Futzer

Hi Tom, In my opinion, in order. 1) My Fingers 2) Midge sized English Hackle pliers, the ones with oval tips 3) Pamona minigrabber test clips Cheers, Futzer.

May I add, glow in the dark pearl, as my ancient Chinese secret. Cheers, Jeff.

For me, Fred, the ultimate form of our fly tying craft is fish-ability. Let me attempt to clarify that. Many times I have seen and or tied flies that another tier has exactly and painstakingly replicated, only to find when both are fished one is hands down more successful at catching fish. That is the highest level for me. Don't get me wrong; I believe any style is fully acceptable, honorable and interesting as long as a hook is employed, (tubes eventually getting one). So, finally a beautifully tied, perfect in every detail Stonefly, an octopus that looks as if it is breathing, a perfect classic salmon fly, and expertly married wing wet fly, a classic old school streamer, a perfectly made Royal coachman, are just a little bit less interesting to me than a softhackle, crab fly, wooly buggar or emerger, etc. that rules the day hook up wise. Keep up the fine work, Cheers, Jeff.

I've used one of the arm-style paper cutters once to cut some Thin Skin. It worked great. I thought they were a lot more expensive than that, though. I'll check into that. Thanks, again. Could be, I think I bought it in 1972. :-) Cheers, Futzer.

Oh J74Snook, I was so close to posting that they are specialty tweezers for plucking guard hairs from live Porcupines, or even whiskers from badgers. Sorry, my bad. Good thing salty set you straight. :devil: Cheers, Futzer.

Hi BrianH, I agree, and might add though if you are looking at a stack of 1000 hooks for your next order and you are buying all the materials. You learn to tie whipfinishes by hand. (Not Halfhitches, they are substandard). Just so you can make slightly more than minumum wage on the order. Also if you are into backpacking or any other equipment frugal endevor, tying by hand can be a rewarding trick. I really like Matarelli's and for certain things Thompsons, but mostly I hand finish. Cheers, Futzer.

Hey SaltyD, I thought the adults carried off infants that did not behave, or so I was told. Cheers, Futzer

Hi TMatt, I agree with Philly, small high quality materials, this is where genetically raised necks and saddles like Whiting are a must. I do not pull out the magnifier, either cheaters or I have a desk mounted light and magnifying glass until the 24s to 32s. Thread control is paramount, as few wraps as possible to tie in, two usually is plenty. Proportions are critical. I use a small internal micrometer to size hackles, 1.5 times the gap for standard patterns, sometimes 1 times for paraloopers etc. This is also where I would never use a true rotary vice, the neck gets in the way of mounting the tail. I have a Dynaking Pro and I angle the jaws up at about 60 degrees, so the jaw is not in my way. Keep practicing, your thread control will come. Post some of your work and We can give you more pointers. Cheers, Futzer.

Hi Mike, It looks good, but give this a try sometime. Instead of chenille, tie in your tail with an unclipped clump of marabou, so you have the stem side of the feather towards the eye. Then tie in your hackle. Then twist your tying thread around the marabou which you would normally cut off, and wind it in for the body, holding both the thread from your bobbin and the marabou at the same time. Tie it off, click the excess, and wind up the hackle. By twisting it into the thead it keeps the marabou from unravelling. Cheers, Futzer.

Rockworm has it, yes it is a Crane fly. Cheers, Futzer.

Hey ColbyJack, Tie a few olive haresear beadheads. That will blow your jiggin buddies minds. Cheers Futzer.

I don't know Big Daddy, it would be a bitch to back the drift boat down the ramp. Cheers Futzer.

DHise wrote......True for most shops. Although, I stock lady amherst and golden pheasant tails (and sometimes full skins). I like the craft stores 'cause there are sometimes good looking women walking around. Then, I run into one of you guys and.... Dave, please don't get asked to leave the local Joann's for stalking the hotties again. J/King Cheers, Jeff

I have one of those straight edged paper cutters from the Office supply, about $20 or so, I like it cause I can shape long pieces in a taper like a carrot, even up to thin leather. Works great for cutting thin pieces of a thick one. If splitting a thin piece, I use an exacto knife, and a steel edged ruler. Cheers, Futzer.

Hi Lewy, Now that's a big Crappie. Cheers, Futzer.

Fess up Terje, you fish that on the bottom as a nymph. J/King. Nice bug! Cheers, Futzer

Sounds like time to go crappie fishing to me. Cheers, Jeff.

Dragon Fly for sure, most likely blown back into the water and to the sandy bottom. Go looking bankside in the willows, tree bark, shed sides etc. Bet you find many more. Cheers, Futzer.

I like the TMC's for most everything, Gamakatsu's for streamers and Meat Whistles. I am trialing some Togens right now, and for the price are good quality. Carrie Stevens 10X streamers by Partridge. Cheers. Futzer.

Splat, rip, rip, WHAM, approved. Cheers, Futzer.

Be carefull what you wish for Mike, I did start 40 yrs ago and now take up 2 rooms with tying stuff. :-) Cheers, Futzer.

Splat, rip, rip, Wham. NICE, Futzer.

Good work Mike, Only suggestion, I would make the eyes a tiny bit larger diameter and a tiny bit closer together. Cheers, Futzer.

Top Notch Paul! Cheers, Jeff.

I think there is a good possibility that I'm crowding the eye with many of my finishes. I *know* that I have a tendency to make a thread "cone" on a lot of the heads. Those two things are probably the biggest errors I make, judging from all of your comments. So you are saying that the final whip finishes need to go down on bare or nearly bare wire, and NOT over a chunk of head thread? Guess I need to either get a good fly-tying book that explains basics in details or take some lessons. That's cool, though. What I like about the whole deal - fishing and tying - is that it takes a little learnin' to get good at it. :-) As I was stocking up on supplies, the first thread I got was Danville "210 Denier Flat Waxed Nylon". That thread kinda bugs me because it is so prone to separating into individual strands. I'm sure there is a good use for thread like that, but I don't like having to spin it back in to thread all of the time. I have since been using mostly UNI-Thread W (for waxed, I suppose) 6/0. I haven't been keeping track of whether my Danville flies fall apart more than my UNI flies. I suspect that this is more of a finishing flaw than a thread flaw. I'm pretty sure my thread tension is OK. I wouldn't say I pull everything to near the breaking point, but I have broken the thread more than once because of pulling too hard. My wraps are what I'd call pretty dang snug. Thanks for the comments! neoFLYte Austin TX Hi NeoFlyte, the 210 denier is pretty heavy thread, I would use it for spinning deer hair, but not an average trout fly. The Uni is good stuff, I use mostly 8/0 size on trout flies, 10 down to 24s. I use smaller below 24s. The comment "So you are saying that the final whip finishes need to go down on bare or nearly bare wire" Is not really necessary, the head will have a little cone shape to it, based on tying down the materials naturally create that shape. That is ok, but I tie out a hackle with 2 to 3 wraps tops, maybe add 2 or 3 more to shape the head, then whip finish. I usually do 2 whip finishes and add a tiny drop of Griffs thin head cement. I have not had a head unravel in at least 30 years. Just give the thread tension a litlle more attension and minimum amount of thread. Let us know how it goes. Cheers, Futzer.