Dirts

Maybe someday someone with create lures that ones they hit the water and start sinking they will automatically change to the appropriate depth color.

Great fishing and including the week after.

Hey mudman, I had a very good friend take his grandson up to the Southshore. They left at four in the morning and got twisted around but when they got to their fishing spot the wind picked up. I had tied someflies for their trip but I figured on copying a smelt or herring so I tied some Clouser minnows and made up some improvisions. He said he got a smallmouth on one of my original clouser flies but then the wind picked up too much so he switched to spinning gear. So I have regrouped and started searching the Great lakes trout and their preference for color so I can make up some flies with beads. The preferences were silver and copper or metalic and then I found that pastel colors. Cream color, light blue and green. These were spoon colors. So now Ive thought of wire wrap for weight and more flashabou on those clousers. I might add some clickers in the flies. The greatest gift is that the boy caught a nice rainbow. My other friend had a birthday so I tied him several panfish Charlies. I tied them in the videos white and pink. I told him to test them and let me know how they do in the Northwoods and since I'm new at this I ask them to give me feedback on durability. While in Walmart today the wife showed me some shaggie natural brown acrylic yarn so when I got home I tied another worlds uglest panfish fly. I have to wet these. My Kayak is screaming for water so loud I have to keep the garage door closed.

This is a concept that I ran across when making in line spinners with glass beads. They are called carolina tickers and what it basically is that they alternate brass washers between glass beads and when they rub together because they are not anchored they create what some consider a fish attracting sound. I even found some sites that make these and actually taped the sound under water. I know this is a fly tyers site and I just regard this idea as interesting and conversation. The fact that some tyers use beads on their flys is why I thought of sharing. O.K. I've got my hands in the air. Theirs no spoon in my hands and if you look down there is no pot. Thanks

I use a Wilderness Commander 140. Thats because I'm big and my dog always accompanies me in the back. I have two rod holders on both sides which I use when trolling. I didn't check your age but I'm an old man and I have to put my boat on our Honda CRV which involves balance, bench press and then a toss into the J hooks. I even made a rack out of PVC off the internet but roof materials are not what they use to be. I had upright rack tie ons and went to the J racks. I was even considering cradle saddles which I like with rollers. I just wish that some one would come up with an idea so strapping down does not involve always putting straps on the inside over the kayaks. I have developed my own procedure for strapping on because of the height of my vehicle. For two years I had a young adolescent fishing maniac that was my neighbor. I adopted him and he took my dogs place in the back and he would troll in the middle. We spend some very great times together just talking about conservation, the environment and life in general. I usually caught the fish and tried hooking him up with the same baits, but that was to no avail. To my sorry he moved away last year. I would have enjoyed introducing him to fly tying and fishing with the flies. My son David who is handicapped uses an Our Towne. I reviewed his on line and when the going gets rough and I want him in shore five minutes ago because of weather; hes pulling into the landing before I get there. I even have raced him and he just laughs. I have had some fantastic moments in my Kayak seat with my four legged friend. What I would suggest is before purchasing one you can rent one or in the spring here the local dealer takes all the models in his stock down to the local water on a Sunday. They provide you with paddles and floatation vests and you can try anyone one you want. If your checking on a specific model search the model and type reviews.

Oh Don, what are you doing mentioning the states rules and regulations from the state of Texas? I was looking for ideas and help. Already your looking in all the wrong places I didn't ask to see Don Wrinkles fly pattern It doesn't cast, its dull and it scares fish..

What would you do or include in your book for beginners to stimulate and magnify enthusiasm and diminish overwhelming frustration? You will be their mentor into the fly tying world. Lets hear your suggestions and ideas. You went through it; now how would you change it.

