PENZZZ

1949 Plymouth sedan, flathead six. Three on the tree. Slept eight people.... Ha!

Each winter I tie several “experimental” patterns for hatches I’ll encounter in the upcoming season. That isn’t what bugs me. During the season I fish the experimental patterns and find one to be very effective. That isn’t what bugs me. With this newfound success I return to the vise to tie some more, and after some evaluation decide the pattern might be more effective if I change this or that. That isn’t what bugs me. The next season I eagerly tie the new pattern to my leader - to find not a single trout is interested in the fly. THAT is what bugs me!!!!

Nice theme!

fbhenry, don't give up on those old Metz capes, unless the feathers have all been damaged by the moths. If you're finding the stems are becoming brittle and breaking as you begin wrapping them on a fly, the feathers are still serviceable if you first hydrate the stems. I have quite a few old Metz necks and for specific flies still acquire one now and then. Jeff

Welcome Thomas, please help us understand how you prepare your flies for trout conditions in Germany. Jeff

For fly photography I use the macro setting on my camera, and mount my camera on a tripod. A felt backdrop minimizes reflection from the background. For lighting (I shoot in a nearly dark room) I mount an LED video light around ten inches behind and slightly above my camera so the light shines just over the top of the camera. I made an adjustable bracket to hold the light out of an aluminum yardstick. My LED light has adjustable brightness and temperature. Since the light stays on (not activated by the camera) my camera is set up to keep the shutter open for 0.5 to 1.5 seconds. This creates as much depth-of-field as possible. I don’t have my notes in front of me so can’t tell you the camera and light settings I use - but you’d have to learn what works best for you anyway. Google “LED video light” to see what’s out there.

I thought I’d heard high winds Sunday downed some power lines, causing brush to ignite. Regardless of cause, citizens are suffering terribly. The area will be impacted negatively for a long time.

Don’t live there, but my wife and I are in the process of unraveling an October 28 house rental near Glen Ellen.

A good reason to consider using the natural materials mentioned above, hackle barbs and CDL, is that natural materials will spring back into shape if you steam your used flies. Tails can be bent out of shape from use, or when stored in a crowded fly box. Synthetic materials, including microfibbets, generally won't spring back into shape when steamed. Same principle applies to parachute style flies. Posts made from natural materials will respond to steaming by springing back into their upright position. Poly materials won't.

This may not be the type of answer you're looking for, but I'd research the stream for the timeframe you'll be there. I'd be looking for Mayfly and Caddis species that might be active during that time. Then, decide on imitations to match a couple of their lifecycle stages.

At our local TU chapter fly tying program I suggest: when dubbing a dry fly "use half as much dubbing as you think you need, then you'll only be using twice as much dubbing as you really need".

Visit wellerfish.me for lots of information about fly fishing colorado. Dave is a good friend and former Pennsylvanian who transplanted around 1990. Everything you need to know about stream fishing in Colorado is located on his site.

Consider that line weight designations for fly rods generally (there is no industry standard) indicate line weight that loads the rod properly with thirty feet of line plus your leader past the fly rod tip top. If you’re going to fish consistently below thirty feet, the short length of three weight line beyond your tip top may not load your rod adequately. Before you purchase the three weight line, borrow a four weight line from a friend and give it a try on stream.

Not Black Quill which has three tails. A unique characteristic of the Black Quill is that the center tail is shorter than the outer two. Jeff

Excellent Grannom, would fish very well on Central Pennsylvania streams.

Another reason it's difficult to establish value without inspection is that we can't tell the condition of the stems. I continue to collect older Metz necks as I like specific colors for certain applications. Depending upon how the neck was stored, the stems may have become brittle with time, and may break when the tier begins to wrap around the shank of the hook. This doesn't mean you can't use the feathers, you just need to press the thicker part of the stem between a damp paper towel fold for around ten seconds before tying in. This injects moisture into the stem, softening it up a little and avoiding breakage.

Ligas and Fly-Rite, though more course than the Superfine dubbings of today, retain their colors better when wet. With all dubbings, and more so with Superfine dubbings, it's important to do wet-tests before tying up flies. I find Superfine dubbings darken out more when wet than Ligas and Fly-Rite. ...and if yer' real old: You'll remember when gold tinsel was made of metal....... Ha!

Steve, I disagree with your statement slightly. If you and I both test a blank and arrive at an ERN of 5.5, we'll agree that we arrived at the the same objective value. But that doesn't mean you and I will enjoy fishing the same line weight through the rod, even at similar distances. I may love the rod with a four weight line and you may love it with a five weight line. So the ERN value, while an objective value, may mean something different to individual builders/anglers. Otherwise, the developer of CCS might have called the value ERW for effective rod weight. Update: As I was thinking some more about this, I believe the original publication of CCS labeled what we now know as ERN as ELN, but this was too definitive as to what the value meant. Kirkman would know for sure. Some people go into the CCS wanting it to give them all the answers, but it can't due to different casting styles and requirements. I am a big proponent of the system - obtaining an ERN value for a blank goes a long way for me in determining what line weight I will enjoy if I build the rod out. As you know, it also allows builders to use ERN/AA of an existing rod to try matching up with new blank.

