Henrik Thomsen (DK)

Throw it in The freezer for 48 hours. Out for same amount of time. Tjen freeze again for 48 hours. Finally wash the skin in mild detergent and then use conditioner. Be sure to use plenty of water to clean between washings. H

And one more, the Golden Pheasant

The Blue Jay.

My flies where shipped Monday, please let me know when they arrive.

Since I'm the one re-tying a set, I will promise to do it as fast as possible. Here is a picture of one of the flies, that are lost in a postal limbo somewhere. The new set will be more ordinare due to the speed required in finalizing them. Best Henrik

Flies ready, need address. Henrik

Mine might be arriving soon, or maybe not at all. The lady at home put in Holland as country, so we will see if it get worked out in the Netherlands (which in Danish are called Holland) or if they return to me for a second shipping... Sorry 'bout that. Henrik

Let him tie some hackled wet and dry flies, and when the hackle sits good, is right size and body proportions looks as they should including tails. And when the heads don't take up more than appropriate, then move on to setting wings on the fly. Quill wings it is..... After quill wings it is time for an exam let him do Peter Ross with real seals fur... Nest stop will be hair wings Micky Finn and Elk Hair Caddis. And finally, nymphs and spider patterns should be the goal. Here proportion is so much more crucial, since no other features like hackle and wings can make it up for bad proportions... And please please please, let him know that tying thread is not something that should be used more than necessary....

Dear All First I will do my best, but before anyone get too disappointed, I say my sorry's up front... I'm currently travelling the US, and thought of bringing the flies with me and shipping them from here, unfortunately, they are still en Denmark, packed and ready to ship. Will try to get my girl back home to send them (might need and address), but if not, I will send when I'm back around the 29th of this month. Hence my flies might or might not be a little late, sorry... Promise it WILL happen again, although I try my best to let it not happen... /Henrik

Paypal is cool with me. Flies honning along nicely out of my vice. H

Hi Facinorous, Welcome to a new world of craziness... Flytying is a bug you either catch or don't catch. If you get it, then you will start to look into all kinds of materials all over, and begin experimenting etc. But before experimenting, it's always good to get the basic skills set. Things that strike me looking at your flies (all critics are meant constructive). 1) They will catch fish, although probably not fisher men - yet. 2) you have some understanding (or is it luck :-P ) of the idea of fly tying, that can be seen even through these beginners flies. 3) Thread - focus on thread. a) Thread control - Try before tying,m set you largest hook in the vise, make the fastest even wrappings from eey to end of shank and back. Focus on making the turns nice and even, and then increase speed as much as possible without loosing the ability to wrap nice and even wraps. This is very good training. Remeber that almost all materials can be tied in with one wrap, and that wrap can be locked with the second wrap. (fool yourself to think that thread is the most expensive material you have) c) Hide the thread - on the flies posted, the thread wraps are visible at the tail end, it shouldn't be 4) Proportions - Try draw your fly on a peace of paper before tying, just sketch it, and then hold that pice up behind your fly during tying. You will then more easily see if your tails are too long/short, if the body is to heavy/thin etc. 5) Keep practicing - Find 3-5 patterns that you like, and tie them over and over and over again. Save the first fly tied and compare that with the flies you tie afterwards, and see where you gets better. Also, see where you can improve and focus on that. Keep posting here to ask for help - tips&tricks, critique (constructive of cause). Once again, welcome to the sect of crazy people ;-) /Henrik

I'll be travelling the next couple of weeks for job. Will be glad if we could set end September as the date. Will be tying something with polish quills. Not sure if emerger, dun or spinner... H

Hi Joey Welcome to the site of much information, get used to get a few different answers for each questions, all probably being right in their own way ;-) Regarding silk thread. Is is pure authentic silk? Or an syntetic copy? If pure silk, you might find that waxing you thread will be a good idea. Silk can rot away, and is kind of different to work with. i use silk a lot for tying in hand, since it is more authentic to me. Also, I do make my own cobblers wax... When all comes to an end, the material used for fly tying should reflect why you tie... If tying fishing flies, then function, durability and look is what you are after. If you are tying for the fisher and not only for the fish, then look becomes more important. Try it out, see how it works and sorry to say, but if the fly tying bug infects you much, then you will start ordering online anyway :-)

Looks fine to me, however I would half the amount of hackle (less is more), shorten the body to reach only back to the hook point, Make the spot half as wide and finally minimizing the head quite a lot. But a nice fly.. And when halving and minimizing amounts, please remember, that it only take one turn to hold a material and one turn to secure the holding... So each material can be tied in with two turns.... A good mind set is to think that the tying thread is the most expensive material, and that you have to give away one of your children/pets/love ones to the bait fishers for every mile of thread you use more than needed ;-) :-P /Henrik

Happy to announce that Eide has accepted my invitation, and will invite the next person later today. I think we all have seen Eides fantastic work on the monthly flies from the bench pages. I look very much forward to see his flies in this swap. /H

Couldn't help it... A few 'shrooms: Lycoperdon perlatum (edible) Unknow species One of my favorite pictures, of Laccaria amethystina Used to be edible, but now it seems that the 'shroom concentrates Arsenic in amounts that when eaten could lead to poisoning over time Gyroporus cyanescens (edible) and your own imagination can tell the if it is the head or the ... of the fungi here ;-) /H

Thumbs up here! Any day-light lamp, that will make the area you tye in bright, and not be a hinder for your movement around the vise. Hate lamps, that i somehow bumbs into with my hands when tying... /H

Thank you Horseshoes for the invite. I will see if I can get someone invited too. ;-) Henrik

Welcome. Another dane, that makes even more of us.

G. E. M. Skues. And of cause F. M. Halfordt. A. K. Best Poul Jorgenson The list ud extremely long.

Work in a company making 40k+ microscopes. ;-) do they cure uv resins? The 365 and 405 nm excitation LED lights do.

Work in a company making 40k+ microscopes. ;-)

Since humans cannot see below 390 nm, how do you tell when the 365 nm light is on? You don't. But the fluorescent microscopes with integrated emission filters will detect the excited fluorophores, that emmits lower energi light, e.g violet 405 nm light.

LOL Big difference, though.If I build a chair with uneven legs, you can't "just make it to sit in". If I tie a fly with uneven wings, it might actually look more like an easy meal than a perfect fly. As if the fish takes time for details ;-)Think both even and un-even winged flies will work, but anyway, a beautiful fly is for me a little bit more aesthetic. And old school as it might be, I like to show the fish the respect of presenting them a nicely tied fly... ;-) :-P /H

Thanks for the heads-up there fshng2 -- Henrik, sorry about that! You are definitely in!PIca and Professori, the last two spots are yours--we have a full swap gentlemen! Let the tying begin. Thanks to everyone for joining, this should be a fun one. Can't wait to see the the bugs. Nice. ;-) All abdomen are done. Have yet to find out how I will do thorax and head. Got some ideas. H