make it hard to remove. Keep the wraps just loose enough to allow more line through and it gets better.

Yeah, it's hot there now ... but you're not foolin' ME! I'd make the plans, get the flight, get all excited ... arrive there and the next day would be freezing rain with no let up in the known future.

Hey Maverick. Where in Florida are you? Close to Deltona?

That's a pretty shrimp. We've got loads of small fresh water shrimp here in Florida. They are about an inch long and your lure looks beautifully like one.

I am eagerly working towards being good enough to join these swaps. It wouldn't be fair to anyone receiving a fly from me, and I'd get flies that would just make me jealous of others tying abilities. But I'll be joining these soon.

I am not good enough, yet, to know what questions to ask ... but the features sound like good additions to an already awesome site.

Beautiful fish you have up there. Almost makes me want to come there. But then I think about the cold temperatures and think, "Nope, not me, I'll stick to my bass and warm weather!" Pretty fish and looks like a lot of fun.

LOL And like most Floridians I know, I wasn't born here. But I swear, this is where I was meant to be "from"!!!

I figured I give this a try. Since starting back up on the tying bench, I've been spinning hair. I gave up on it when I tried before, because I didn't have all the information. The last time I tried this was before the internet was big. Anyway, I've played around and done up a couple of small hair-bugs that are based on bass but small enough for large bream. There are a couple of bugs for big bass too, but I haven't fished them yet. The corks are the same size, so you can tell which two are the bream bugs and bass bugs.

Born and raised in Indiana ... left there when I was old enough and headed south to get out of the cold. Lived in South Carolina, then joined the Marine Corps ... got "laid off" after Desert Storm and moved to Florida to go to Motorcycle school. After working in the field for a while, I went back to that school in 1997 and started teaching what I'd learned in all my years. Been fishing most of my life, fly fishing about a year less time. (I started like most kids, with live bait and bluegill jigs.) Started tying about a decade ago, then fell out of it. Now I am back into it and with more enthusiasm than I've had for anything in a long time.

Cute little turtle. Poor little bass. But pretty neat that you got it all on film and didn't hurt the turtle.

Utyer's probably hit it on the head. I am fairly new to tying too. My first mistake was to wrap things in the opposite direction to the thread. I thought this would make the finishing better, but wrapping over the end of the hackle pulls it in the looser direction and ... that dog don't hunt!

Pretty lures. You're being modest ... I especially like the green one. That would work well in the large-mouth waters I fish.