Since no two people are genetically alike it makes it difficult to follow a line of consensus. We might find similarities but not true consistancies that are the same. The base of tool choices and techniques is straight but then when category of fly use, colors, type of material or the preference to technique you will limit the number of books that will satisfy all beginners. Then I can only assume when a tier gets more experience with his individual choices the difference from other tiers widens. Consistency lies in fly tyers copying patterns of individual attraction..Having said that I believe that a beginners book has to be void of indivduality. A good beginner book needs to channel beginners individual choice to patterns that he likes instead of a bible of patterns. It prevents frustration, spending on uneccessary materials. Success in tying feeds enthusiasm to continue through the void and over the hump. I feel that a lot of starters are lost by being influenced by an overwhelming of individual fly patterns and materials that don't satisfy their individual interest. I always think about the Fly fishing father showing his son how he ties the flies they use to catch fish. The same flies that are past on thru genetic preference are used to enhance shared fishing experiences. Thats a home run. Food for thought and discussion

What a weird name for a color. Chartreuse is sort of between green and yellow. There is actually two colors. Web chartreuse is more green and traditional chartreuse is more yellow.

In A.D. Livingstons book of making in line spinners he states that Don Gapen once told him there was only three colors that should be of interest to a fisherman. They are white, yellow, and black. Food for thought and discussion.

I'm a beginner and two books that twik my interest is "Fly tying with Poly yarn" by Lee Clark. The author was an art teacher and was teaching macrame tying and started combing out ends when the thought of fly tying with this material was triggered. The other is "Tying glass bead Flies" by Joe Warren. These two individuals Co-authored these books. The six five star reviews on Warrans book in amazon stated. Best tying book I ever owned, well written, easy to understand, innovative and creative, opens a new world, photos clear and demos easy to understand. The best part of the reviews was that two stated that the flies patterns catch fish. Every review reflected enthusiasm to share the review. Warren did a dvd for glass bead trout flies but it is no longer available. Food for thought or comment.

Thats what it was Mike. The result of age, experience, trial and error and a love of the sport. This old timer was a result of success. I just wish that I could have taken a picture of him walking away. It was a kodak moment and a picture of a thousand words. It was his pay day. The icing on the cake. My choice of the word " lie" should not have be used to describe a normal action of fisherman. Its standard practice when stating where you caught it or how big it was or what bait contributed to your success.

One with a barbless hook for a quick release. I would need two flies. One a wild nymph with alot of flashabou and the other a soft baby pink foam caddis

This is just a suggestion for those that have not ordered books on line. Instead of walking into a bookstore and paying full freight for a book go on line and look at the new and used prices and also the reviews of the content of the book. The site I like to use is the one named after a south american jungle. I do that because I don't want to labeled as a spamer. Make sure that you look at the book price and the shipping cost. Some will down the price and up the shipping. Thats for individual used book retailers selling books. They have always remedy an challenges I have had. The ones that are out of print and on demand or they think there on demand are outrageously priced On the whole you can save some money and track your package.

My buddy and I were fishing the Soo River in Northern Wisconsin. We were fishing egg sacks. The scenery scenery hugging the river was beautiful. We methodically worked up and down working the pools. We slept in the back of the truck in our sleeping bags. The next day after a bacon, egg and toast sandwich we started working the pools. After about an hour an older gentleman approached us. He had his rod in one hand and a backpack. We discussed the weather and asked if he had any luck. No he said I haven't had any luck at all. Not a twitch in his weathered face. He walked about the length of a pool away from us when my eyes took focus on the unusual. The shape in the back of his backpack was one big U. I signaled my buddy and pointed and made the shape of a U. He caught it shook his head and started laughing. These two cops laughed all the way home. Haven any luck. Nope.

Utyer your an inspiration. Too create with new materials is one way, but to create with discovery and originality is rare or its not readily shared. I thank you for sharing and now it is recorded history and continues to be available. I think a book with memories, fishing experiences, anedotes, inexpensive creative fly tying diagrams and instruction, inexpensive fly tying materials discussions. It would be a personal documentation written from the heart not gramatically correct documentation. The life of a fly tyer. A book with character and personality. It would include personal inspiring ideas, inner thoughts behavior changing fishing experiences and fishing friends. Trial success and failure. A book that lets its reader feel the experience of walking in the authors shoes and waders. Life photos through time and fly history. Art is the expression of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form;works produced by such skill and imagination My most memorable books that I could not put down were the biography of Howard Hill, "Hell I was there" by Elmer Keith,Sagittarius by Bob Swinehart and Fred Bear "The biography of an outdoorsman and Dick Palmer autobiography. Dick was a barber and traditional archery trick shooter. He sold archery muscle building machines in the back of sporting magazines and used a 150 lb bow that he designed. It was the Tusker. I would want the first copy of blue collar fly tying McGiver step up to the plate and make a difference. I also collect cookbooks. A cookbook is a chemistry manual for cooking. A cookbook that contains just recipes and techniques is mundane, but then came taste of home. Families from all over the United States sharing their comments about there families and there favorite recipes and what makes this one so special. The little guy relates when the ingredient of character is added. Food for thought.

