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Fly Tying

Rake

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About Rake

  • Rank
    Beginner

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  • Favorite Species
    trout
  • Security
    22
  1. Thanks, PT... I hadn't seen dyed starling in the past; I will check out White Fox.
  2. Obviously, I'm not going to mention the vendors here, but one is a shop that I've been doing business with for nearly 15 years and have never had a problem with in the past. The second is newer, but offers many items that I haven't seen elsewhere in the states. Both have been very communicative and each have told me the same thing... their suppliers (Wapsi, Hareline and Whiting were mentioned in emails) had back-ordered the skins. Now, I guess it is possible, since I haven't inquired over the last month, that the distributors have fulfilled the orders and my back-ordered items have gotten lost in the shuffle... I will check. As for Clearwater, I guessed that their lack of JV skins might be related to time of year. Thanks for the confirmation. To my question, I simply came here to find out if others were having any issues finding partridge. I live almost an hour from the nearest shop and two hours from the next closest, so online shopping is my primary method of buying. It seems, from the answers others have provided, that my situation is isolated and that there's no systemic issue with supply. That's all I was asking. Thanks for your reply.
  3. I'm guessing someone on this board will have an idea... I love fishing (and, therefore, tying) soft hackles. Back in the summer, several months before my October trip to the Fork (Henry's) and the Creek (Silver), I ordered a couple of Hun skins. Both were back-ordered with the natural eventually arriving (after my trip, of course); the olive remains on back-order. While awaiting the original shipment, I placed an order for a natural and a dyed skin through another supplier. Neither of these has arrived. At last check, neither house could tell me when they might receive their orders. In the meantime, I began looking for alternatives and found Clearwater JV hens. I don't know how I'd missed them earlier, but stuff like that that happens, being self-taught and a bit of a loner, I suppose. In any event, the JV skins have not been available from Clearwater. Also, while waiting on the hun skins, I did find some hen, but these also took some time to arrive. I'm really intrigued by the Clearwater hens as they purportedly have feathers suitable for smaller flies which constitute a lot of my tying I do have a starling skin which I've been using for smaller bugs, but this obviously restricts the color of the hackle (do the fish really care?) So, after much rambling, my question is in the subject line... what's going on??? Mike
  4. flytire, I saw your post around 6 am and was at the orange box across the street 54 minutes later. Unfortunately, the local store doesn't stock them. My desk is roughly the size of the area in your photo; it's a 5 x 2 desk with a hutch for storing materials. I looked into mounting an overhead on the hutch, but couldn't find anything I particularly liked. SC, I liked this one, too. I wound up ordering one of each off of Amazon. Whichever fits my area best will stay with the desk. The other will be used as a reading light... Since using daylight lamps, I've found them much less straining than incandescent and fluorescent. To all who've replied... many thanks! Every suggestion was researched (I didn't get much work done this morning), and all appear to offer exceptional lighting solutions. I should've started posting years ago rather than simply lurking. Mike
  5. I've finally settled enough to buy a decent piece of furniture that qualifies as a fly tying desk... which simply means that my SO has allowed me to place a desk in a place that others might stumble across it. In my earlier years, I often tied near a window using natural light. My backup lighting was an Ott Lite, a recommendation from my mother, an avid sewer (the stitching kind... 8^} ). Since purchasing a desk which sits no where near a window, and not having the light that I'd need, I'd like some recommendations from others facing similar situations. As I've said, I've used Ott Lites in the past. I currently have two desk models which aren't tall enough to provide light without shadows. I have a third desk model (again, Ott Lite ) currently in use over my computer area which has the height I need, but requires more of a "lip" to mount on my tying desk. The desk I purchased was a nice piece of furniture, but doesn't have the edge needed to secure a clamp style mount. I don't mind drilling some holes to secure a mounting "slab", but I want to make sure I purchase the best light for tying. After a bit of research, I've come across the Blue Max light. I don't have room on the desk for the 70W desk lamp, but, by bolting a piece to my desktop, I could attach a 43W workstation light. I don't have any experience with Verilux and was wondering what others might be able to add... Thanks in advance, Rake... (aka Mike)
  6. Haven't posted since my introduction post, thought I would show that I actually do tie. Just a quick shot with my phone... I have a DSLR with macro lenses, but too lazy to set up the lighting. Killing time until the Hokies play...
  7. Here's another... somebody's standing in my Loving Creek honeyhole A bit of sad news. I was just out there last week and heard that the walk and wade area as well as the private, downstream area of the Double R Ranch hasn't been fishing well for the last year, or so.. That meant I had to spend four days on the Henry's Fork instead... oh well 8^}
  8. I don't believe I've ever taken a camera on a fishing day (telephone, either) so there are no fish pics from my travels out west. Still, I did take a picture or two while I lived there This is from 10 years ago, one February morning from the bridge overlooking Kilpatrick's Pond at the creek... Queen's Crown is in the distance. BTW, it was a bit chilly that morning, a brisk negative 6 IIRC (I hope this works... I spent about 45 minutes trying to figure out how this site wants pics attached
  9. Truth!!! While I was working in Idaho (part time as a fill-in guide), the hardest day I ever had was late one fall, normally an exceptional time to fish. I took a great guy and better than average fisher to a spot I had fished the day before; fish had risen most of the day to a baetis hatch and I'd caught more than a few. Next day dawned gray and stayed that way as I met the guy at the shop. Cloudy, breezy and spitting occasional snow, I expected another hatch like the one I'd experienced... We didn't see a bug all day and where the fish went to, I could not say. The flat that had produced so well the previous day was dormant as were the riffles and runs. I took the guy to several other spots including one that I never, ever fished with a client. Nothing!!! He had paid for a 3/4-day trip, but I kept him as long as he wanted to fish. I busted my tail to get that guy a fish, but IIRC, he had only one bump on a nymph. Thankfully, he was experienced enough that he understood, but that sure didn't make me feel much better. I've had several trips with folks that couldn't see a rise, much less see their fly... those are the really frustrating ones, especially when they complain that they couldn't catch fish. That's when a hopper/dropper or big orange indicator comes in handy
  10. Far from a newbie to either fly fishing or tying, I felt it was time to join the forum rather than to just read. Been fishing & tying since the mid eighties, spending those early years traipsing around the hills of Virginny. I began bait fishing (primarily for trout) as a youngster, but after limiting out on a stocker stream the middle of one summer day, decided that I needed a bit more of a challenge... I had my first 4-weight the next day. Tying soon followed. After wrapping up a project near Blacksburg,VA, I had an opportunity to go west. I sold everything but my skis, a computer, and of course my fly fishing gear and headed off to a small town in central Idaho. This small town just happened to be located about 30 miles east of the most beautiful trout stream I've ever had the pleasure to fish. It's name? Silver Creek. After spending a year learning its secrets, I was asked by a local outfitter to help out as a guide during some of the busy days. This afforded me with the opportunity to spend time on the water AND get paid to do it. Unfortunately, 2008 happened and along with my regular job disappearing, the tourism industry too a hit. Now, I'm back in Virginia where I can be found on the S. Holston, the Jackson, the Dan, the Smith, or other beautiful places where trout live. But, even though I only spent 6 years in Idaho, that's where my heart is and it will always be home to me.
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