VirtuallyTied

Thanks for the kudos - it's nice to be appreciated. Frankly, we think our customers are THE best!! It's a lot easier to give good service when the person on the other side is patient and flexible. What else is there to say? When we fall short, please please please pick up the phone or email me, and let us make it right! All of you are in this sport to have fun, and all of us eat, sleep and breathe it every day. For all concerned, it's a lot better to use the ol' Golden Rule. You get what you give...

Actually the regular Odyssey vise has been discontinued according to our suppliers. It was about the same time that the Mongoose vises were launched. The Odyssey Cam and Spider versions are still available.

I'm adding Larva Lace to the list of new products in the next go-round. If I'm lucky, it'll take just a couple of weeks before it's on the web site. In the meantime, let me know of anything else you think of. BTW, a new lot of new products just went onto the web site. Flexi-Body, nymph skin and some very cool DVD's and books by Clouser, Leeson and Schollmeyer, among other things are now available. Regular Z-lon is on the web site and will be in stock this week.

Good idea about the Larva Lace - do you use the body size or the midge size, or both? Are there any colors you think there is NO need to carry (among the following in body size: black, brown, gray, clear, orange, shrimp, green, red brown, olive, yellow; and in midge size : black, chartreuse, copper, clear, gray, orange, red, shrimp)? I bet I could get this on the web site in a couple of weeks. But then, I thought the same thing about Flexi Body and that was 2 months ago... Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks to everyone who has voted so far. It looks like a lot of members looked at the results but decided not to vote, but we'd strongly encourage you to "let your voice be heard", even if you don't know about these products. (It's good to know how many people don't know.) Also, we welcome inquiries and suggestions about other new products. With so much new stuff coming out all the time, it's hard to keep up - even when we work at it full time! Plus, there's no way we can road test all the new materials, so your help is doubly valuable. Reply to this topic, email [email protected], call [(877) FLY-TYING or (877) 359-8946] or start a fire and send a smoke signal - anything!

This is a fantastic idea, and I'd like to help out. So here's a proposition - for anyone who wants to get a book to review in HatchesMagazine, we'll get it (assuming one of our 2 suppliers has it) for the reviewer at our cost plus shipping. For the books that get the best reviews, we'll stock the book and sell it to FTF members at a nice discount, say 20% off list. We could post a coupon code in the review section of HatchesMagazine with a link to the page in our web site. What do you think?

I'm thinking of adding some new (for us) materials, and would like your opinion. We've gotten some calls about Z-lon, and we've seen Loco Foam and Sili Skin at shows. I've never used them myself, so I need your help. And at the same time, some of your fellow FTF members can find out about this stuff, too! When answering the poll, if you like a given material but use something else because you can't find a place that sells it, then check answer 2. If you're familiar with a material but don't use it or a substitute because you just don't need it, then check answer 3. If you know of any material that you would like to get but can't find in shops or online, then please reply to this topic. Please note, don't worry about Flexi-Body (we're adding it as a new product this week) or jungle cock eyes (we know about those). But genuine polar bear fur, blind eye hooks, Loco Skin and glo-bug yarn are all fair game. If someone else mentions a material that you also want to get, speak up! It makes a big difference if a material gets a few write-in votes. Thanks for your help!

Oops! ... Poll do-over! It turns out I had to do the poll over in a different format. (Polls on the forum don't work in a "choose as many options as apply" kind of way.) So if you take a look at this poll and decide to respond and/or post a reply, please use the Revised version. Because the 2nd try at the poll is pretty long, I decided to skip other potential new products; I might try another poll for them later, if this idea works out. Sorry for the confusion... I'm learning - slowly...

J. Stockard Fly Fishing is doing a little market research and would appreciate some help from any and all members. Go to the J. Stockard Forum and click on the poll. We'd appreciate your help and you'll find out how popular some new products are with other FTF members. This post is just to tell members that we put the poll up - otherwise, we're not sure many people would know it's there. Thanks to all and we look forward to hearing your opinion.

Though the purchase of RIO by Far Bank (also the owner of Sage and Redington) conjures up images of corporate predation, it may not be the case. Far Bank claims - and I believe them - that they don't want to change any personnel at RIO; they probably just want an integrated line of products from rods to tackle. A reel company might be next. In some ways, Far Bank may just be trying to get to the level of Orvis although they don't (yet) have one brand name to cover the whole family of products. For consumers, there probably won't be much change since there's plenty of competition in all these product lines. If Orvis buys Far Bank or if Scientific Angler (aka 3M) buys Cortland, that's a different story. Jim Vincent, founder and now ex-CEO of RIO, ostensibly will still be involved but of course it will be different. Hey, a guy and his wife work for years to build a company and get a chance to cash out - what would you do? Hopefully, they've done well and it's a win-win deal; I say, "good for them!" They've earned a good vacation and/or retirement. Just some random thoughts.

Thanks, guys, for your kind words. We're very happy to be associated with this excellent group and we appreciate your patronage! Plus, we're proud to supply the best fly tyers with the best materials, with which they can make the best flies!!

If you find a place to get it more cheaply, I'm interested! Of course, there's a reason float foam isn't cheap at a fly shop, and it's not necessarily because someone somewhere up the supply chain is making a ton of money. But it does make you wonder ...

As Sam already mentioned, J. Stockard carries lead free wire, and here's more info. It comes in diameters of 0.015", 0.025", and 0.035". You can find it by clicking on Lead Free Wire.

The idea SwampHunter has about making his own cookie cutters is exactly what we're seeing in the market. River Road Creations is making simple cookie cutters from wood blocks and sheet metal. Here's a link to one of our pages with a picture: Caddis Wing Cutter Take a look - these things are not all that complicated, and these enterprising folks are making a business out of it. We've sold a fair number of them, and we just added them to our lineup this Spring. I bet a lot of FTF members can make similar cutters for themselves - especially the simple shapes - if they have the time and a little material. It's just a question of how you want to spend your time and money.

Hi, Guys - First, thanks for the compliments. Coming from this group, they mean a great deal to us. We really want to serve our customers well, and it sounds like you've picked up on that. Second, a request. We are certainly not perfect - try as we will - and we do make mistakes from time to time (hopefully rarely). Since there may be young people reading this, let's just say, "Stuff happens." But fly tyers are generally a patient, understanding bunch; we appreciate that they/you will give us another chance when we mess up. So the request is, when there's a problem despite our best efforts, PLEASE tell us about it and let us make things right for you. We understand that customers shouldn't have to pay for a store's mistakes. That's all - nothing too complicated. Thanks for your support, in the moral sense and business-wise. And drop me a line when you think of something you want and can't find - like a set of Terra tools without a leather case! (I'll put that on my "To Do" list.)