Any reviews of Boyd Pfleiffers book of Simple flys; You can tie with three materials or less. The only review I found was from a Father and daughter who were both learning to tie together. It was a positive review.

Fly tying strenghtens and magnifys the dream.

After retiring from law enforcement and dealing with the ills of mankind. I have learned to appreciate repect, politeness, positives and avoid strong arguemental conversations. I am new to the site and I sensed professionalism and a high degree of experience and regard that with great respect. I know that I am an individual and geneticly different from anyone and that no two people experience the same lives. I give my thoughts as food for thought and then I listen and learn. This thread started like the stages of death acceptance and then it went from tight to openness. No two fly tyers will ty the same. The creative challenge and spirit flowed to simplicity. The knowledge and simplistic innovation shared was priceless. There is a reason for the season and my thoughts might trigger something or might not and I thank those that shared their experience to keep it simple to catch fish and for all the reading suggestions and referrels. Don't judge an indian until you have walked a mile in his moccasins.

Thank you for the Jack Gartside suggestion. P.S. I apologise for posting the material that was posted so many times before on game tying materials.

If I could save you money by not buying an infinitum of materials and promise you that you can easily tie these flies with limited or restricted number of tying materials and catch fish productively. You don't think anybody would buy the book. Your saying people need more avenues of choices to be interested. For example 65 different breakfast cerals or 52 different frozen pizzas to chose from. Can a trout distinguish between 5 different adams flies tied with different materials. I do agree that there are those that want all the choices to be creative but on the other hand their are those that want simplicity. In other words I don't think that I would be so quick to diminish the popularity of such a book. For one thing it would be ground breaking because its never been done before. Instead of buying many different kinds of soaps, conditioners, laundry products. I would rather have one bar of soap that does it all. This is for debate or food for thought. I would appreciate your thoughts.

