McLovin

Sorry to correct you Virgil, the little white bits in potting soil is called vermiculite. It isn't styrofoam or filter material. I have no complaint about anyone who wants to smoke, drink, partake, etc. As long as no one wants to take my vices away I won't advocate against another. Live and let live just don't hurt others or damage their lives. Someone has to pay for the health care of the rest of us now that the government has taken it over. Smoking pay for a great deal of the care of others. Please just don't leave a mess, we should all clean up after ourselves be it butts, mono, beer and soda containers or anything else.

My wife is a master gardener and worked in a large plant nursery for many years. The most common pesticides coming onto the market are neonicocides (not certain on the spelling). They use components of tobacco to keep pests away from plants. Also I am a hobbyist beekeeper, many professional beekeepers believe that a big contributor to colony collapse disorder are these pesticides. When used as a systemic on plants they kill a lot of bees. I'm not sure about fish but bees don't do well on tobacco.

Glad to see someone from Germany on this forum. Many years ago I lived and studied in northern Germany. Hamburg, Berlin, Oldenburg, and Hildesheim is where I spent most of my time. Loved the county and the people. Sorry my German isn't what it once was. That was almost thirty years ago. Gruss Dich!!!!

Hello, my name is Scott from southwest Utah. I'm not only new to fly tying and fly fishing, but somewhat new to fishing in general. I didn't grow up fishing and didn't start until a friend got me started about three years ago. I do most things with my own twist. If and when I post photos of my flies please understand I don't mean to offend tradition, I just do my own thing. If any of my odd creatures and creations catch fish I'll share that too. Guidance is very welcome and critique will never be refused. If anyone is in the area I am always up for a day on the water with anyone wanting to spend the time.

Thanks for the input and prompt response. Up until now the dubbing I have used the most has come from my English Springer Spaniel. After brushing her out for shed control my wife commented that it looked a lot like the stuff at the sporting goods store. So far I have mainly used sewing thread but I can see that although it will hold material to a hook it is severely limited in what can be done with it. It adds way too much bulk where it isn't supposed to be. Am I the only one here that has used mane and tail hair from the neighbor's horses? Mosquito striping is way easy with a two foot strand of tail hair rather than a grizzly hackle quill or moose mane. I can attest to cotton being terrible dubbing if you want a fly to float at all (think of your blue jeans all wet). My co-workers who fly fish are starting to refuse to try too many more patterns until they try what I have already given them. I enjoy the tying more often than I can get out to fish. Once I figure out how to post photos I will put up some of my creatures and creations.

If I may ask a question of twenty. I have just in the last two months started fly fishing and tying. In the opinions of the forum, is it more important to tie to match the patterns others have perfected, meaning colors and materials, or the techniques with what one has to hand? Can it hurt a beginning tier to tie flies differently than anyone else provided the flies catch fish? Is there any materials that one should not use, other than toxic substances, when tying flies? One contributor said that a new tier should learn to tie proven patterns before trying to invent new ones, could you explain this point of view in relation to learning techniques? I mean if one learns to stack deer hair in colors that no fish would ever take because the tier has them in order to perfect the ability how can that impede future progress? I have been tying with just about anything that comes to hand. Craft supplies from my wife's sewing box, feathers I find from out chicken coop (no I did not terrorize the birds to get feathers to fall out.....yet), and glittery stuff from Wal-Mart, in other words found junk. I have been trying to work out how the patterns are tied even if the materials aren't the same. I have also taken to hanging out at the local Ace Hardware sporting goods department gleaning through the lies between the ties. Thanks in advance for your input.