LigonierA1

Dave Whitlock recommended applying fly dope with a hair dryer to literally melt it into the bug. Do it 2x. I haven't bothered myself, I like spinning deer hair too much to bother to try and keep one floating(ie, there's always another one in the box), but it sounds reasonable, if labor intensive. So it's not so much "sealing" them but I'd bet they float awhile. Never tried dunking a deer bug in RainX either though it works well on trouty bugs....

I'd agree, pretty darned good book. The CDC parachute BWO alone was worth the price of admission.

Todd, Would these work for this fly? I assume so, but asking here is free vs paying for materials and shipping... Clouser's E-Z Foam Cylinders are made of dense foam for shaping or sanding into popper bodies. They can be marked with prismacolor markers. Each Cylinder is 1.6 inches in length. Sizes 1/4 thru 7/16 come 6 cylinders per pkg. and sizes ½ thru 5/8 come 4 per pkg. This is our favorite foam for making the famous E-Z Popper and Lefty's Bug. Price is $2.00 per package. Colors: 100 Black 030 Grey 056 Red 082 Blue 089 Olive 041 Tan 047 Brown 006 Orange 001 White 173 Chartreuse 103 Pink 012 Yellow Size in inches: 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", 5/8"

I really like mine. Only downside is that changing a spool of thread is a tiny bit more involved, but really that's an easy thing to get used to. The adjustable tension is wonderful, same bobbin handles A through 14/0 with equal ease.

As a PSU trained cartographer.......SCHWEET! Really.......the other "big" sites are gonna be envious they didn't think of this. Very nice job.

Guess I've had my head buried in fly fishing and tying for so long that I missed something that was going on in the rest of the fishing world.....that of braided line. Man o man, I went to Gander Mtn today and they had a wall of the stuff. I knew it existed for deep sea rigs, but who is using this stuff at 8lb test? Odd to me. At any rate, thanks for the pointer, I'm good to go on this one. Anyone got the Cliffs version of braided line? Good marketing by line companies or is the common man moving away from monofilament? Sort of off topic, maybe I ought to take it up elsewhere....

day5, What is the braided line that you use for this? I'm not familiar with it...is it something that deep sea or musky fisherman use? Just wondering where I get my hands on this material. I bounced you an IM on this as well, great looking tie.....

I'm in Ligonier, PA to be exact, southwest Pa in general. I fish all the same streams that 5wt names as well as a few brookie creeks on Chestnut and Laurel Ridge. Plus the Loyalhanna and Two Lick. Although when I want EXCELLENT fishing, I head Tyrone's way! He's a LUCKY lucky man....

Thanks guys. Those Micro legs, as well as the centipede legs, look like they'll do a GREAT job.

I'm looking for a materal to make rubber legs on small terrestrial patterns. I have some Sili Legs, and the conventional rubber legs, they look pretty thick and huge on a #18 beetle. It seems to me that I recall there being a very fine material, perhhaps not even truly rubber, that would be useful. Anyone know what product I may be looking for? IIRC, this stuff almost thread like in it's diameter and very limp. The current alone would make those legs wiggle and that's my intent. Span Flex comes to mind. Might that be what I'm after?

For tiny EHC......use some very fine dubbing, like beaver. And then use the same deerhair (for the wing) that you'd use to tie small comparaduns. No hackle necessary as the little tiny ones float just fine without it. Tiny CDC and Elks work well, too, again with the substution of coastal deer hari for the elk wing....

Any update on the write up? Such a good looking critter, I'm anxious to see if I can really knock 'em outta the vice in 2 minutes. It's worth 5 minutes from what I can see

That's the tip I was missing....the half hitch. I picked it up when watching Al's video on Rotary Tying Techniques. It seems so obvious now but that's the way it goes sometimes ....

Royal Wulff! Dunno why but it pounds up the fish.

Or crusty as the case may be;-). THanks for the heads up, I'm off to take a peak....

Take some pest strips with you and start tossing/waving them wildly when the midges are coming off. Heheh, at least I'll recognize you when I see you. Catching some is probably key as I find they're *always* a differnt size and color up close than I thought they were in the air. Likewise, the larva are usually a very different color than the hatched midges. It's a mind boggling game and I've only gotten it right once this past Feb on the lil J. banged a few, but then again, I got way outfished by much buddy using flies I had tried but couldn't buy a fish on. Oh well.