Processing Fly Tying Materials at Home One of your friends drops off some of his fall harvest for your fly tying. What to do with it?? Read on and question should be answered. Contents and quick links... Health Hazards Legal Ins and Outs Birds Skinning or Plucking Fur Killing Bugs Drying and Tanning Dyeing and Bleaching Birds and animals that are usefully to the fly tier. Other Sources of Information Health Hazards Health hazards should be considered while processing and gathering fly tying materials. Even if the risk of transmission is low, it is worth the extra effort to take the necessary precautions, as the consequences of not doing so could be dire. To avoided things like rabies, tularemia, ticks, flees or other nastiest, always were rubber or latex gloves when handling your materials. Especially when you’re picking up road kill and you don’t know for sure how the animal died. If you know how the animal died then it will less of a concern. I.E. hunters handle there game all the time without rubber gloves. Though Tularemeria is always a concern and it's a pretty rare disease in Wisconsin. If you handle the rabbit during the skinning process with latex or rubber gloves you should be safe. For more info on tularemia. http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/communicable_diseases/en/tular.htm) If you come a crossed an animal that looks like it has rabies or something else, just leave it alone! From bleach, dyes, mothballs and tanning solutions you’ll want to protect your self from the chemical that you’ll come in contact with during the processing of your materials. Latex gloves are cheep and easy to find, so wear them and wash up when you are done! Can you tell I’m a parent? Legal Ins and Outs You would think that if you stumbled across a dead animal or bird in the wild or alongside the road you would not be subject to any sort of penalty for keeping the materials, especially if you were not the cause of death. This is not always the case. If the bird or animal is a protected species (Like an Owl, Hawk or Badger) you better not have it in your position unless you have a permit to collect such things. You could get in trouble for just have a single owl feather in your tying stash. Some things are protected by the State Laws and some by the Federal Laws. You just can't go picking anything up off the road. A game animal collected out of season, without a permit is technically illegal to possess. The warden in your area may not care, especially if it is for tying and for your own use, but you might check. Fines can be rather painful. Sometimes it is easier to mail order for the $3.50 or so that squirrels cost per skin. When it comes to the collection and position of these materials, it’s not easy to navigating the laws. And if you contact the DNR you will not always get a straight answer or the same answer twice. In general you’ll have little trouble if you stick to game birds and game animals. Many of the laws are in place to protect the birds and animal and not there to bust you for getting a few items for your fly tying. Most wardens have better things to do then watch for people picking up road kill. A hunter or trapper may give you game bird or animal, but it’s not legal for you to pay for some items. From the Wisconsin DNR … "Transport and sale of game It is illegal to: sell, purchase, or barter, or offer to sell, purchase or barter any Small Game Mammal, Migratory Game Bird, or Game Bird or part thereof except: 1. the tail and skin of any squirrel, when severed from the rest of the carcass. 2. rabbit, raccoon, and other furbearing animal carcasses or parts can be sold during the open season for those species. (The DNR may retain bobcat, fisher and otter carcasses for research)" Link to the above http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/regs/SGHunt05.pdf Link on Federal laws for waterfowl http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/intrnltr/treatlaw.html Other states may have different rules, but migratory birds are regulated by the USFWS. To get complete and accurate information, contact your DNR or US Fish and Wildlife Service. We take no legal responsibility for the information on this web site. Birds Skinning or Plucking? Once you have the game bird look it over to see what usefully feathers are on the bird. Then decide if you’re going to pluck the feathers that you want off the bird or skin it out. For example most ducks I pluck off the flank, breast and the CDC feathers and not bother skinning it out. But with a Bobwhite Quail or Hungarian Partridge and other upland birds, I’ll skin out the whole bird because there are so many usefully feathers on the bird. I may also depend on how shot up or dirty the bird is. I do have some ducks that I have skinned out and some upland birds that I have plucked. You may want to consider freezing the bird until you have time to process it. This will also help kill any bugs on the bird, see the section below on killing bugs. Skinning… When skinning out birds I will cut off there wings and set them aside for later processing. This will make it easier to skin the bird out because the wings always seem to get in the way. Heavy scissors or wire cutters will help you get the wings off quickly and make it easer to skin out the bird. Just clip off the wings next to the body. Then you’ll need to decide if you want to make the first cut along the top or the bottom if the bird. Most ducks have better feathers for fly tying along there breast so the first cut will be along their back and the opposite is mostly true of upland birds. The skin on birds is generally very thin and will rip and tear easily. You will need to be careful as to how hard you pull on the skin when removing it. Also be careful when using a knife on the skin. One tip is to use your fingers to push between the skin and meat and only use a knife where the skin is hard to remove. Once you have the bird skinned out you need to cure it. You can Dry or tan your birds skins, most of the time I’ll use the drying method. See the Drying and tanning section