I have some older Metz necks and with some of them the hackle stem breaks part way through when the feather is wound on the hook. I simply use some well dampened paper towels to soften the stems. Fold the wet paper towel over on the feather and hold for awhile so the stem absorbs some moisture. Should help avoid fracturing the stem.

Regarding leader composition, an area to focus on is the transition of energy from your fly line to your leader. In my opinion the stiffness (not diameter) of the butt section of your leader should be similar to the stiffness of the end of your fly line. Fly line and specific leader material stiffness will vary so no hard and fast rule here. I've found that the tip section of my DT 4WT fly line was way more supple than 25 pound Maxima which was causing my leader to not roll out properly (more pronounced on a bamboo rod than fast action graphite). So for the slower bamboo rod I went down to fifteen pound butt section Maxima, and the problem went away. I did the same with leaders for a three weight graphite with good results.

"my question is, is this thing supposed to spin on the vertical shaft all the time? I cant figure out how to stop it." I'm a barricuda user and am not sure I understand the question completely, but will try to answer as I interpret the question. I believe you're saying the jaws always return to the upright position if you rotate the vise manually. In other words if you rotate your fly upside down and let go of the vise, the mass of the jaws will cause the fly to rotate 180 degrees, so the fly is right side up. If this is what you're asking, look at the horizontal barrel where the bearings are located. There are thumb screws on the front of the barrel and on the rear of the barrel. Tighten the rear thumb screw slightly until it creates some resistance on the horizontal shaft. If set properly your jaws can still be rotated, with some resistance, but when you let go the jaws should stay in the position where you let go. Hope this helps.

"my question is, is this thing supposed to spin on the vertical shaft all the time? I cant figure out how to stop it." I'm a barricuda user and am not sure I understand the question completely, but will try to answer as I interpret the question. I believe you're saying the jaws always return to the upright position if you rotate the vise manually. In other words if you rotate your fly upside down and let go of the vise, the mass of the jaws will cause the fly to rotate 180 degrees, so the fly is right side up. If this is what you're asking, look at the horizontal barrel where the bearings are located. There are thumb screws on the front of the barrel and on the rear of the barrel. Tighten the rear thumb screw slightly until it creates some resistance on the horizontal shaft. If set properly your jaws can still be rotated, with some resistance, but when you let go the jaws should stay in the position where you let go. Hope this helps.

Can't really say I prefer bamboo, as some older models I have are heavy in hand so don't get fished very often. But blanks made by current makers with new tapers, some hollow built, are lighter than older bamboo rods and sometimes with a faster action. One such blank was made for me by Dennis Stone, and I really enjoyed the assembly process. This 7'6" 4 weight is fun to fish, and proved capable of effective presentations. Some very nice trout cooperated on its first outing. Jeff

It was in my DNA, I just didn't know it. My maternal grandfather was an avid fly fisherman who tied his own flies. My mother remembers being a five year old, sitting on his lap while he tied flies, sneaking his little scissors now and then to clip hair from her forearms. That was around 1930. She also remembers sitting in the back seat of the family sedan, whining siblings around her, darkness setting in, father off on a trout stream. Her mother tried to sooth everyone by saying he'd be back soon. She knew better.... My grandfather died one year before I was born in 1953. A few years after college I was spin fishing the Little Lehigh creek during an evening in May. The trout weren't interested in my spinner, but they sure were interested in the insects on the water's surface. My mind raced off to the deer hide (another story) in the trunk of my car. I went to the car determined to create a fly using monofilament to attach some hair to a snelled hook - I failed. I also realized I had no way of presenting my creation. This experience led to the purchase of a fiberglass fly rod and a Pflueger reel. A fly tying vise soon followed. None of my mother's siblings ever showed an interest in fly fishing, so I guess my grandfather's fly fishing genes leapt over a generation. Over the years I've had the good fortune to receive his fly box with flies, and his tying vise, from relatives.

Thanks for posting ckpj99, you're motivating me to photograph my Grandfather's collection of flies. My Grandfather died in 1952, one year before I was born. I guess his love for fly fishing leapt over a generation because none of his six children had an interest. Fortunately for me the wife of my uncle contacted me after Uncle Bruce died, offering a multiple-compartment box full of flies - my Grandfather's fly box. My uncle had shown it to me once. Not long after that a cousin contacted me, offering my Grandfather's fly tying vise. Of course I was ecstatic to have flies and vise in my possession. My mother tells me stories of when she was just a child, sitting on Grandfather's lap while he tied flies, occasionally sneaking his scissors to clip hairs from her arm. That would have been around 1930. Another story was about my Grandmother and some of the children waiting impatiently in the family sedan as darkness set in over a local stream. I sometimes wonder if I've fished in his footsteps on our local limestone streams. Looks like I have a great winter project to look forward to. The Balliet Collection. Thanks for sharing, Jeff