johnnyquahog

It sounds like this may be your first fly rod. If not then read no further. With a three wt. wind may be your biggest nemesis. I have a couple three weights and fish a weight forward 4 line on both. I have a couple 4 weight rods and fish a weight forward 4 or double taper 4.5 line on them. 99% of the guys will say to start with a floating line. I often fish an intermediate for trout but don't tell anyone because they will think I'm crazy. Floating line is the way to go for your 1st line. Like Mike, I usually look for bargains. I got a cortland 333 line that no matter how much I stretched it the line it behaved like a slinky. It would not lose it's memory. I noticed that STP (Sierra Trading Post) has discounted a new crop of lines. Most are specialty lines. I see they have some 4 Wts (head Start and Mastery textured magnum) at a pretty steep discount. I think this url will reveal the coupon codes http://www.sierratradingpost.com/fishing-line~d~132/ I don't see a 3 wt but didn't look too hard. I'm sure there are several great deals on the net for last year's models for 3 wt and 4 wt lines. good luck!

Congrats... as you say the vise may not produce better flies but you may enjoy tying them more. As new improved software is released marketers say "It enhances the user experience". Here's to your enhanced user experience!

Tied on a #6

Softex is toulene based and as such can cause neurological damage. I used to have twice as many brain cells as I now have. Of couse some folks are more sensitive to toulene than others. Don't let your kids near the stuff. Soft Body is a suitable water based substitute. Oh.. no uv light.

There are certain formulas and brands of varnish still used in dipping tanks or wiped on for bamboo rods. Most composite or fiberglass rods use a two part resin but only to coat thread wraps. Real varnishes are tough to get through the US mails. Last time I picked some up to do bamboo thread wraps was at an ACE hardware.

Captain - It looks like you had a tightly packed dense fly right up to the back of the eye. That part of the bug looks great. As already stated above you can get more hair on the hook if you stack it. I have been coating the face on poppers with either LCA (light cured acrylic) or liquid fusion. This 2/0 fly I did yesterday shows the hair collar and recessed (burned in socket) eye. I'm still learning too. tight wraps...

Wife says the orange bug reminds her of a lobster trap buoy. I'm thinking of a buoy series.

a couple February flies. First is a 2/0 deer hair diver of sorts. Next is a deer hair bee on a #14 Captain Hamilton Dry hook. I hope the trout don't count the legs and get confused.

I'm new here but not so new to other tying forums. This topic has been a pet peeve of mine for years. I'd characterize myself as more old school. I either heard Poul Jorgensen say or read in one of his books that his instructor would make him undo his flies till he got them right. A.K.Best is known for saying you really don't know how to tie a fly until you've tied one hundred dozen. I have a video of Del Mazza doing Catskill dries that I really appreciate. He insisted that every thread wrap has a purpose. When I read on a forum "That dog will hunt" or "That fly will fish" when the fly looks like it may fall apart after a few casts I have to wonder what has happened to my off and on passion. The one unknown is that this is the internet and I never know if a kid or an adult is looking for feedback or approval. Each can easily be discouraged when we are really trying to encourage them. Anyhow, this topic hits home. Thanks for bringing it up.

ditto what utyer said. The first two look doggone good, maybe a stray base hair mixed in with the tips. The fish don't care. If you pack them denser they will resist sinking to where sculpins live. The color is good too. tight wraps!

If you have thrown away 100 lbs then that is a crime. Each drake only has so many lemon breast feathers. These look fairly clean and not bloodied up. You can easily look up what these go for sorted cleaned and packaged which accounts for much of the cost. edit - just looked up some info... Wood duck retails for ~ $200 an ounce $200 * 16 = $3,200 $3,200 * 100 lbs = retirement money I'm guessing you are a fisherman so even if you really really embellished the weight and it was only 2 pounds it was still a chunk of money. Oh well, my mom threw away my baseball cards 8^),

A couple of January Patriot Flys. My spin on a Dave Whitlock "Stars and Stripes" My spin on a New England Patriot fly, albeit a little under inflated.

I've found that confidence in your fly is the best color of all. Those flies that are the most successful are the one I have confidence in. Once in a while one I'm not so confident in surprises me.

I've used Shick and the Wilkensons (sp?) and some of the no-name brands. The super market is usually fairly inexpensive. The drug store not so much. If you have an Amazon Prime account you can get these for 11.50 USD with free ship and they have a 4 1/2 star rating. These should last a while.

Some January mice.