below. Plucking… There is no trick to plucking a bird, just grab a few feathers at a time and give a good tug. Some feathers come out easier if you pull them in the opposite direction that they are growing. You may want to keep the different feathers separated from each other I.E. keep the CDC in a different bag from breast feathers. I like to use paper bags to hold the feathers, paper allows the feathers to dry out in the bag. The more difficult task with plucked feathers is dealing with ones that are dirty or bloody. If you can get some that are fairly clean you can move right on to the treating them for bugs and skip the next clean section. The other advantage to not cleaning the feathers is that they will retain any natural oils that will help keep your dry flies floating. Washing… So if you do have some feathers you need to wash, here are some ideas on how to go about it. First find a container to wash the feathers in, sink, bucket, ect. Then add some mild detergent like Dawn dish soap, Woolite, or similar detergent and warm water. I like Woolite because it seems to add some luster to the feathers. You can add in some bleach or ammonia to help kill the bugs. But I would still treat the feathers for bugs after they are washed with one of the below methods, because I’m not sure that they would be exposed to the bleach or ammonia long enough to kill them. Then gently stir the feathers by hand and repeat if needed and rinse well. DO NOT WRING OUT WATER!!, this will destroy the feathers and quills. I have used a fine mesh kitchen strainer, (like the one you would use to get lumps out of the gravy, just don’t let the wife find out). Do not use water any hotter then what comes out of your tap, to avoid damage to the feathers barbs. Drying… As for drying the feathers you have a few choices. You can place the feathers in to a paper bag or old pillow case. Then wrap it around the neck of a hair drier. You may need to add a few hole to allow the air can escape. Do not use the 'hot' setting, feather tips can be singed easily. Or you can to put wet feathers between some newspapers. Place a flat weight on top and let air dry. The feathers will dry and not curl as much as they will when using hot air. Or you can put the feathers into an old pillow case, tie the end of the pillow case and throw the whole thing into the drier, put it on a low heat setting. You will be surprised at how nice then come out of the dryer. This is one of the easier and quicker methods I have used to dry feathers. Wings… When it come to the wings on birds, it is tricky to save the whole wing without it spoiling. This is because it is hard to get all of the meat off the wings and get it cure all the way. But don’t throw them out; there may good feathers on wings. The top leading edge of the wings of most up-land birds has many good small wet fly feathers; they are easily plucked off the wings. And the first large flight feather on duck and geese make for nice biots and quills. Rather then pull the feathers out of wings use a heavy scissors or wire cutter to get the feathers off the wings. Fur When it comes to animals of the furry kind you have little choice but to skin it out. The good news is any mistake you make while skinning it out will have little impact on it being use for fly tying. You don’t need to be a seasoned trapper to get a good piece of tying fur. When skinning out an animal it can be handy for a beginner to have two knifes handy one with a sharp edge and one with a duller edge. The sharp knife should be used for starting the first cuts, removing limbs, wings and cutting difficult areas. The duller knife should be used for removing the skin from the carcass. By using a duller knife you are less likely to put unwanted holes in the hide. Extra holes will make it more difficult to cure the hide later but not impossible. Most fur bearing animals I will start at the tails and work my way up to the head. I will make a cut along the belly to get a flat hide. Most of the good fur can be fond on the backs of the animals. Things like legs, ears, eyeballs and noses are of little value. Tails should be skinned out from tip to tip and opened and defleshed and any fat removeet. Once you have the hide remove you will need to remove any extra fat, flesh that is on the hide. You can do this by laying the hide on a flat surface and scraping the off the extra with a dull knife or a spoon. Hold the knife perpendicular to hide and scrape. Then you are ready to move on to drying or tanning section. If the hide is peculiarly oily or greasy you will want to wash it. Just wash it out in warm water with some dish soap like dawn and then rinse it out with warm water. Be carefuly not to wring out the hide because you can damage the hair. You will need to take extra care when dry out the hide. See the Drying section below. The exception to skinning is when all you want to get is dubbing from the animal. Then an electric shaver or hair clippers is a way that you can remove the fur. Then you can pop it into a dubbing blender and mix it up. A food processor also works well for blending dubbing, just don’t let the wife find out. Squirrels and rabbits have some nice dubbing on them. Killing Bugs It's a good practice to assume that any "raw" material you receive is infected with bugs such as lice, flees or ticks. Anything you pick up on the road, in the woods, or are given from trapper or hunters should be assumed to be infested. The only time you should assume you are safe is when you purchase the materials through reputable suppliers. You don't want to keep any thing that you get from the woods or roadside with any thing you buy! You don't want bugs in a $60 neck! Make sure that your treat the materials as described and keep them separate from your other materials. The two main "de-infestation" methods use either a freezer or your microwave oven to kill both the adult bugs and the eggs. Treating your material with mothballs or flee power or other chemical is not enough. I have friends use only chemical methods on materials with bad results. The first thing I