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Fly Tying

Capt Mel Simpson

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About Capt Mel Simpson

  • Rank
    Advanced Member

Previous Fields

  • Favorite Species
    Snook
  • Security
    2008

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Profile Information

  • Location
    St. Petersburg, FL
  1. Fred, I don't know you but your funny as hell, thanks for the laugh. Mel
  2. beninfl, The water is a little cold right now, high 60's on the flats, so snook fishing is a little tough. We usually find them up on the edges of flats laying in the sun but they are hard to approach and even harder to get to eat. I use a 3" Puglisi type pinfish for them. Now redfishing is a different story, here in Tampa Bay we have a lot of them on the flats on a good moving tide in real shallow water. Our redfish are famously spooky but they'll eat a pinfish, Kwan or a Borski slider. Again lining up good tides with good light is the key. Enjoy Florida, Mel
  3. New site in my "favorites", Singlebarbed.com. I just recieved a pair of his sixth finger scissors, they're cool and work really nice. I also gave them to a couple my tying buddies for Hanukwanzmas. Mel
  4. I think maybe I bought the last he had. They were Whiting cape and saddle size and I didn't get many. Sorry Mel
  5. Thanks guys, just ordered 3 pair of 6th finger. Thanks, Mel
  6. Is there anyone using spring loaded scissors and if so what brand and how do you like them? Thanks, Mel
  7. Bigwater, I can appreciate your interest in using the tip end of a calftail. I also have been using a lot of calftail for many years (Steelhead flies from the 60's and 70's and bonefish going back to the late 70's.) The hair on the end is quite translucent and one of my favorite materials. One of the things I do is I buy them usually 2 dozen at a time, comb them out, pick out the best dozen and sell the others to someone else. I think you'll be surprised what combing them real good will do. Mel
  8. Funny, I showed these around 4 years ago and no one was that interested. One thing to note when bleaching and dying. Not all skins, tails or feathers from the same animal will turn out exactly the same. When I would bleach 20 grey squirrels tails I would get maybe 5 different color tones. I was considering finding a source for the tails from the same: gender, location, age, food source and time of year. That "control" search got a little crazy so I switched materials from squirel to marabou and fin-coon.
  9. There is plenty of information available in the archives. This subject has been addressed many times on this and other forums. I found that the first step to good dying is to understand the necessity of cleaning and wetting the materials before dying. Next find a good dye, I use Orco, or Fly dye found at organicdye.com. You must learn to control your process by temperature, consentration and time. This will get you consistant results. I like dying, it's easy and the result can be fantastic! Attached you'll see some squirrel tails I bleached and dyed. Mel
  10. Well sence you're from Roseburg, where I think the Skunk originated, that gives you creedance in my book. But you know some pictures of those old flies would sure be nice. Wow, that puts your Grandparents and Uncle in the Clarence Gordon era and Frank Moore's early days of owning the Steamboat Inn. I'm not 80 but I did fish for steelhead in the Crooked River long before the dams on the Deschutes maybe early 1950's. I'm trying to remember but I think my father showed me the first Skunk that he tied around the time I graduated from high school in 1960. But I'm pretty sure he didn't use polecat for the wing. All this is good stuff, thanks Mel.
  11. Yes, very good tidewater. Here is an example of a version of the Skunk called the Deschutes Skunk, of the Don McClain era probably early 70's. He added natural deer hair as an underwing to the calftail (that had become a preference over bucktail), thus causing the fly to once again have surface action. The calftail had changed the fly's action with the change from bucktail.
  12. My point was that only the name changes, not how the fly works. Actually I grew up fishing the Umpqua, Deschutes and other Pacific Northwest rivers in the 60's, so I am quit famailar with the Skunk.
  13. What would you call the fly if you used orange for the butt? If the black tail became your preferred tail color wouldn't you call it a Black Tailed Green Butt Skunk. The only thing that matters is the name otherwise I suppose you can change it anyway you need to or want to. Mel
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