ihang10

And then I land this tonight. Ugh.

Catfish. I. Hate. Catfish.

Radio said maybe snow overnight in DC metro area. It's been 50s and windy for a week; it was 80 last Thursday. No good.

4/0 or greater hook Schlapppen Chrystal flash (or flashabou or whatever) Grizzly hackle Marabou. Bead chain. Viola. Tie in contrasting colors.

Would have gotten these up sooner, but the fly, err flu, has had me in bed since last Saturday. This is everything I had a toe tag for. Thanks again to everyone, especially E-Fly.

I want everyone to be surprised. I'll post photos in a day or two for the site as a whole.

Flies arrived. Great job, lots of inspiration in this group. Thanks for putting this together E-F.

Early season shad...

You keep it for the effort.

Life time supply http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A7EEDES/ref=mp_s_a_1_19?qid=1457645341&sr=1-19-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dental+dams&psc=1

Ohh, ohh, ohh, a dental dam.

I was thinking about this the other day, my wife has these large "bands" for physical therapy, silicone I think. They are pretty thin, she might be missing part of one in the near future. I'm wondering if dipping them in boiling water and then twisting them will get the "wiggle" part to cooperate.

Every year "Walt" from Pennsylvania comes down to a local fly show and I buy hackle from him. But Walt is not cheating time and he said this was probably his last season on the show circuit.

I was at the dollar store and found zippered, neoprene sunglass cases. I used those for flies that are too long for an altoid case.

Flies arrived and they quickly filled up half of my fly box. Nice work gents. Great swap MFG, thanks.

There's a Mexican restaraunt in town and the owner blends his own tequila. That could have impacted my experience a little too.

I went there for work two years ago. I think there was a fly shop in Jacksonville that wasn't overly impressive and that was it for a while. In town there there was a "guide" of sorts but it wasn't that inspiring. If I recall I did call up and talk to a guide I found on the internet that spoke fly fishing but I decided to leave a day esrly which would have been my fishing day, he was thinking we'd hit the ST Mary river. I did go into a kayak outfitter and if I had more time in my schedule I think a kayak trip would be the way to go. Long story short, I tied flies and didn't fish that week. Probably not much help.

I know you said no boots, but this is a really decent boot. Oakley LSA water boots. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005B68B6S/ref=asc_df_B005B68B6S4180373/?tag=shopzilla0d-20&ascsubtag=shopzilla_rev_6-20;14571875452320227144110090301008005&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B005B68B6S&linkCode=df0 I had them originally for a back country canoe trip and I've since used them for stomping around in the streams and rivers. Order a 1/2 size up and wear a decent hiking sock. If you are eligible for Oakley's Standard Issue program, there is a significant savings over retail, otherwise they are a little pricey.

Tying big fly philosophy: When I started tying larger flies, not that I tie a lot of them, the guy I was tying with said "no more than two minutes, don't spend more than two minutes tying a fly that's going to last one or two fish." I said, "well, tough thread, lots of adhesive, etc etc". His reply was, "why? Now youre out time and materials". My point is this, the fly I tied is more involved than what I would normally tie. The fly I tied last year I had down to 1:45, and it's a proven pattern, I'm sure they all are. But I guess I'm left wondering, because there is a lot of time and extraordinary efforts with these larger flies, what's your driving factor behind predator flies? I normally tie simple, contrasting colors with some flash, but after last year's swap I went in a different direction for this year's swap. But I know when I'm tying for myself I will revert back to a more "disposable" fly. Just a rambling thought... Flies look great. I missed out on both my Muskie trips last year due to other commitments, looking forward to this year.

Are you near the Thorne Bros shop?

Probably 1/10000 deer are checked. That number probably skyrockets outside the cervid population. I'd worry more about all the money I'll win in the lottery. Seriously though, I do wear gloves when processing critters. That's about it. And I don't process road kill.

is that foam?

iPod + Broadcast = podcast. It was Apple's way for getting recorded content that wasn't books, music etc. The Orvis podcast and Pardon the Interuption make a long car ride short.

You could wash them with soap and water. You should actually. But if you don't pickle the skin and set the hair you'll risk losing the hair. But bugs usually want more of an offering than just skin and fur, and I can't think of a disease that would be present in the skin. As long as you flesh it well, set, wash and properly dry it you'll be fine.

Fuel line over the hook point works well too.