fliesaway

I've been threatening to learn to tie flies, for a couple years...finally began mid May of this year

hmm....received a present from my brother who decided to contribute to my newest addiction with a bit of a grab bag...he neither ties nor flyfishes...looks like he walked into his local fly shop and randomly picked up a few items.. he's included a couple packages of TMC hooks (yeah!)...but they're 101s instead of 100s...ie, they have flat eyes, rather than down eyes. I don't fish, I just tie...and I've been using 100s, mostly bc they seem the most popular. Can I use the flat eye hooks? Do I need to be tying different flies with those, than I have been with the down eyes? Thanks for any assistance. Laurie

any possibility of separating the pheasant into diff't categories? ie, Lady Amherst, Tail Feathers, Wing Feathers, etc.

I called one of the secretaries into my office, and she says it doesn't smell (and she's the picky one, and I didn't tell her what smell I was looking for)..so I think the lingering odor must be in my head! and as I think about it, maybe the smell was more like a big ol' cowbarn, rather than decomposing flesh. So..for the moment, I'm not going to re-open the box, I'll take it home tonight, and soak a few of them for a day or so (or 6!) and see what I think. Gotta say, I've been doing ebay for a bit now...just a few months...and generally speaking, I'm really pleased. If this one turns out to be a bust...well then I'll have to adopt your byline, and move on to new mistakes!!!! Thanks, all, for the responses. (and I'll let you know next week whether or not I have some CLEAN calf tails to trade )

WOW!!!! As a newbie fly tier, and one who does not fish, I'm working on honing some skills, and 'experiencing' working with diff't materials. And of course my problem has been that - having acquired some calf tail, I now don't know what to do with it!! I've been looking for something like the database you've created, and been unable to find it - until now... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Laurie

on a related topic, I purchased some calf tails on ebay....they arrived today, and they smell like a dead animal! I mean - REALLY bad! what do I do to get rid of the odor? Thanks for any suggestions. Laurie

gee -- so, as a newbie, using the vise that came with the basic kit I got from Bass Pro Shop (I don't even know the name of my vise - I call it Chuck )...I decided to check out this thread in order to develop a short list of vises to check out, for upgrade purposes....and you people haven't really been of much help! you're all over the board!