thejwalkertn

This is the great thing about "art." In a previous life I was a drummer and it was a common question "Who's the best drummer?" There are so many interpretations of the word "Best." John Bonham (Led Zepplin) was a solid drummer that could demand a huge sound and feel from a small kit. Buddy Rich (Jazz Drummer) was amazingly fast and metaphorically danced around the kit. In the end it was easier to list a top 5 / top 10 based on an ability to influence some positive movement in the art. As a new fly tyer I've only scratched the surface of recognizing the masters. Off-hand I only could recognize Dave Whitlock, Bob Clouser, Lefty Kreh. Enjoying this thread for giving me some new reading material.

I use cigar boxes. When I stop in to buy a stogie or two I always ask if I can pick through their boxes. I'm friends with the guys so they give them to me but still a good buy at $1-$2 p/p. I've been taking some cheap foam from the craft store and gluing it into the bottom and it makes for a great secure fly storage. They don't look so bad stacked up in my garage. A simple label helps me sort by type.

I've done a very small amount with poppers but plan in the next few weeks to start messing with them a lot more based on some things I've learned here. I made up about a dozen using nail polish I bought at the dollar general store. The important part I had to learn - is allowing each layer to dry and for some reason the nail polish really takes a while to dry completely. Even after air drying for an hour - putting some polish on previous layers caused it to smudge. I put a clear polish on top which has a very subtle "sparkle" to it which may or may not improve their performance. I caught most of my bass on store-bought poppers this past summer so I plan on putting in the time creating some of my own. I seemed to kill it on blue & yellow poppers for some reason and have been having a hard time replacing these colors at my local shop. I want to pick up an airbrush kit (I'll probably fight my wife for time on it) but want to learn more about the process before I make the investment. These are both REALLY BAD examples in-progress but apparently the only ones I took shots of.

At my local "Michaels" craft store they have a small wall of select craft furs - all short but it ties and performs similar to the stuff I get at my local fly shop. I did wander over to the area where they custom cut fabric from big rolls and found a bunch of colors (blue, orange, brown, etc..) when I asked what the minimum cut amount was it was like 12" x 36" or something like that and was only around $2 for the entire cut. I bought one of each just to keep on hand. I used the blue and orange when tying some baitfish in advance of a recent saltwater trip. First morning out I was throwing one of these small white + blue baitfish flies and caught a really nice speckled trout.

Nashville, TN but I frequent Marco Island, FL as a semi-resident.