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Swamp Fly

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About Swamp Fly

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    Advanced Member

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  • Favorite Species
    Too Many to count, But Tarpon drive me to distraction!
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    22

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  • Location
    FT Myers FL

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  1. Yeah, those little buggers suck.
  2. I started using a magnifier like that a few years ago. I have a hobby station that has an organizer, light, and a magnifying glass. I tried that first and it worked okay but it had a florescent light and even that was just too hot next to my head. I bought a cheap one that uses LEDs as a light source for around $30 on Amazon. Works great and it is easy to move out of the way. I frequently use it just as a light source. I find myself using the thing for lots of things like digging out splinters and soldering as an example. I can even use it for some SMD soldering. I'll eventually get a stereo or digital scope for soldering even smaller components. I sure hope not to need it for fly tying (if I ever need size #50 flies I'll start lobbing dynamite...). The head worn magnifiers don't work for me when tying, anything farther than 10-12 inches away makes me think that Monet had a side gig making Rorschach prints. Swamp
  3. Yep, for about 20yrs. A lap board with a heavy pedestal vice does the trick for me. Works quite well actually, tied thousands of flies like that, everything from #22 Catskill drys to 5/0 bass bugs and saltwater streamers. A good vacuum and pets that don't treat feathers like the beast thing ever really helps. That said, there are many advantages to tying at a table. These days I tie at table but my back hates me for it. And yes I often watch TV while tying. Not saying my ways, past and present, are better or worse. You can tie many places you may need to adjust some things to make it work. Swamp
  4. We think alike! While I could have done without the mad two hour dash back to the ramp, I really enjoyed it. I plan on going back as soon as water levels drop some, water is up almost another foot since then. I just bought replacement batteries for my camera so I think I might spend most of a day taking some photos. On a surprising note I was not sore the next day. Not sure why, I really should have been. It must have been the scotch! I'll have to test that theory again sometime. LOL
  5. I've been hitting the local creeks for the last couple of months, sometimes on foot and sometimes in the canoe. I should post an overview soon. One of the creeks I like to fish is Fisheating Creek, it empties into Lake Okeechobee. It's somewhat of an odd creek in that the channel disappears into a marsh for a while so you can't actually run the length of it (major flood stage being the exception). like many creeks around here water flow drops to a trickle or even stops altogether during dry season. Only holes and bends hold water then. Rainy season got a real boost to start with this year with the tropical low that moved through. We went from zero flow and a gauge height of 0.03 ft to 223 cuft/s and 4.5 ft gauge height in less than three weeks. I've actually never been on the creek with water this high since the fishing is better when it's lower. I wanted to see what it was like. It was tough so I actually spent very little time fishing. I decided to just explore the creek. I spent the day 16 miles of paddling 8 upstream and 8 back down. The entire 8 miles downstream I raced a thunderstorm back to the ramp, it took 2 hours. I'm going to feel that tomorrow. Who am I kidding? I already feel it! If I had spent the time to fish more I'm sure I would have figured it out but I've been wanting to explore further upstream for years. The pesky act of catching a lot of hungry fish in a confined area always got in the way! When I got back to the ramp and finished loading up, the sun came out. Typical Florida, Sun + rain together = normal... For all the folks that want to rush down and see what a South Florida cypress creek in paradise looks like you should know I saw a lot of friends on the creek today, all of them gators. I saw at least 50-60, less than a dozen were less than 8'. I didn't see any real monsters, but a couple were pushing at least 12'. I could smell the dominant boar gators before I saw them. It's a distinct odor and I don't wade when I smell it, I stay on the bank or in the canoe. Frankly I usually just move on, plenty more creek. I'm thinking it's time for a couple of fingers of single malt. That is provided I can un-cramp my hands long enough to not have to use a straw. I will only stoop but so low! Swamp
  6. LOL, I have to completely disagree! If they allow all the people that "need killin'" to be offed then there wouldn't be an issue. Of course we are all on someones list of people that the world would be better without, heck some days I'm on my own list... Swamp
  7. I'm not happy about that, but what can you do. I just placed an order that should keep me going for a few years or more. I've been switching to jig hooks and theirs work well. Haven't had a real problem with the beads. I've found one or two that weren't quite right but I used them anyway. I'm not a presentation tyer so for me it's not an issue but I understand if others are less happy. So now the question is where to look now at a decent price point? Swamp
  8. Dragged right at the entrance to Picnic Lake for about 100 yds, probably could have gotten away with only 10 yds. There were 2 or 3 more spots but nothing major, ran aground a number of times but pushing with the paddle and doing the canoe scoot got me going again without getting out. I was hoping to get back out later this week but I don't think that will happen, maybe next week.
  9. Great photos. Fisheating Creek is one of my favorite places. It's the land that time forgot, what the rest of Florida should looks like. That looks like Monument Tree so I'm thinking you went East. I tend to go west just because or maybe because I tend to stay for just one more cast as it gets toward dark. It's faster going down stream. LOL I've been three time this year. I love it when the water is low but it makes paddling a pain though. Fishing will get better once the water warms a few more degrees. I've seen more Gators this year than the last 3-4 combined some bigger lizards too (12-13'). You notice more as well? Swamp
