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Fly Tying

mitch

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About mitch

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    Advanced Member
  • Birthday 02/13/1972

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  • Location
    Oahu
  1. The stick portion of push-pops. Great for packing hair on #4 hooks. This hard-plastic tube is also good for tube flies. Buy your kids (or you) some push-pops and add to your bench without your wife ever the wiser. Just tell your kids not to throw them away. Take care all, Mitch
  2. I wanted to tell him off, but didn't want to chance him being very senior to me, then it coming back to bite me in the butt on Monday morning. My response was simply to look around, then look at him, pause for 2 seconds, and say "I was". The next move was to make a bee-line to shore.
  3. Proof positive that we should never carry firearms out on the waters. Write-ins are welcomed. I'll let this one go on for a while then tell y'all which one I used. Mahalo, Mitch
  4. Having been a striper fisherman while stationed in RI, I can only tell you how envious I am of your season's first. And to think, you still have many more firsts left: 1. First bright striper 2. First keeper...that you'll put back 3. First reeeely big cow 4. First blue 5. First Bonito 6. First Albie 7. First of many sleepy days at work due to long nights on the water. I'll go mix a fruity drink complete with umbrella and hoist one for you. Congratulations!
  5. I had one and recommend it. Before purchasing, I would suggest you tie a few on one and see if the notched jaws are something you can work with. Pros: 1. True rotary and can be adjusted to rotate on center for a good size range of hooks. 2. Cam locking jaws instead of twisting a screw (this was an inconvenience for me). 3. Well built. 4. Great customer service. Cons: 1. Took me a while to get use to the notched jaws, especially when switching sizes of hooks. 2. A stay-at-home vise; in my case anyways. I use Dyna-King's Kingfisher as my traveling vise and am quite pleased with it. I'm not going to state my at-home vise in an effort of avoiding be chastised Again, tie before you buy.
  6. Good points all around. Thanks for the quick turn-around. Some of the lessons learned that I've been applying to this recent batch has been to hide the barbell eyes in the yarn in order to ensure the hook rides up, but minimizing the explosion of the fly entering the water. I've tied some with #20 burnt mono eyes w/ stalks and some with plastic bead eyes tied in up on the bend. Mainly all have been #6, with changes to color (white/tan/dk tan/sage) and combos of all. Hard to say what the fish will go after, or if they will even eat my imperialistic flies. Take care all, Mitch
  7. Been away for a while, but have a little time to tie some flies before disappearing again with a 5-piece #8 and a few boxes of flies. I have plenty of gotchas, charlies, and some bigger flies for bigger species. I have made about a dozen #6 Merkins and have left the rubber legs off some of them. Are the legs vital in duping a bone/flats dweller and if so, white legs? Does the red paint really help out on the legs. Was going to post in the Tying Bench, but thought this was mainly a salt thing. Thanks, Mitch
  8. mitch

    To DFix

    A farmer goes out one day and buys a brand new stud rooster for his chicken coop. The new rooster struts over to the old rooster and says, "OK old fart, time for you to retire." The old rooster replies, "Come on, surely you cannot handle ALL of these chickens. Look what it has done to me. Can't you just let me have the two old hens over in the corner?" The young rooster says, "Beat it: You are washed up and I am taking over." The old rooster says, "I tell you what, young stud, I will race you around the farmhouse. Whoever wins gets the exclusive domain over the entire chicken coop." The young rooster laughs. "You know you don't stand a chance old man. So, just to be fair I will give you a head start." The old rooster takes off running. About 15 seconds later the young rooster takes off running after him. They round the front porch of the farmhouse and the young rooster has closed the gap. He is already about 5 inches behind the old rooster and gaining fast. The farmer, meanwhile, is sitting in his usual spot on the front porch when he sees the roosters running by. He grabs his shotgun and - BOOM - He blows the young rooster to bits. The farmer sadly shakes his head and says, "Dammit... third gay rooster I bought this month." Moral of this story.... Don't mess with the OLD FARTS - age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill
  9. mitch

