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whatfly

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About whatfly

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  1. Huh, must not be a lot of dry fly fishers on the board anymore. While there are a bunch of expensive products out there (e.g. Amadou) your best bet is synthetic chamois which you can buy in large sheets in the automotive section of your favorite big box store. Just cut it into smaller sheets and put a couple in your vest. This along with a silica like Frog's Fanny or Dry Share can go a long way for keeping a fly floating after a few fish. Inevitably you'll have to retire the fly after a period of time, but between waterproofing at the vise (e.g. Watershed), a good floatant, a chamois, and Dry Shake or the like, you can get a lot of fishing out of a single dry. Once you want to retire the fly, you can just hit it with the chamois and leave it on your fly patch to dry. P.S. In case the OP has not already realized this, putting wet flies back in your box is really a bad idea for the rest of your ties, in the long run.
  2. Yup. Chironomid bodies (dipped in acetone) and for steelhead patterns. Good stuff but you have to want a really bright body. Use raylon and silk as well. Depends on effect.
  3. A board, a nail, and an electric drill/screwdriver are all you really need. Try the search function for ideas.
  4. Looks like yet another artificial hair product: https://squimpishflies.com/ Have not tied with it, but looks like a lot of other products on the market -- and at that price, it is unlikely I'll try it anytime soon.
  5. Mark: Some sort of pheasant? Would make some nice wings. And now we have moderators posting girly pictures? Huh.
  6. Steeldrifter raises some good points but the single biggest commonality among the usual bargain basement crowd here is that they fish a very narrow set of conditions and waters, so their needs are pretty limited and simple. For those of us that fish a wider variety of species, conditions, and localities, a cheap WF off of ebay is often not a reasonable answer.
  7. Not silly at all, and not a hard defined date, but anytime after the IFTD show is a good starting point, which is typically mid to late October. The mechanics is once the vendors announce changes in next year's line up, and this can be as trivial as them just changing the packaging, shops usually start clearing out readying for next year's stock. When shops/online vendors actually discount last year's lines is up to them, but by January most are clearing out last year's models in my experience.
  8. The 6-weight is definitely a step up from the 5#, but if I wanted to throw a 7 weight bass line, I'd probably want the 7 weight, which I have not thrown.
  9. Not quite as simple a question as you might think, because there are a ton of different situations even in the range you specified where I'd want a specific type of line. Cheapest example I can think of is get yourself some LC13 (can be bought by foot in many shops, 14-15' should work for a 7wt.), some monofilament running line (25-30#) and you have a shooting head. This is useful if you have to get down fast and while it will not throw elegantly, a bit of practice will allow you to cover a lot of water. For a more conventional answer, check out the Scientific Anglers Wet Cel lines. You should be able to find one of these to fit your needs in the $30 range. Standard trick if time is unimportant, is to wait until the end of the year clearances. Last year's lines, especially sink tips in odd sizes, are often discounted at the end of the year, and deals can always be found with a bit of digging.
  10. While Mikechell's point might be true with larger flies (and only "might"), will not make a bit of difference for all practical purposes on nymphs. Furthermore, if you are using loop knots, then the point is moot.
  11. Rocco: Yup, and more used to seeing it with silver instead of gold tinsel. Charlie Craven ties it this way too, so maybe that's where this version comes from. Personally, the InTheRiffle version is better if one is trying to learn the pattern I would argue: A faster pace is useful if trying to cut through boring or repetitive steps, but really doesn't serve a purpose as far as I can tell in this case.
  12. Used for the British "Blob" patterns. Allegedly quite effective. Several varieties of fritz out there and like estaz, I imagine one is probably just as good as the other.
  13. Problem with these cases is that if the reel bounces around at all, it can snap your tip section very easily unless it is securely out of the way. Had/have a case like Flytire described, and stopped using it after the 2nd or 3rd trip to the repair shop. Might have been caused by trying to leave the rod rigged before putting it in the tube, but regardless, a rod case that breaks rods just doesn't seem like a good idea. YMMV.
  14. You did not mention if you are using an indicator or swinging/stripping but if the former, google "balanced leech" for some other ideas.
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