Eric Hanson

My hopper army is growing and much foam is being violated.

You guys must try the bacon bomb if you haven't already....simply awesome....pair it with some baked beans...mmmmm. Bacon crack is another food from the gods. Don't try it or you will become hooked. Artimus - rashers are great...luckily I have a butcher nearby that has both the smoked and unsmoked versions.

I fish black SEA bass here in WA. The flies you pictured would also work for the saltwater types we fish for. However, we use much simpler flies which are basically a saltwater hook wrapped in chenille and topped with lawnchair webbing.

To increase your chances, you should submit to as many as possible. However, once one company selects your fly, I would imagine that it cannot be carried by another company. Be aware that they all have different submission processes.

Mustad 34011 is pretty close although it is 4x long vice the TMC 3.5 long

CCG Hydro is very thin consistency...much thinner than knot sense...a little goes a long way. It does cure hard and not tacky. Love the stuff.

Think you are pretty spot on. Marabou and flash on the tail, mylar tube body (painted), dubbing for red, and then either an articulated shank, clipped hook, cotter pin for the join. You could always send an email to Pat and he'd probably tell you exactly what it is.

Kinda hard to judge the size of this fly but would guess either schlappen or Chinese hackle.

I like the use of the zip lock. Nice one. Granted there are multiple ways to tie a scud but I would prefer a much shorter tail and a much smaller hook. I also prefer weighted to get them down quick in the faster moving water I use them in.

Somewhat of a misnomer. Not all body feathers are "flats." Turkey flats are feathers from the saddle of the turkey and are about 6" long. Feathers from the breast, are T-base feathers and are about 3" long. While you may use small flats for winging material, more than likely you will want to use the smaller, t-base feathers for this purpose. Another idea is to strip the quill on flats for quill bodies.

Holy hijack batman... This thread needs more cowbell hopper.

Need some more jungle cock and my normal sources have dried up. Ebay has had crap lately and other places are either reselling the crap from Ebay or are way overpriced. Someone have a source or want to part with a nice cape?

With this cold front moving in, what better way to warm yourself up than tying hoppers and thinking about summer?

Renzetti makes a great vise. I tied on a 2000 for about a decade and pretty much wore it out. I prefer the cam jaw of the 2000 to that of the 3000. I also like the adjustability of the jaw arm of the 2000 over the fixed arm. I now have a Renzetti Master and have no problem recommending any of the Renzetti vises. However, one word of caution as you look at buying a vise....buy what fits you and your tying style. I had people tie on my Renzetti and not like the way it felt. I've also tied on other vises and not like them. I would recommend that you hit your local fly shop and lay hands on as many vises as you can...even ask if you can tie a fly on it. IMO, buying a vise is a personal decision.