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Jim Slattery

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About Jim Slattery

  • Rank
    Beginner
  • Birthday 08/19/1959

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    http://WWW.JIMSFLYCO.COM
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  • Location
    On the Madison River

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  1. Thanks for the compliments folks! I appreciate it. Jim
  2. Hi oldtrout, Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it. I'm just a hackle geek at heart. Always have been and always will be I guess. Jim
  3. I just started a blog on "Fishin Stuff". My first blog deals with Hackle colors and their variations. If you are interested in it it can be found Here Jim
  4. Hi Breambuster. Brahma hen capes are $12.00 and saddles are $20.00. The hen Capes are really nice for wingless wets and wet flies because you can tie smaller flies with them, down to 18's at least. This may be a consideration if you are going to tie smaller flies. Brahma hen Capes are badger in color and are dyed various colors but the do have body feathers that are typically cut off other hen capes and these feathers are mottled. Otherwise you can go with indian capes or hen backs/saddles. They are less expensive as other have already noted. Partridge (already noted). grouse and quail will work if you are looking for mottled feathers. Jim
  5. Kindaso, The first fly is OK. Proportions are really good. Second fly the body is a bit thick, the hackle may be a bit too sparse and a touch too long. I also question the hook, seems as if it may be a bit heavy, but this shouldn't really be a problem, I use wet fly hooks for surface flies all the time. The missing dynamic is the leader.. Let's face it a coventional fly is going to land on it's tail beacause that is the heaviest part of the fly. This is where good stiff tailing helps by holding up the heavy part of the hook. Alos keep in mind your fly WILL NOT sit up on the water, only if you carefully place it on the water. Jim
  6. 1. Honey Dun 2. Dun Grizzly 3. Rusty Dun 4. Perfect Medium Champagne
  7. You should give Whiting's Hebert Miner Pro Grade saddles a shot. Retail price is $20.00 and they come in a wide range of colors. As for sizes they tie from size 12 to size 20, just not all from the same saddle. Anyone who has a large selection of saddles should get you the sizes you are looking for. Obviously the smaller sizes would be tougher. You can always go with a midge saddle...these will tie down to size 26 or smaller. Again the size range will vary from bird to bird. Jim
  8. The reason for the price increase in hackle has less to do with the Bird Flu scare( that just made it tough to get any hackle) and more to do with the sharp price increase in feed ( can anyone say ethanol production during the $4.00 a gallon of gas days) Breeders lost their a$$es on that one and prices haven't really dropped to pre $4.00 levels yet. Welcome to the United Corporation States of America! Jim
  9. Hi FlySlinger, Nice tie! Actually this fly is tied with the Leisenring loop for the body, or you can just rough up the body a bit with some velcro or what have you. I like to bury the rib in the dubbing makes it less glaring.Also I like to use different degrees of hair fiber stiffness in the body so that there is variable degrees of movement when whater pressure activates the hair and Hackle. Hare's ear is a great place to start. The head is spun in a dubbing loop. A trick I like to use is to give the loop a couple of flicks after you have spun it a half a dozen times or so or you can rub your thumb ond fore finger on the loop or both. This allows you to create a nice spikey head. As you wind the hair on brush it backwards after each wrap. It's been a real producer for me. Jim
  10. When you get the invite you will be able to purchase a s many pins as you would like. Jim
  11. The latest issue American Fly Fisher magazine from the American Museum of Fly Fishing contains a story written by Mike Valla about Winnie Ferdon Dette and her Diary This wonderful article is a glimpse of a tentative book to be called The Dette Files. The Dette Files will be a peak into the Catskill legend of the Dette's, and in turn the Catskill Legend it's self, a compliment to Eric Leiser's great book on this wonderful family. In my investigation of the Dette archives I found a diary which Winnie Ferdon Dette wrote in 1927 -28. It is an amazing piece of literature of the development of the Dette-Darbee legend and the life of a young woman coming of age in the Roaring Twenties. Also in the files were correspondence and a slew of other material such as a manuscript of the fly Tying book that the Dettes were to write but abandoned to keep their marriage intact in 1946. Aside from the material gleaned from the Diary another key piece of the book will be Hans Weilenmann's fantastic photos of the Dette Fly Sample Card files. These reference cards go back to the late twenties and follow through to current times. All in all there are about 1000 flies that have been photographed, most with their recipes as well, to cull through for the book. It will prove to be a gold mine of information for those interested in the history of fly fishing. A virtual time machine