Careful with the midges. They can get you into a very obsessive flytying and fishing pattern. This past winter, I decided I was going to learn to tie and fish midges as they're the only dry fly game in town during Jan, Feb and early March. Tying wasn't that tough as most patterns are pretty simple(I'll second the suggestion of using Gordon Griffiths 14/0, superb stuff that's not expensive and amazingly strong considering the size- I use it for way more than midges) http://www.flyfishersparadise.com/articles/old/dbmidge.htm The fishing can drive you nuts.....but when it works, it's an amazingly rewarding deal. What part of LH were you on? Humbert? I'd guess the midging could be pretty decent there....

Man I love caddis fishing and I love hare's ear, so I"ll have to give this a try. So it's as basic as it sounds? Shaggy hare's ear body and some mixed hackle spun ont the hook? Gotta love it....

Al et all, thank you kindly for the feedback. Al, I seem to be having an issue with your website. I keep trying to order the DVD of Rotary Techniques but it want's a sign in of some sort? Might be user error, I haven't tried in a day or two, I'll try again and see what's shakin' now.....

Ah, I think I see it now.......so that allows the thread to wind up a bit(or unwind depending on how you turn the rotating feature) vs the thread wrapping around the hook shank itself like happens when you rotate without the arm. Thanks for the explanation.

So I recently purchased a Danvise. Aesthetically it's pretty much what I expect, but thus far it seems to perform very very well, at least relative to the worn out Thompson that I replaced. This vise came with a long arm with a 90 degree bend. I believe it's to lay the thread and bobbin over to keep them out of your way during certain steps? It seems awkward and always in the way to me. What do you do with this arm and what might be considered proper positioning of it? I"m wondering if anyone has seens Al Beaty's Rotarty Vice techniques DVD? I'd be I'd find the answers to my questions in that DVD as well alot of other helpful stuff.......

Ligonier, PA in the Laurel Highlands of SW Pa. As good as the fishing is, I'd still rather be in South Central and North Central Pa when it comes to chasing trout. Closer to home, it's all about the Loyalhann, Laurel Hill and Bob's Creek when I get over the Bedford Co.

For slow water, that amount of hackle should probably be sufficient. It won't take much to float in the surface film of most slow water conditions. My slow water pattern for caddis is CDC wound on the hook as the body. As in the CDC and Elk patterns, I just tie in in by the feather tip, twist it a few times and wrap it around the hook. Very realistic, floating body. Then a synthetic tent wing of some sort(Web Wing or Medallion Sheeting) and then I just keep wrapping the CDC over the wing tie in point. It's a mess, ugly looking flies. The browns on Spring Creek love em though.....

QUOTE he also had some of the early antron yarn,,,,it came on a card with several colors of about 6 inches long blended onto one continuous yard long piece. It appeared to be a sample reference for colors. I've got some that material as well, and it came from a generous tier in New England. Most of the colors aren't too useful, but that tan and grey are wonderful. Blue seems to be the new hotness in the flytying world, maybe it's time to twist up a few dark blue Emergent Sparkle Pupas, heh.

Bump from the depths once again..... So I've been experimenting with some new materials. I should say "new to me", as they're certainly not brand new...anyway.... Feather Craft sells a material in hanks that they call "emerger sparkle yarn" and man o man is it nice for tying the sparkle pupa. It's very much like Z-lon, only somewhat finer, softer and looks great. Additionally, the comments on Aunt Lydia's were right on. I got some of that as well and it looks great. Both would be seemingly good substitutes for the real deal antron yarn. I will say, however, that none of the materials do exactly what the antron yarn I get from the bookmailer does. This yarn has a certain portion of it's fibers that is plane ole clear antron, you can see it when you comb it out. It sparkles under the light I use. I suspect that it is these specific fibers that looks so much like air bubbles when underwater- I think GAry says as much in his book, I'd need to reread it. None of the other products offer these clear antron filaments. DUnno how critical this * truly* is, but I believe it's why you hear the rhetoric that only specific yarns/materials will do the job. So the FC emerger sparkle yarn and the Aunt Lydia's don't have these filaments and therefore don't directly mimic the airbubbles as was Gary LaF's original intent. They tie a wicked looking, sparkly caddis emerger, however