    X-ACTO KNIFE

    Haven't used an exacto knife, but do use razor blades at the vise. That was the main reason I put a larger cutting board under the vise (to taper mono/jelly rope, cutting materials, rounding match-sticks for applying paint to eyes, etc.... As for the stream-side impromptu vise, never thought of that. Good idea for the fresh water bubbas. Here's something I saw for the tube fly tying folks out there. The ice-cream push pops by Nestle use a plastic tube that easily detaches from the round base of the ice-cream cylinder. Seems to be about right for cutting up in to a few tubes for flies. "Kids, eat more of them push-pops...I got a fishing trip coming up!"
  10. Materials I have used for Charlies: 1. Deer hair. 2. Ultra hair. 3. Feathers (2 with shiny sides out). 4. Krystal flash. 5. Craft fur. 6. Combo of any of the above. Epoxy on the fly: Haven't done this, but I'm guessing you are either looking to make the fly more sturdy, or to give it a bigger body profile without over-doing it on the wing. I usually take a couple of strands of krystal flash or a material like Bill's Body Braid, tie in behind the lead/bead eyes and wrap back to the bend, then back and use the rest to figure 8 around the eyes. After tying in the wing and whip finishing the head, apply head cement/Sally's HAN. Coat the bottom of the wraps under the eyes and the bottom of the wrapped flash. This helps protect the fly when you pull it across the the flat's bottom/coral. If you're looking for the fly to have a bigger body profile, you can tie in 12-120lb mono behind the eyes and up to the bend, wrap flash around both the hook shank/mono shaft, then wrap the mono back around the hook shank/mono shaft, similar to that of a glass minnow. If you're committed to using epoxy, I recommend to apply the epoxy to the fly BEFORE tying in the wing. Take care and have fun at the vise, Mitch
  11. As if you needed any other reason to buy this issue.. I found it to be a good read. Recommended for all.
  12. I accidently caught an #8 cat while slowly retrieving a #2 yellow wooly bugger for LMB. I made the mistake of leaving the fish on the lawn/bank to go get the kids/relatives to show them. Came back to no fish, but my rod moving on the ground. The line was off the reel and backing continued to pay out of the reel towards the nearby woods. Dog took off with my fish.
  13. Shows in general are just a good idea to go to. New equipment that maybe your local shops don't carry or don't have yet. The fly tying booths are what a lot of folks don't spend a lot of time at. Looking at and listening to the hows and whys from folks such as Bob Popovics, Enrico Puglisi, and watching Normal Norlander on his vise is just plain awesome. Some of my more prized possessions are the books that I've taken to the shows and had the authors autograph them. I have yet to have one say "Not now, I'm kind of busy." Most all of my senior and junior personnel know that I am a fly fishing nut and do their best to support this obsession. The conversations usually begin "If you were the manager at Taco Bell and I worked for you, I would call you this Thursday and tell you that I was sick...but since we're not, I was hoping for that afternoon off..."
  14. One of the toughest things to do is being something new. I have yet to meet anyone who picked up a fly rod on day 1 and after 15 minutes, double-haul out a 90 foot cast. That being said, swallow whatever pride you may have, travel to your nearest fly shop and introduce yourself. Ask questions. The personnel behind the counter are there for a reason and if you feel they start to make you feel uncomfortable, find another shop. They have the best information for your patch of the water. To begin with, I'm going to assume you have something like a 6 weight rod. Your reel should have ~100 yards of 20-lb Dacron backing attached to the fly line. Your leader should be about 4-5 feet of 30-lb mono, then 2 feet of 20-lb mono, then 2 feet of 10-lb. This is just a general guide; the fly shop will be able to give you a better description. You may just need a 7' piece of 20-lb mono. Standard flies to use are Clousers and Deceivers. The hook size corresponding to your location is important, and your local shop will be helpful because with most flies, they can be tied on very small hooks all the way up to very large hooks. John made an important point of practice casting. One even better is to either tie on a piece of yarn in place of a fly, or tie on something without a pointy hook or lead eyes to minimize pain. Wear glasses or sunglasses to protect your eyes from the end of the line/fly. I highly recommend using a stripping basket, especially if fishing from shore. Orvis sells them for ~$40 or you can make one from a small rubbermaid bin and a bungee cord. Retrieval is key and you will probably spend the most time experimenting with your retrieves and their effects on the fly. It's nothing different than different approaches in dating. Some actions get their attention, some don't interest them in the least. We've all been there and know what it's like. I hope you're ready for an obsession. Take care, Mitch
  15. Biminis, That's taking on a huge task and I hope all fares well in this venture. Will this be a AM/FM type of radio or Web-based radio? On at certain times or 24/7? I'm a visual person, especially when it comes to following fly tying. Lots of pictures are a must in the books I purchase. There are certain things that I can follow just by listening, but sooner or later my mind will wander. I think some people would see this as as listening to a magic show on the radio. For this reason, I would have an accompanying web site with download-able videos such as knot-tying, various spey-casts, etc... Topics that I think folks (like me) can follow from sitting at the desk or in the car: Product reviews. Fly fishing legend interviews. If folks have never heard Lefty in a casual conversation, they're missing a good time. The majority of West Coast folks probably don't know Ken Abrames or Lou Tabory. Tips on stuff to avoid. How many people thought they were the first to discover that by putting a little dish washing liquid in the bottom of a stripping basket/boat bucket that the line would tangle less and shoot better? Fishing reports from both near and afar. In today's age, reports via cell phone or e-mail are very do-able. Some people like to know the details of what it took to catch the muskie while they're at work in Arizona. The biggest hurdle will be spreading the word. Mitigating factors are good lists of reputable shops/dealers just by thumbing though a Fly Fishing Salt Waters or Fly Fisherman magazine. Funding: Ask big companies (Orvis, Sage, Hewes, and the likes) in exchange for product endorsements. Then there's always that ridiculous commercial of the guy dancing around Washington D.C. in a Riddler-type suit proclaiming how the government will give you money to do something (like creating a radio station). Asking local shops, marinas, boat yards, etc as sponsors would help as well. Their music interests are what you would want to key on. Music: Tough one, as it depends on the mood I'm in. I'm usually never in the mood for Rap, Acid Metal, or Spiritual music. One of the things I have been looking for is a video (I mean DVD) of some guy saying "I'm here to show you the ins and outs of fishing for blah blah (we'll use Redfish as an example). We'll be in (Texas) targeting #2-#12lb fish, therefore I'm going to be using a #7 rod, this type of line on a reel with X backing. We'll go through fly selection based on conditions and then the different presentations used when sight fishing. We'll also go over reading the water in the event we hit some deep water. If you did this with Bonefish or Permit, we'd all be the better. This is something I would like shows such as Walkers Cay Chronicles to do. Flip is a nice guy and all, but I would like to know a little more behind the how and why rather than a shot of the bird soaring majestically above a tidal flat. That's about it for now. Been a long day following duty and I'm about ready to hit the rack. Take care all, Mitch
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