cbinwindsor

Great looking pattern. I like the use of the estaz behind the hackle. Really nice.. CB

Great post. :thumbup: Regards, CB

On this one I put a little zap a gap on the front and then laid the hair back to set the face of the popper. Hair poppers are new to me so I'm not sure I'll always do it but it seems like a good idea for now. CB

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by cbinwindsor: Stacked and Black

My 2 cents....I agree entirely with Old Hat's explanation. Sitting on the surface tension and floating are two differnt phenomenon. Just becasue it's on the surface doesn't mean it's mimicking the insect. The biggest improvement in my flies abillity to stay riding high was by working on my casting, improving my mends, keeping my leaders good and stright and using lighter tippet. CB

Without having the fly in hand it's hard to say but for the sake of constructive criticism.... here goes. - the dubbing looks as though it could be wrapped a little loose. Try to pull the dubbing off with your fingers. If you can get some off then your application of dubbing could use improvement. Either add less to the thread with more wraps or use a dubbing loop depending on the look you want. - hackle fibres at the hook eye as mentioned and you've crowded the eye. CB

I'll second contacting Al Beatty. That's where I got mine. CB

Looks great Steve! That sounds like a great kit. You'll love it man. Looks like you've got a great handle on it already. Nice pic. Whites are a little blown but the focus is right on. CB

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by cbinwindsor: Hook-up rabbit minnow

Nothing fancy but I've been concentrating on tying with material I have rather than seeking out more materials. Besides, seeking materials is time that could be used for fishing and it's time I need, not more stuff. CB

I posted this on another site as a follow up regarding alternatives to heron for tying spey flies. The Lady Caroline pattern that I posted a week ago prompted me to look into alternatives to overly expensive and illegal heron plumes. The page they're on is a 8.5x11 for size reference. In the image below from left to right..... - dyed blue ear pheasant - bronze grade Whiting spey bird fur - ring necked pheasant rump - silver grade Whiting spey hackle - burnt goose feathers Some close ups. blue ear pheasant bronze grade Whiting spey bird fur ring necked pheasant rump silver grade Whiting spey hackle burnt goose feathers It would seem to me that the Whiting spey hackles are far and away the best. I haven't got prices from Piscator Flies but USA online retailers are asking around $30 a neck which is a bargain compared to blue eared pheasant. The bird fur appears to be the bargain of the bunch at about $8 for half a saddle. It could be used however it wouls seem to be better suited as a replacement for marabou. CB

I'm hoping I can make it. If I do, I'll let you know. CB

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by cbinwindsor: Lady Caroline

Thanks gang. Sounds like there are more options than I realized! I'm sure that between all of these I'll be hooked up with some quality herl in no time. Thanks again, CB

Great stuff John! CB

I find that when I buy peackock herl the good fethers are often few and far between. I really haven't cared up untill this point as I used it mainly for nymph bodies but getting into some new streamers has me wanting something decent. Can you get "premium" peacock herl, is it just the luck of the draw or do you suggest a specific brand? CB

With respect to making floating bodies (stacking), as a tier, I prefer deer hair. As a fisherman I prefer foam. I enjoy sitting down and tying a nicely packed and spun deer hair fly when I'm in the mood to tie. However, when I'm getting ready for an outing and know I'll need a bunch of floating whatevers I go to foam. For wings on dries I use hair. CB

I admit, I tie flies that I like to tie and that I can do with the materials I have readily available. I'm not one to hunt for exotic feathers. I do on occasion try to immitate something and do take advice and tie for a hatch but for the most part my flies end up being easy ties that may or may not catch fish. Here are a few for the weekend. Let me know what you think. I intend to fish all of these on the swing. Saw this fly in Easter Woods and Waters and loved it. Just chicken feathers, bucktail, dubbing, tinsel, thread and a hook. I think it was labelled a black ghost if I recall. Hex buggers in size 8. When I discovered these I knew they would catch fish. It's been a VERY slow season for me and to be honest I've only caught a couple bass on them but they look great in the water and are a breeze to tie so I've got a bucnch. Same fly on a 1/0 short shank hook just in case they want a meal instead of a snack. I thought these mght work for Salmon if there were any in the river. Good contrast in what is pretty much a woolly bugger. Added the bead chain eyes for no other reason than I like the way they look (alright....bad joke) :@ Same in orange. Probably makes no difference. Now I'm very interested to see what happens with this one. I wanted a dry fly that I could swing and I thnk these will do. Three layers of foam and a sharpie-sized clump of deer hair should push some water and stay a float a while. Rubber legs added just 'cause. It's about 1.5" long on a Daiichi 2461 streamer hook. the hooks are of a fine wire and make excellent chernobyl ant hooks. CB

Since you asked for it, some (hopefully) constructive critisizm on the photos: First photo: Great focus on the bird, too much uninteresting grass (you could have captured more of the tree to the left). Second photo: Could be a good photo op but too much water and sky that are doing nothing. Sky is over exposed and mountains and clouds are washed out. Cool garbage on the bank has been reduced in importance. Third photo: Always shoot with the sun behind you. Too much contrast as a result. Washed out highlights on the fisherman (hat and left side) and overexposed sky. Should have been shot portrait rather than landscape. Light reflecting off the fish is washing out what should be great colour. All that being said the photos ain't that bad and were well worth taking. CB

I concur with Faster Fish. For the kind of light that you have available in those shots you should be using iso 100. A good start to moving from the auto settings is go with aperture priority. Here's why: - it controls you depth of feild (area in focus) - the aperture can be set to the lens optimum sharpness (usually f8) When you use this setting be sure to keep an eye on the shutter speed. Then make sure the speed is at least the reciprocal of the focal length (ie: 1/200 of a second for 200mm focal length). If the speed is too low, then set the aperture to a lower number until it is. Setting the aperture to a small number (ie: f2.8) means that out of focus elements will be VERY out of focus. This is a low depth of feild and is great for isolating your subject from a busy background. Increasing the aperature number means that more of the picture will be in focus. This is a large depth of feild and is good for encompassing large areas like landscapes. With respect to the lens' optimum sharpness, all lenses are sharpest at a specific aperture setting. Usually it's f8. Another benefit of f8 is you have leeway in both directions. Set the camera to aperture priority, set the aperture to f8 and be weary of the shutter speed when shooting. That's just a start. A circular polarizer is great to have on the water too. CB

Nice lookin' morsel!! I read your submission and I agree that the woolly look is great. Deer hair, although cool looking, can be a bit of a pain when you want to bang off a bunch of flies. Great tie! CB

Music to my ears! The fly was tied for a smallmouth swap. Thanks, CB

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by cbinwindsor: Rubber Legged Woolly Bugger

I bought a Danvice to get into rotary with the intention of getting a "real" vice at some point. Well I've found it. I'm sticking with the Danvice despite constant razzing from my bro in law about having a plastic vice. I haven't found a thing it does wrong. CB

Thanks everyone. I think keeping it to foam and rubber legs is the key as mentioned by CoachBob. I'll try to get my hands on the American Angler over lucnh here and see if that helps too. Thanks agin, CB