do with any hide or skin is freeze it for a month! This will kill all the bugs in the hair/feathers of the hide. You can freeze just the materials after you have skinned or plucked it. Or you can freeze the whole thing until your ready to skin it out. Other method to kill bugs is using the Microwave. The trick is to microwave it long enough to kill any bugs, without over heating the hide/skin. Thirty or so seconds in the microwave per skin will destroy any living cells, including eggs. This should be done after you have dried out tanned the hide. If you put a raw hide in the microwave it will cook and smell up the whole house and it will shrink up and you won’t have much to work with after words. Drying and Tanning If you’re a fly tier you are mostly likely interested in is preserving the material so that it does not rot as you store it long term. These create "hard" hides and skins, not the soft tanned hides you sometimes see in fly shops. You don’t need a nice soft tanned hide for tying. Drying… Take the hide or skin and tack or nail it to a peace of plywood or cardboard (I prefer to use plywood and a bunch of finishing nails). Then check and see that you have all the fat and meat removed. You must get 95-100% of it off or it will not dry out. You can leave the thin layers of skin they will dry. Then cover the hide with borax (you can find borax in most grocery store by the laundry detergent), cover it so there is 1/8 to 1/4 inch of borax covering the hide. Borax is better then salt because it dose a better job of wicking away the oil and water. Borax also acts as a bug deterrent for both fur and feathers. Salt can be use if Borax is not available, but salt can dry the hide out to much. If you plan on tanning the hide you will not want to use Borax but non ionized salt. See Tanning section. Then take and place a fan so it is blowing on the borax covered hide. I use a window fan set on low; you just need to keep the air moving over the borax to help the drying process. Wait 24 hours and take borax off the hide or skin and put in different container. Take the hide and brush off any Borax that is sticking to the hide. Then cut off any fat or meet that looks like its not going to dry. You'll know after doing a few. Then take a put the borax that you already used and take out any lumps and then put it back on the hide. Then put the fan back on it for 24 hours. If you have washed the hide you will need to dry both sides. After that you can take off the Borax and your hide will be done! Some oily hides may take longer and you may have to repeat the above steps a few times to get the job done. The window fan seems to speed up the process by a few days. I also turn up the dehumidifier to help dry out the air. You don’t have to use a window fan it will just take longer to dry out. You don’t have to use a dry agent either, if you place your hide or skin in a cool dry place it will dry out. But I do get nicer hides when I use a drying agent. I do this in my basement; my wife is very tolerant of all my stuff. I normal to this in the winter time after hunting season and after the materials have been in the freezer for a while. Keep in mind that you hide is dried out and can go bad if it gets wet. The borax act as a drying agent and it dose little to preserve the materials. Other drying agents like salt and sawdust can be used to dry out your hides and skins. But my experience is that borax is the best. Tanning If you really want to try soft-tanning a hide you will to do a few more steps. Tanning also preserves the hide better then the borax method. Tanning can make it easier it your going to die or bleach your material later. Prior to application of most tanning formulas and solutions however, the following guidelines should be considered when preparing skins and furs for your fly tying bench. Tanning chemicals and preservatives can be found in most taxidermy catalogues. And be sure to read and instructions that some with the tanning chemicals. For best results start with fresh green skins, carefully scrape or cut off all the meat and fat until the skin is very clean. If the skin has started to dry then soak it first in cold water, but only long enough for it to become soft. For preserving the skin (deer for example) for fly tying hair you should next salt the flesh well with non-iodized table salt, working plenty of the salt into the entire hide.. Next soak the skin in a solution of 1 pound of salt per gallon of water until very flexible. Remove the skin and drain, but do not twist. Now using a sharp knife, thin the skin as much as possible, removing any remaining membrane. Or you can use a wire wheel attached to the power drill for this step when the skin has started to dry. After the skin is thinned, wash it again in warm water with dishwashing detergent to remove the salt and grease. If you are working with raccoon, beaver, or bear which are very greasy, the hide should be washed twice or more to remove as much of the grease as possible. Now hang the skin to dry. When the skin is semi-dry, but still moist and flexible, shake the Tanning Formula well and at room temperature apply an even layer to the flesh side. Apply it with a paint brush or wipe it on wearing a pair of latex gloves. Continue to massage the tanning formula in to all areas of the skin. Next lay the skin flesh side up to dry on cardboard or plywood. As it dries you need to periodically pull and stretch the skin until it is completely dry and soft. If the skin is stiff in a few spots, dampen these areas with warm water, reapply tanning solution and repeat. If you still want the skin softer you can then continue thrashing it with the wire wheel or you can use coarse sandpaper on it as well until you find the degree of subtleness you desire. Dying and Bleaching Proper tanning is the foundation from which proper dyeing can be successfully achieved. Make sure that any material you plan on dying has all the blood, fat, and excess flesh removed and thoroughly degreased and cleaned. Then make sure that it is properly tanned. If you change any conditions