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Fly Tying

jhunter39

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About jhunter39

  • Rank
    Beginner
  • Birthday 02/11/1953

Previous Fields

  • Favorite Species
    Trout
  • Security
    22

Profile Information

  • Location
    Cambria, California
  1. I agree with FlyFishin'Jam. When I was in the military there was an acronym, which I'm sure you've heard, KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid. I'm not in any way implying that you're lite in the head so please don't interpret this post that way. When I'm fishing I'm so engrossed with picking the perfect spot on the river, matching the hatch, determining my line (sinking vs. floating) leader size, tippet size, fly size, not drowning while wading, etc, etc. It's just so much easier for me to reach into my vest and have a variety of leaders, tippets, flies etc. I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer so keeping everything simply (KISS) is what I'm all about. I'm constantly re-thinking, loop vs. nail knot, weight of butt material, weight of fly (when fishing for big trout or steelhead I never use shot, I depend on the number of wraps of lead wire I put on various flies and I never use bobbers – strike indicators) so I'm pretty much in frantic mode all the time. Using store bought leaders just makes my life much easier. I build my own rods, cork grips, reel seats, and tie my own flies, so I just can't add making my own leaders into the mix. I think it's really cool that fishers do, but I just don't. By the way, what are your thoughts on loop to loop vs. nail knots for tying on your leaders? What wt and length of butt material do you use?
  2. I've made mono or nylon leaders. Before the tapered leaders became so inexpensive we would make our leaders tying different sizes of mono, ie, 8 lb, then 6 lb then 3. (I used to have a formula for making different wt leaders) I've used straight fluro or mono line as leaders also and did OK. I've tried the Blue Sky fureled leaders but really didn't have much luck with them. I couldn't make them float. I prefer using the store bought tapered leaders because you don't have to tie as many knots (that can come UN-TIED while fishing) and it's much quicker when changing up.
  3. I use Rio Fluoroflex tapered leaders and Rio Fluoroflex tippet material.
  4. Perchjerker, please keep posting. I find you posts both interesting and very educational. 1st.Year.Tyer, the process is quite simple. Look it up and you'll see what I mean.
  5. Just curious, why would you choose a furled leader over a fluorocarbon leader for Salmon? I know the life span of fluoro vs mono is often the debate, but if you're using fluoro for the furled leader whats the difference? When fishing for large trout and/or steelhead we always use fluorocarbon leaders but we're very diligent to dispose of any waste material properly. I've always been told that a furled leader is best when making very delicate "Dry" fly presentations? Have I been given bad info all these years?
  6. I can remember when I first started fly fishing I was fishing a run on a river and unbeknown to me a guide had his client fishing about 30 yards above me. I hooked into a big fish and due to my lack of experience, I was applying too much pressure and not letting the fish run, the fish broke my tippet and swam away. I was so disappointed. That evening I was in a local watering hole drowning my sorrows with some other fly fishers when in walks the guy, I soon learn is a guide, and he sits at our table. During the course of conversation he looks at me and says you'e the guy who hooked into the big fish on the run. I replied that I was and he explained that he had a client fishing there and he watched me apply too much pressure and not giving the fish it's lead intially. He said he knew the fish was going to break off. I asked him why he didn't say anything to me and his reply was, "Because you weren't paying me for my services." I'll never forget that day. Alot of guides are guides strickly for the money, nothing else, and that is truly sad.
  7. Welcome Bodfish, I'm located on the central coast, San Luis Obispo County, in the town of Cambria. I also have a home in Paso Robles. I'm sorry but I'm probably not the guy to give advise on tying flies for big fish. I do make an annual trip to the Williamson River in Oregon and there it's not uncommon to catch Redbands in excess of 20 inches. My biggest so far was 28 inches but I think it was closer to 30. I fish the Kern River mostly as it's the closest river to me however trout in excess of 20 inches are pretty rare. The largest trout I've caught there was 22 inches, it was a trophy stocker, and it just so happen to have been when I was competing in a tournament put on by the Southern Sierra Fly Fishing Club. If you're interested their web site is http://www.kernriverflyfishing.com. My forum name there is Converted and I'm one of the moderators. Shoot me a pm if I can be of more help to you. Again, welcome to the forum.
  8. I once caught a fish with half his head gone. It was a Williamson River Redband and an eagle tried to catch it before me. It was a weird looking fish. We debated on killing it or releasing it. Since it fought so hard and seemed to still have a lot of strength we decided to release it and let nature take its course.
  9. Laxi, great post and pics. In my part of the world we call trout that size "Hawgs." You have a very interesting way of displaying your flies. Thanks for sharing.
  10. You can call me anything but an elitist. Author Izaak Walton called fly fishing "The Contemplative Man's Recreation".
  11. Hi All, I just registered and wanted to introduce myself. I've been an avid fly fisher for about 10 years now and have been tying flies and building fly rods for about 7 years. I live in California in the town of Cambria where I'm an estate manager on an 80 acre estate. I retired about 4 years ago at the young age of 55 and got really frustrated not having friends to go fishing with when the urge hit. I felt like a school kid playing hooky from school. I had all the free time in the world but all my fishing buddies still had to go to work each day. So after two years I took this job as Estate Manager for a beautiful estate on the coast. My hours are very flexible so I kinda have the best of both worlds, I go fishing when I want and get to live on a multi million dollar estate. I've been away from my fly tying bench for about two years now and am really anxious to get back to tying flies, building custom rods and hitting the local rivers. I'm a little rusty with my tying so I may be reaching out for advice.
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