  12. Membership to the International Brotherhood of the Flymph is quite easy. You ask to be a member and you become one. It really is that simple. This is a great "club" that was started by the investigation into Pete Hidy's work on the Flymph phenomenon and his subsequent start of the International Society of Flymph Fisherman. Unable to find any real info on Pete's society the question was raised of starting a new club, the IBF. The idea took off and we had over 50 members within a month or two and is now over 100 members strong and still growing. We have members from all over the world. This is a loose collection of wet fly enthusiasts who have a passion for the secrets of fishing these deadly flies. We get many people who request to join and are sent invitations to our Google Groups forum set up by Hans Weilenmann. That is the extent of becoming a member. Aside from the charter members, I think there may be some sort of disconnect of expectations of joining the club and the actual membership. Frequently invitations are resent 2-3 times and still no response or confusion. This club is only as good as the people who contribute to its vitality. If we want to make it something more than what it is then there has to be more contributions of time, material, ideas and follow through. We should be more than just a great pin to put on your fishing vest or hat. If we want to continue to grow and become a dynamic source of information for the fisher men, women and children that will follow us, we, as a group, need to put more effort into this worthy project. William Anderson has stepped forward in handling of new memberships. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas on how to better this process please come forward. Your help is greatly needed. Do we want to have certificates of memberships made up? If so we need your input to get it done. I'm sure Mark Libertone can come up with a beautiful design. I would imagine that these can be electronically sent for the member to print out. In the future members will have access to some of Leisenring's Letters and Notebooks. These are currently in my possession and I am planning on making them available in book form, once I can wade through some personal obligations and developments as well as another project that is tentatively called the Dette Files. Once I'm done with this project with Mike Valla, an extraordinary Catskill tier, and Hans Weilenmann, I will be able to devote my time to the Leisenring Notebooks. Again if we want the International Brotherhood of the Flymph to be something other than a great pin we need more participation. Step up to the plate. Jim
  13. Hi Mark! The earlier Flies were tied on Allcocks, at least the Dette's did. The hooks were later switched to Mustads during the second world war. Hooks from England were no longer being made. Cross suggests using Mustad in his first book from 1936. My copy is an later reprint and I am not sure if the hooks were updated. From what I can see the Allcocks were a tad bit longer than the Mustads, maybe 1/64 of an inch longer on a size 12 hook. The Dettes have been using mustads ever since WWII and still use the proportions as I describe. Mary and Joe Fox still leave the gape between the head and eye of the hook..it just isn't as pronounced as flies tied during the Allcock era. Cross has been noted as setting the standard for the Catskill style. Roy Steenrod can not be overlooked as well. Jim
  14. The myth of using odd sized hooks and the gap are just untrue as far as the Dettes are concerned. When Harry Darbee left the Dette business there is some talk about Harry buying up the odd sizes and using them as a "signature", more than likely he got them at a bargain as they were probably going to be discontinued. A wise business decision. The reason for the gap on the hook was given in a early Dette catalog: "Each fly is tied well back on the hook, leaving a free eye, clear of varnish, and preventing the leader from chafing the head of the fly"
  15. This is a great thread. There is a marked difference between the "Classic" Catskill Dry Fly tie and other conventional "standard" dry flies. Now without flies tied from different time periods readily available I can only give my observations. English vs. Catskill I have studied Hardy dries from England from the 1920s and Catskill dries from the same period and there is no comparison, like night and day. The Hardy flies tend to have very wide and somewhat short wings. the hackle is about the same height as the wings. The hooks tend to be , but not always , a shorter shank as well. Other English Dries from this period I have seen also have the wide wings as well with the hackle about as wide as the wing. These flies are not unlike the flies that Gordon tied. Catskill dries from the 1920s tied by Cross, Steenrod and the Dette's are tied much "sparser" in comparison and with longer appendages. Dette and Cross flies are practically identical and tied in this proportion: A size 14 fly would be tied as such Wing: The same size as a size 10 hackle on a hackle gauge. Hackle: Size 12 on a hackle gauge Tail: Same as the wing Also there is a "neck" left after the head about 1/32 or 1/16 of an inch, about the same length as the hook eye. These proportions are regional and time lined. While this same "Classic" Catskill flies are still being tied by the Dettes and a few other tiers, generally the new "Catskill" tiers tend to tie their flies with less wraps of hackle and more "Standardized" dry proportions....like the proportions found practically in every tying book written. Is the "Classic Catskill" dry different than flies found elsewhere and in this day and age as well? All I can say is same materials but different proportions, which create a different looking fly. While speaking of proportions and "looks", most Dries currently being tied and sold, to me, suffer from this problem: Short stubby hackle , wings and tails. Most of the new style hooks (Non Mustad 94840) have a wider gap and a tad longer hook shank than the Mustad 94840. They are essentially a size larger than the old mustads. A size 14 newer hook equalls what would be a size 13 mustad hook. Why is this a problem? Because most hackle gauges that are in use are still calibrated to the Mustad 94840 sizes. Does all this matter? probally not . Both catch fish...some with a little more grace and style. IMNSHO
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