in the dyeing process such as temperature, proportions of chemicals, humidity, shelf life, timing, formulas, adding or mixing different "swatches" of fur and feathers to your bath, you will achieve differing results. Often these results are not the color tones or shades you seek in spite of reading all the directions and following the same exactly as instructed. We suggest that you keep meticulous notes on what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately this process comes with time and expense of materials. For the apprentice dyer, the search for the right conditions and materials is very frustrating, but can be achieved with practice, a properly prepared hide or skin, and the correct dyes and chemicals. The good news is, it can be done. Once you have mastered and achieved the desired tones and shades for materials you most frequently use, then your purchasing expenses come down over the long run. No longer do you need to acquire colored deer hairs or hackles. A grizzly and a cream or white cape and saddle should suffice for most hackling needs. Light deer hair can be procured through your normal sources, but is a better deal when you get it from a hunting friend or taxidermist's scraps. I find that materials swaps over the Internet have brought me some fine materials in exchange for excess materials I have collected over the years. I recommend this board for further information on dying. Dyeing and Bleaching Natural Fly-Tying Materials, A. K. Best The Lyons Press, April 1, 1993 ISBN: 1558212140 Steaming Once you all done processing your materials and if they come out flat and crumpled try steaming them. Get some steam going with a tea kettle and place it in the steam for a short time. Use cane and don’t get the materials to hot as not to damage them. Feathers can be amazingly fluffed back to life with a blast of steam. Deer hair can be made softer swollen before you spin it. It’s also easier to trim up deer hair after it’s been steamed. Be careful not to put away materials that are damp. Old time fly fishermen will ask you “Have you steamed you flies this spring?” Storage Check your materials regularly for any signs of insects- IMMEDIATELY act upon any signs of infestation by isolating those materials from all others. Keep the materials you processed separate from any thing you purchase until your sure there are not any bugs. You don’t want bug in your $60 cape. Be sure that the materials are completely dry to avoid mold and mildew. Birds and animals that are usefully to the fly tier. Birds Uses for fly tying Ruffed and Sharp-tail Grouse Body feathers are good for soft hackle flies. The feathers are on the lager size. The top leading edge of the wings has smaller feathers. The tail feather fibers and be used like a pheasant tail. They also have a nice light colored marabou around their leggs. Hungarian Partridge Body feathers are good for soft hackle flies. The feathers are smaller then a Ruffed Grouse and are mostly of medium size. Again the top leading edge of the wings has smaller feathers. Bobwhite Quail One of the best birds for soft hackle. And don’t forget the top leading edge of the wing. Woodcock Good soft hackle for wet flies, and the top leading edge of the wings. Pheasant Pheasant tails have many uses, and flies are even named after this bird. Pheasant also have some marabou like feathers called philplumes that are good for fly tying. Mourning Dove Some fair soft hackle Crow Wing quill fibers for crickets and dark wing cases on nymphs, & strip wings on wet flies. Some soft hackle on the body. Turkey The tail feathers have a many uses, make a good substute for pheasant tails. The large wing feathers next to their bodies are of a motaled color and have some eresadens. Don’t forget about the marabou on the belly. Ducks Mallards and wood duck drakes (males) have great breast feathers that have many uses for fly tying. Many other ducks like teal and pintails have nice breast feathers, main the drake have the better colored breast feathers. Geese Biots from the wing feathers. The first few feathers from the tips of the wings are the best biots on a goose. And their CDC feathers are white and usefully on many fly patterns. Starling They have some breast feathers that can be as a subatute for Jungle Cock feathers. Sandhill Crane, Blue heron While it’s not legal to hunt sandhills in Wisconsin, many western state do have a season on them. They have some nice spay hackle on their breast. Don’t pass up an optunity to pick up one of these birds, especially if you’re into steelhead fishing. Spruce grouse, Sage hens, Blue grouse There are many other western birds that are great for tying. If you hear of a hunter going out west let them know you would like some feathers. Anmials Uses for fly tying Deer Elk Squirrels, Fox, Gray, Pine. Beside the tail, squirrel body hair off the back and sides makes great dubbing. Shave them close to get the under fur which is gray to mix with the multi-hued guard hair. Gray squirrels also come in a black and white phase. Rabbits, Cottontail, Snowshoe and Jack. Hairs mask and rabbits foot are called out many patterns. Muskrat , Mink, Beaver Where would the Adams be with out Muskrat dubbing. Bear Moose Woodchuck They are a protected species along with the Badger, however many fly tiers will bend the rules if they find a dead one along the road. The woodchuck caddis fly is a loved by many a brook trout. Bobcat, Otter, Fisher Opossum, Skunk Fox, Coyote Final words. I find it very rewarding to catch a fish on a fly that I have tied from the fur and feathers that I have harvested. Life is good. Other Sources of Information Here are a few sources of additional information on processing fly tying materials. Flytying : Tools and Materials, Jacqueline Wakeford The Lyons Press, August 1, 1992 ISBN: 1558211837 Fly-Tying Materials : Their Procurement, Use, and Protection, Eric Leiser I found this searching old fly books and thought it was interesting. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share. It even included the processing and care of game materials.