  10. Thanks Bob. I just received a 16oz epoxy kit. Supposedly it has 2x UV protection, yeah right thank you marketing dept for making stuff up again. I plan on hitting the shaft with some 320 and 400 grit paper and then using the epoxy almost as a wipe on finish. I don't need strength just UV protection and while I don't want it to look horrible, spending effort on a pretty finish is a waste here. I suspect the previous owner left it outside under a tree together with the canoe for years. I will at the very least store the paddle under the canoe. If this works out I may treat a fiberglass pushpole I own this way too. I'll add some light-ish colored pigment to the epoxy for that..I don't like black pushpoles, they looks great but get hot enough here that I just about drop them when in full sun. I have to dunk them in the water to cool them down. In fact I may do the same to this paddle after it is apparent that the finish is working out.
  11. I figure that at some point I'm going to need eye surgery, I've spent a lot of time around kilns. I've always been careful about having didymium lenses or #5 shades on but when someone else opens a door or peephole it's tough not to glance at it. When surgery is needed I'll go back to better sunglasses. As far as readers, the one nice thing about being nearsighted and wearing corrective glasses is that I just drop the frames to the end of my nose and I can see perfectly at about 9"away. I'll have to take a look at the Tacfires whenever I get to Walmart again. Most of the Walmart's around here have parking lots that are so screwed up it takes 15 min to get back out again. I avoid going as much as possible.
  12. The ends of the arms are gone, just the wire that allows one to shape the arms to personal head/ear profile is left sticking out. There is about 3/4" of wire sticking out of one side and 2"+ out of the of the. This is not something that is exclusive to Cocoons in my world. Granted this time it is a little more extreme but I've had this exact thing happen before too. I've had plastic/rubber glasses arm ends get gooey, peel off, or like in this case disintegrate. Most of the time it just affects over-molded rubber. Here I expect the plastic was compromised enough that the ends were inadvertently pulled off. I'm not griping about the quality, I'm keeping my personal history with all eyewear in mind. While $50 is not peanuts, I still consider the price point to be significantly less than heirloom quality. If they are 4+ years old that's less than $15 a year, I often spend that in gas for a single fishing excursion. If this was a "high end" pair of sun glasses I'd be getting in contact with the company. I just looked at the glasses again and it appears that the last 2/3s of the arms are not the same material as the frame. It's a softer material probably chosen for comfort and to be soft enough to be shaped for improved fit (that's what the wire is for). Keeping them in my car (HOT) probably is not doing them any favors either. As far as how they look on me, my sunglasses are the least of my problems there.
  13. Wrap around frames are what I am used to and I'm going to sweat regardless of my glasses, welcome to Florida I hope you brought extra shirts! I've never been a fan of wrap around lenses for the very reason that is mentioned, the ones I've worn do distort at the periphery. The distortion doesn't interfere with my activities, but I noticed that I get eye strain much faster. When I bought this current pair of Cocoons, I thought the side panels would be an issue but it hasn't been a problem. Of course now that I'm thinking about it, it will be! Good tip using a Sharpie though. Humm ski googles are probably good for running the boat after the sun goes down. The bugs can be so bad that with a spot light it looks like a snow storm to the point that I have to hold the light as low or high as I can just not to get blinded from the light reflected off of the bugs, eye protection of some sort is mandatory. I'm just glad I'm not a mouth breather.🤮 During the day with our humidity wearing goggles might be like looking through a full aquarium from the inside while sitting in a sauna. I'm not sure what it is but my sweat is tough on most rubber, eventually it will disintegrate. I've even had some plastics fall apart, I guess it's not just my personality that can be caustic! 😈 I've learned to live with it, the personality too. I'll probably wait till I go in to get new prescription glasses and then buy some new Cocoons of the appropriate size. I'm good with that, like I said the ones I have have worked just fine. It just never hurts to look around for even better options if you have to replace something anyway. As far as how they look, well I have been know to call them "My Birth Control Glasses". The good news is that while I'm fishing, I don't really care unless I look so bad even the fish don't want anything to do with me... Thanks for the input. Swamp
  14. So I have about given up on being able to wear contact lenses again. I'm unwilling to buy new custom <insert brand here> quality fishing sunglasses at $300+ every year or so. I purchased some Cocoons branded fit-overs a 3-4 years ago. The wheels are about to fall off of them at this point, the last inch of both arms are bare wire now. At $50 they don't own me any money. They are/were okay, not spectacular but certainly not hot garbage either. I'd like something a little better but a very quick cursory search is not showing me much other than throw away junk from the usual sources. I'll buy Cocoons again but I'm open to suggestions. FYI I really don't like clip-ons etc. I'm looking for something that covers and blocks light coming in from the sides etc. From sunny but very bright Florida.... Swamp
  15. Looks like another cold one last night. Got lucky here on the west coast, no frost or freezes. Last time it was really cold we had snook the size of a mans leg floating dead all over the place. There are already documented sighting of pythons in central FL. I was hoping that the youngest snakes might not survive, I know the bigger snakes can actually "shiver" to warm up a bit. Had not heard about that study with the pythons up north. I think some enterprising chef needs to make python wildly popular like they did with redfish years ago. I never know how to feel about a freeze taking out a bunch of the exotics (fish). On one hand they don't belong here , on the other it's one hell of a fishery and unless a genetic means of control is used we will never get rid of them.
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