Peterjay 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2013 Nice flies Jim. The first flies I ever sold were possum streamers. The other kids saw me catching trout on them and bought them as fast as I could tie them. They didn't even have fly rods - they'd just fish from the bridge and let them swim around in the current. I got $.50 apiece for them, which would buy you a couple of cheeseburgers back then. Of course, the T-Rexes got a lot of the cheeseburgers - I never was much of a runner. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ditz2 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2013 $ .50 would buy a burger, fries, and shake....and the fries were really good too. The fies today are just barely edible and I don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xXMadFireXx 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 Damn... You guys are old! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 Those are awesome flies Tide, gave me some great ideas. Fo the opossum, are you using the tail? 50 cents for a full meal? man, those must have been the good old days. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 Andy, my reference to Opossum was for the North American variety. Their tails are pretty much void of usable hair so the body hair is the only thing worth using. However, yes, I have used the tails from Aussie Opossums. I got several many years ago, they're a nice dark brown to black color & they do work fine for tying. AP tail hair is very soft, and I'm sure you're aware the body hair makes an excellent dubbing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 haha, I realized after I wrote it I should have differentiated the two. We have a lot opossums here and you're right, they have pretty much bald tails. I'll have to score some though, it's cool looking fur. I have only heard of Aussie possum for dubbing but I would imagine the guard hairs would look nice on a wing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peterjay 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 Andy, you might be missing out on some pretty good stuff by ignoring native 'possums. Not only does the hair make good streamers, you can chop up the tails, fry them in raccoon grease, and serve them as appetizers when your friends and family come over for Sunday dinner. They're a little chewy, but the flavor really stays with you - sometimes for weeks. BTW - who are you guys calling old? If I could find my teeth, I'd bite you on the kneecap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 Damn... You guys are old! Age is a state of mind. I feel like I'm about 110. Peter, he's calling you old, because you are! Was probably brontosaurus burgers you were eating! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ditz2 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 My possum story......A farmer had pulled a dead cow up to the road waiting for the stink truck to come and pick it up for disposal. Just as I was driving past, a possum came walking out of the inside of this bloated dead animal and it about turned my stomach. Sorry, I just can't do possum. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peterjay 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 Damn... You guys are old! Age is a state of mind. I feel like I'm about 110. Peter, he's calling you old, because you are! Was probably brontosaurus burgers you were eating! Heck, in my family, 65 is considered middle-aged. Those of us who mange to avoid being hanged for various & sundry felonies or being shot in romantic disputes usually make to to at least 90. I think it has to do with our genetic makeup. The ones who survive long enough to breed are usually wily, tough, and more or less immune to the effects of every known intoxicant and hand-held weapon. The weak have been weeded out over the centuries, and their genes consigned to local landfills throughout North America and Europe. What's left is pretty scary, but it's tough to kill. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 hmmm PJ you're recipe sounds delicious. I think I will serve it at my next dinner party with a fine wine, perhaps the latest offering from Boon's Farm or Mad Dog 20/20. I love that you're family tree could be used as a small sample scientific proof of Darwinism, only the definition of "fittest" has to be adjusted. Mine is actually very similar Ditz that story sounds awful yet somehow really cool at the same time. How many people can say they saw an opossum crawl out of a dead cow's stomach? Anyway, here is my latest experiment with foxy half 'n half knock offs. It's a badger one with of course badger hackle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peterjay 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2013 Hey, I really like the H&H, especially with that nice lateral line that the badger hackle provides. That's a honey of a fly. False albacore would be all over that one. Ya know, I think Ditz's possum story is gonna inspire more than one nightmare around here. There are some things in life that are impossible to forget, and that's one of them. Makes me think of the scene in the movie Rob Roy where Liam Neeson hid inside a rotting cow on the riverbank. I wonder if Ditz wrote the screenplay. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted March 12, 2013 That's a good point PJ it does produce a nice lateral line. I wish I could say I had that much insight into it, but really I was just looking for something to put on a tail of a badger clouser and picked up badger hackle and figured it should match. I think the mackerel woulddo some damage to it as well. Now I have to see Rob Roy just to see that scene, it sounds cool Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ditz2 0 Report post Posted March 12, 2013 Hey TW....I really like your clousers..I don't like casting those big lead eyes though. It takes the joy out of flycasting to me but they sure catch fish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
