PeachySteph

I was looking to make a light cahill, but I don't have some of the materials listed for it. Are there other alternative materials that will serve the purpose just as well for this dry fly?

 

 

THAT'S a Sunfish killer, Steph.

thanks I'm rather proud of that one.

Congratulations. The Medalist reels are hard to find, new. Is it a 1494 reel?

yes, it is the 1494 reel.

now the funny can truly begin

 

if i understand correctly, you are practicing on the driveway? this can be really hard on the fly line. grass is the best area to practice after water.

not the driveway. but the lawn/street. about 50/50.

we went to one of our fishing spots today to really try it out, and well.. let's just say that I felt like a kid just learning how to fish all over again.

thanks for all the replies! I finally bought this one: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pflueger-Medalist-9-Deluxe-Fly-Kit-3pc/20742841

to start with. I practiced with it yesterday (no fly/hook of course, just a little paper to mimic the weight of a fly) on our street and my daughter was standing at a specific spot on the road and my aim is excellent (always within 1-3" of her feet). I think my aim is better with a fly rod than with a spinning

i plan to go out and have a go at the marina down the road from here today. i'll be sure to post a status report

I made this one last night

If you didn't mention that you had a fiance, i'm shore this thread would be 10 pages long already with helpfull information & someone wanting to send a unused rod, someone wanting to send a unused reel, someone wanting to send a unused line & the rest posting a SBS on how to put it all together!:-) All complaments aside, forget the budget & buy a Hardy zenith sintrix 5wt 8,10' one piece rod!:-) All jokes aside, listen to artimus! But if the combo has a rio line? Go with it!

ha!

I'd be interested in buying a used rod from someone, assuming it's in the "budget".

Cabela's is having a "Father's Day" sale on fly fishing gear. Most of the fly fishing sales associates are also fly fishers, so they're pretty knowledgeable about gear, and could help set you up properly.

 

Also, check out Little River Outfitters in Townsend, TN (near GSMNP), they're helpful also.

 

You're close to some great trout waters in E. TN, about 2 hours north of you. LRO can give you some great info on fishing the tailwaters.

 

Good Luck, and Tight Lines.

 

Bill

eesh.. Honestly, I'm not willing to travel all the way to TN to look at and possibly purchase fishing gear.

The chattahoochee is a fairly large river. I fish it just below Buford Dam (right at the dam). I've seen many fly fishermen wading out into the middle, when the dam isn't released. When it's released, the only option would be a boat (which we don't have) or from the banks. Other than that, we stick to Lake Lanier and it's many little coves/bays. We recently found a creek/stream with some nice bass, etc. in it that I would like to try.

I figured I would need two separate rods. Thanks for the info. I see them occasionally at pawn shops around here too. But the last one I saw was HUGE (must have been for saltwater).

I'm new to fly fishing, and was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on a good (and affordable) beginner rod/reel/line?

We fish for trout in the Chattahoochee river, and also anywhere from the bluegill, crappie, smallmouth, largemouth, spotted, and the striped bass in Lake Lanier.

I will be using it the majority of the time (small hands), but I'm sure my fiance would like a go at it too.

what about this?

http://thedragfreedrift.blogspot.com/2013/02/fly-tying-dying-feathers-with-kool-aid.html

I can't offer any insight on your questions, sorry.

But this is an informative post.. good read

very nice! thanks for sharing

I feel a bit lost on the terminology mentioned here. However, that is an awesome pic! Worth framing!

There was a very long discussion several months ago re: using alternative materials, and especially dog and cat fur. I have a Balinese cat with long fur, that her breast and neck (what would be throat hackle in a rooster) consists of very fine very white fur, which she sheds constantly. I'm forever finding big gobs of white fur lying around the house. You can even dye it. I posted a streamer some time ago with white and some red fur. There's also some good discussions about dying techniques.

oh what a great idea! we have an oriental short hair that is mostly white (with a couple spots of "blue") and he SHEDS LIKE CRAZY. you can literally harvest fur from him just from petting him! I'm going to look up the info on dying. Thanks again.

thank you for the warm welcome everyone!

and yay tidewaterfly for returning to the south!

