August is tiny fly monthly swap

[djtrout 0]

Flies in the mail. These are simple, but were local killers this past Feb/Mar in WV trout waters (Elk river).

[joseph russell 0]

Flies are in the mail 9500111092245237413649

[Crackleback 0]

I mailed mine today. I had a momentary lapse in sanity and decided to tie on 32s. I suppose they're trico F flies. Little bit of thread, little bit of CDC, real little hook. Getting them on the toe tags was kind of a nightmare.

[vicrider 0]

Crackleback, I've done 32 in a swap before. What I did was run a fine wire thru eye of hook, give it a couple of winds, then tape it to toe tag. This not only works but also proves there really is an eye there to tie some 7x to.

 

I thought about 32s for this swap but my hands aren't steady enough often enough to make it work for a full run anymore. Besides, not even most guides can get the tippet through the eye. I've thought about setting up little flies like that at home and just add tippet and fly to existing leader. There are tailwaters where people insist that's the only way to catch the educated bruisers in the clear water.

[BassBugn 0]

Mailed the flies on Mon. Had some issues over the weekend and couldn't get to the post office. I hope they have arrived.

 

On a more serious note. Reluctantly I will have to resign from this swap for health reasons. I apologize to you and everyone in the swap for not finishing out the year. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and hope you can find someone fast to take this spot.

 

This has been a great swap and it has been my pleasure tying with everyone. I look forward to tying with you all in the future.

 

Thanks

 

Steve

[vicrider 0]

Okay BB. I have a bunch of envelopes to catch up on and yours is probably in there. I'll post for a replacement for rest of year. Should be someone ready to step in. Appreciate all you've done in this swap and your flies were a major contribution to the mix. Hope things go better for you and you can get back to the vise.

 

Nick

[djtrout 0]

BB, your flies were pretty awesome. Hope things go well ....

[BassBugn 0]

Thanks very much. Rest of year for the swap should be great for everyone.

 

Steve

[kennebec12 0]

Hey guys, my flies went out today, to vicrider this time. I sent them to the wrong address the first time. Sorry for the delay. I ended up tying a size 26 black gnat variant and a size 18 turkey and ostrich nymph.

[add147 0]

Holy cow...Size 26! Can't wait to see those. Smallest I've ever tied is a 18 and those kick the rear!!!!

[vicrider 0]

Those will look huge compared to Crackleback's size 32's. I did a size 24 with wings. Wings on dries are pretty easy down to about an 18 but from there on it gets tougher. Smallest I've done yet is 26 with wings. Smaller gets a tail, a touch of dubbing, and a few wraps of Whiting hackle that looks like string until you actually wrap it it's so small.

 

Funny thing is, I sent some to a guy who couldn't tie that small and his tailwater fish spurned anything bigger than a 22 or so. I did him a couple of 24-28-32 ties and sent them to him and he said he finally got into a few fish but what was amazing was the fish were feeding on things even smaller than that, but at least they'd take the flies occasionally. The only time I've used the 24 and smaller is when I had a guide to tie them on. Even my magnifiers can't do it since my hands just aren't as rock steady as they were many years ago.

[Jolly Red 0]

Got the tiny flies in this afternoon. After I got out my magnifying glass, I could tell they were all very well done.

[djtrout 0]

Got my little guys today. These are a perfect addition to my repertoire. I focused this year on fishing the small flies, but I don't produce many myself. Thanks all!

[joseph russell 0]

Got my set of flies in today thanks everyone and Vicrider for hosting.

[add147 0]

I got mine yesterday and man are they small I do not see how y'all tie on such small hooks. As always thanks vicrider / Nick for hosting and thanks to everyone else for a very nice collection of flies!!!