Several years back I went to the Prairie River for some trout fishing. I was accompaning by my good friend who was a was a deputy. I was on the City force. It was extremely hot. Just before leaving town I stopped in the old Woolworths store and bought a golden hairs ear nymph. We had worked the pools. In fact we sat in them to cool off. My friend continued his journey down the river. I worked my way over to a wooden dam and was wondering over there and here and checking things out. This was a time to reflect on the time my father and I spend at this same location. I stood on the bottom log and my nymph was dangling in the whirlpool by the bottom of the log and was going round and round and then all of a sudden I felt the tug. I landed a beautiful sixteen inch brown trout. My partner couldn't believe the disrespectful manner of my success. We laughed the whole trip home on our comparison of our fishing methods and the calamity of it all. I presented it to my father as a gift. When I told him where I was when I caught it I could see the glow. He cherished it to the last bite.

Last night I found some good patterns of a stonefly and this sites mayfly logo for decorating T-shirts. I cut out the pattern from 1/4 inch cheap plywood. Then I clue another piece of backing on the back of the pattern. I then roll Irenes fabric paint all over the pattern. I add fabric glue to the paint before rolling it on. I then press it onto the chest area and compress it with my weight. It comes out like a wood block print. I also found some fly symbols then when enlarged on a copier will adorn one of my shirts.

It started out as a good night. I fixed my son a fantastic spaghetti dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. I joined this site and introduced myself. I watched a good movie and then I went to bed. Thats when it happened. Now mind you I have been a very studious newbie tyer and have paged through many fly tying books. It started after I got to sleep and it kept surfacing and repeating Itself. Lefty Deciever fly. Over and over. You need a Lefty Deciever fly. No not a right one but a left one. I remember kind of smerking when it came up. What color is it? What kind of feathers? I decided to turn on my right side and that inspired another thought. Not your right side because you need a Lefty Deciever. Finally I woke up around 4:00 a.m. and with compulsion had to look up a Lefty Deciever. Thank You Lefty Kreh for your saltwater creation. Even in Northern Wisconsin could I not leave home without it or for that matter find peace in the night. What was really strange it was not a nymph pattern that disrupted my sleep nor one that I have ever given any consious thought to.. I actually woke up laughing to myself.