Building the head is an art. You have to consider the head from the very first wrap of thread and every step thereafter. People will tell you to save room for the head and to not crowd the eye. (Good advice!) But when you get there- and everything else is tyed in- you don't want too much space to fill. The problem is often that the last material tyed in (often the wing) has created a drop-off. The easiest way to prevent this by tying the last material right to the eye. You want a level surface on which to build your head. If the material doesn't extend all the way to the eye you will have to fill in the area with thread and make a smooth ramp for the head.

Good advice, thank you!

thanks tide. Another reason why I asked here before attempting to use some of those materials. good info, (I'm going to see if I can find information on specific birds/animals for the US and GA)

I've noticed the woolly worms I've made get a lot of attention around here, so I plan to make more of those. I will try the bugger tonight.

Thanks for the info Belevue. Also, I agree that today's failure is tomorrow's learning curve.. that's how I was looking at it too. Just need to be less annoyed with myself before I try again.

Thank you, Chuck. I'll look into it... though I've NEVER seen any shops that keep fly tying materials around here :/ so I've been ordering online from amazon and such.

This has been brought up before. I firmly believe that there are 2 kinds of tier (just like there are 10 kinds of people - those that understand binary and those that don't). Those like yourself, that tie by rote, developing a rhythm, and those who tie deliberately. I would not say either is wrong or one better than the other. They are just different.

 

AK Best tiies by rhythm. He takes a few flies to get going. I tie deliberately. There is no rhythm to what I do it is slow and deliberate. If something goes wrong I will go back and put it right. This is slower, but doesn't produce sub standard flies. That to me is important. The kinds of order I will tie up is maybe one or two dozen of a pattern at a time. I don't tie huge numbers of a single pattern at one session. My absolute limit on tying is 10 dozen a day. When I have hit this, it has never been less than 8 different patterns. If I had to produce even three sub standard patterns each time I changed patterns, that could be 1/4 of my day spent producing sub standard work. That would mean a lot of materials wasted and tying very slowly overall.

 

So the answer to your question is I expect the first pattern to be right. That doesn't reflect any great talent, just a different approach.

Cheers,

C.

This is me as well. I'm not sure I could do multiples of the same pattern. I would get bored! (unless someone specifically asked me to)

I just pick the pattern I'm in the mood for and make a fly. I'll probably make it again soon, but not consecutively.

love the speckled wing choice! Great job. Thanks for sharing.

great looking fly! thanks for sharing

I haven't purchased a fly in over 20 years now and I've substituted materials. Unpurchased wild turkey, grouse, blue jay. Any water foul should have some CDC on it. Domestic rabbit ( pet fur), the under fur can be combed out and used as dubbing, same for cats if you have one with fairly thick under fur that could use a brushing now and then.. And too, when you buy materials it doesn't have to be the most expensive stuff on the racks. You just want what will suit your purpose. I have had good luck with HairLine deer hair and some other Hairline items as well and Wapsi, just look it over well. Same for bulk or remant hen skins. I spend some money on good Grizzly dry fly hackle but even then some generics can be quite good.

Thanks for the tips

speaking of pets' undercoats.. our cats don't really have any, but our Newfoundland dog definitely does! He is chocolate brown. I've used his undercoat for dubbing, actually. It worked quite well. We also have a rabbit, but he's short-hair and doesn't seem to have much of an undercoat. (yes, we have quite the zoo here)

today's failure...

I'm not even going to go into detail.. it's pretty obvious what all the mistakes are. I'll just try again later.

My biggest issue is the thread slipping down toward the hook eye when building the head or making wraps near the eye..

quick question of opinion: we have a pet Pekin Duck, would their feathers work well for some flies? I also have pretty much unlimited access to goose feathers, and the occasional "wild" duck feathers. Also, our cats occasionally bring birds of varying species home. Would any of those materials work well? None of which are plucked directly from the bird, unless already deceased of course, but I can get them.

yea i've seen some of those foam ones online and thought "how silly those look!" but if the fish like them, why not? It doesn't matter what you use, if it catches that fish, that's all that matters.

I might teach my daughter how to do the foam ones and let her have at it.

thanks for the replies y'all. I'm surprised you think my flies don't belong in the "beginners" category (and flattered). I've only tied maybe 8 flies... ever.

I'll keep practicing though. It's hard when you have limited supply.. there should be a recipe generator where you enter the materials and it tells you the different flies you could make from them.