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Fly Tying

ducksoup

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About ducksoup

  • Rank
    Beginner
  • Birthday 01/02/1953

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  • Location
    Gig Harbor, Washington
  1. I'm wanting to start tieing more traditional Atlantic salmon flies using flank feathers from the various species of duck to make strip wings. My question is, do I need to do something to these feathers to make them more durable? Should I treat them with a spray artist fixatant like I currently use on various duck and goose wing feathers and turkey tail feathers, or just leave them untreated? It seems these soft flank feathers are fairly delicate and the fibers would want to separate if left untreated with something. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks for all your help. Tom
  2. Also love his method of dubbing bodies. He uses both hands, wrapping with his right hand and twisting the dubbing noodle with his left hand after each turn. He always gets such a nice , even taper.
  3. Another big fan of Davie McPhail. I've learned a lot from watching his YouTube videos, especially about proportions. He always says, "if it doesn't look right, redo it!" and that is absolutely spot on! He's really helped me by using his method of tying materials in evenly along the hook shank to avoid bumpy looking bodies.
  4. I know it's hard to judge size in a two dimensional picture, but if I measure the hackle on the parachute fly in your picture, it's definitely more then twice the hook gap and I think that looks good. I'm by no means an expert but I normally use a hackle that's one size bigger then the hook and that normally works out fine, at least to my eye.
  5. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I actually found some fairly decent herl at Waters West in Pt. Angela's. I had to sort through several packages to find what I was Looking for. Although it's not as nice as some I've had before, it still was pretty good. By the way, Waters West is a nice shop with a very friendly & helpful staff.
  6. Looking for some decent peacock herl. Most of what I've seen lately is garbage! Thin, brittle with very short fibers. I got some years ago from Alec Jackson and it has probably spoiled me for life!
  7. Nice Fly! That thing most float like a cork! Lots of options here and I appreciate all of your suggestions.
  8. All great suggestions. Thank you very much. These will give me some options to try. I've used calf tail in the past but I thought it was a pain to stack. I also like the foam idea, I think I'll try that too.
  9. I'm going to fish some remote, fast moving rivers in northern British Columbia this summer and want to tie some over sized Wulff patterns. I'm talking size 8! Those big white wings are very visible, even in rough water, but I'd like them even bigger! My concern is finding calf body hair that's long enough to tie those big oversized wings. I suppose i could use bucktail but it's so bulky I don't think it would look right. Any other suggestions? I already have some fairly decent coachman brown dry fly hackle that will be perfect for size 8. These fish are pretty unsophisticated. Stimulators work also and I'll be tying a bunch of those too, but I just really like Wulff patterns with that big upright white wing. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!
  10. I'm pretty sure that goes hand-in-hand with the "I've spent a LOT of cash there" thing... most established "Fly Shops" seem to have guides affiliated with them and I have seen more than a little bit of disinformation being handed out, unless you happen to be one of the inner circle. Not saying they're all that way, but I've seen it and it sucks. I guess I was just lucky! I went to The Morning Hatch in Tacoma, Washington and Gary Sandstrom was genuinly one of the nicest people I've ever known. I never felt like I was paying for his insight or information. He was there to serve his customers. Unfortunatly our sport can be very expensive and the internet and imported materials and equipment have had a very negative effect on the local small shops. A lot of the newer shops are doing it as a part time gig not being able to completley depend on it for their sole source of income. Like I said, it's a fact of life nowadays but it's still sad.
  11. I use the 18w Ott flex table model for my bench and the 13w task lamp for my travel kit. I love the true color lamps and the fact that they stay relatively cool in my small tying room.
  12. Remember that there are different oval tinsels out there. The best is the French Lagartun and, yes, it is spendy. But it's worth it in my opinion. I have some old Danville in my stash, at least I think it's Danville, and it's not even close to the quality of the Lagartun. I just wish I would have bought a bunch of the Lagartun in bulk 10 years ago when I had the chance. I do support my local fly shop and over the years I've spent a LOT of cash there. But the friends I've made and the personal information and instruction I've recieved from the various owners has been invaluable. Unfortunatly we've lost a lot of them in Western Washington over the last few years. They couldn't compete with the import stuff and paid the ultimate price for it. Yes, that's the world we live in today but try getting your on-line store to give you hands on instruction on how to tie that special killer fly or tell you where the hot local fishing spots are. Sorry, ain't gonna happen!Sometimes it's worth it to pay a little more.
  13. Like most from my generation I started with the Thompson A back in the late 60's and used it for 25+ years thinking it works so why change. Bought a Renzetti Traveler about 15 years ago thinking I would use it only as a travel vise and would upgrade to one of their other models for the bench, WRONG! I have used only the Traveler since I bought it and have never looked back. The Thompson went to the nephew and he still has it. I just got one of the Travelers for my son-in-law for his graduation from medical school. I must admit, I think I like the cam on his better than my old screw knob but what the heck, it still works fine!
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