indieangler

Yeah, I'm currently living over in the UK. I was wondering about any kind of restrictions with flying back with dead poultry. I had planned on buying a new cape from Conranch Hackle while I'm over too, so I hope there aren't any issues, we'll see, I suppose.

That's not an actual picture of the birds he was telling me about, he said they look close to that. I'll get more details from him. I'll just have him gather things for me and will check it all out at Christmas time. If there's quite a bit, I'll definitely send some out to anyone interested.

I've got another newbie question. I have a close friend back in the U.S. that is getting his Master's Degree in Genetics. He works locally at the University and works with all sorts of chickens, hens, and other birds. We were talking about fly tying the other day (he doesn't know much about it) and he said they'd had a lot of Jungle Fowls lately that had been dying or something of the sort. He told me if I wanted any feathers or anything off the birds after they were dead, that he would start saving them for me for the next time I visit. He said the Jungle Fowls look like this bird: Does anyone know if there are any good feathers or hackle that I should obtain for free from this connection or is this bird pointless for any sort of tying purpose? Anyone have any idea? Thanks!

Hello, I currently have an HMH Spartan vise and I've been considering getting an extra tool for the vise that would allow me to start tying some tube flies. I'm trying to decided between the HMH Premium Tube Tool and the actual HMH Tube Vise Converter. Does anyone have any experience using either of these that could possibly recommend one over the other? Thanks! CF

I've started experimenting with new materials lately and have been trying to get a good feel for working with different types of material I haven't used yet. I started playing with floss yesterday. I'm not doing a very good job of using it. Is floss supposed to be used like tying thread? I've been putting the floss spool on the bobbin and trying to use it similiar to regular tying thread by putting it on the hook first and wrapping back and over the floss, but it never seems to hold, it always seems to come unwound off the hook. Is floss supposed to be used like thread or is it more like a material that needs to be tied in with thread? Thanks!

Another issue I've been consistently having when tying is that my thread often splits. Not as in cutting off, but as in breaking into multiple strands while in the tying process. I'm not hitting the hook tip or the barb, I don't believe. I'm either doing something funny with my hands or could it be a problem with the particular type of thread that I'm using? Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!

I'm having some serious issues learning how to do a whip finish with a Thompson whip finisher tool. I've tried reading the instructions that came with it.....didn't help....I've seen multiple tutorials online, most of which the pictures are tiny and low resolution which don't show you anything...and then I spent tons of time watching the same video example on YouTube over and over again, but I just can't get it to work. The guy on the YouTube tutorial makes it look so simple. I think I get it all setup properly, but when I go to do the whip and start rotating the tool, the thread just gets all wrapped funnily around the tool itself and it never really ends up on the hook at all. I'm massively confused and I'm starting to feel silly. Can anyone offer any assistance? Thanks!

You are correct about the British pattern. Sadly enough (in my world), I currently live with the crazy folk over here on the other side of the pond for my job's sake. This hackle that I'm looking for is beautiful. In this pattern it contains a bit of mixture between red, black, and brown, and looks really neat. I will continue looking under these possible new names, thanks!

I'm trying to locate some natural red cock hackle with a dark list, for a pattern I want to tie. I'm fairly new to all of this but I don't seem to be able to find this material online anywhere. Can anyone send over any possible links where I could find this? Thanks!

Thanks for that Steve, that is very cool! I am definitely going to try to do a few of those for Christmas along with a few variations. Thanks again!

Thanks for all for of the replies. I figured the multi-colored thread on one spool question would be a bit odd, but I have a creative idea I'm playing with, nothing practical really. I'm mostly tying from a size 20/18 to a size 14/12, mainly trout flys, nothing too large. I don't understand the difference between waxed/non-waxed and thread thickness so I guess I need to do some reading. Will have a read on the link above, thanks for the info!

I'm looking to buy an assortment of colors of fly tying thread but I don't quite know the difference between the different types of threads. Can anyone recommend a good solid thread to start with, that I can buy in an assortment of 10-20 different colors? I'm looking for a fairly nice thread, nothing too cheaply made. Also, does anyone make an assorted color thread on one spool? Like having a few inches of pink, then a few inches of red, then a few inches of brown, etc, all on one spool for a multi-colored spool? Thanks!

Yeah? I would love to see that pattern if you can find it!

I'm thinking of designing and tying some flys and using them in a part of a homemade Christmas present for friends and family this year. I thought it would be neat if I could find some kind of small display case or plastic that would hold a fly that I could possibly turn into a Christmas ornament for hanging on a Christmas tree. Might seem a little out there, but anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

Hello! I'm very new to fly tying. I recently bought an Orvis Clearwater fly tying kit. It seems most of the components of this kit are fairly crappy, but it'll be good to learn on. I'm thinking of buying a more high quality vise for Christmas and I'm considering the HMH Spartan. I've read lots of good things about this vise but thought I'd see if anyone around had any opinions on it. I wanted to get the pedestal version of the vise, but I heard the pedestal it comes with isn't very good and the clamp version is the way to go. Can anyone recommend a fairly good priced solo pedestal that I could use with the Spartan as well, if I go with the clamp version? Thanks!