jburge

I'm in -- Foam Back Humpy John

Received Robert M's Tape Wing Caddis in yesterday's mail. Boy, these are sweet! The iridescence of the wings is really amazing. Thanks Robert! John

Sweet! Thanks, cencal. John

Received another set of gorgeous flies in yesterday's mail from Big E. This guy knows how to raise the bar. Thanks! And, we're getting close. Just a few more to receive. As soon as they're all in, I'll turn 'em around as quickly as possible. You guys should hit the water with this set ;-) John

Ha! Bob, too funny Thanks, Big E! And just a bump for everybody else. We're a week out from the deadline. If you haven't sent your flies yet, I'm PM'ng you my address. Can't wait to put 'em all together. Thanks, everybody! John

Ha! I'll go through what's left-over. I'm not sure they're "sale" worthy John

Jeff, Those are killer looking! Seriously beautiful job! One of the color combos that works for us locally is bleached elk hair (or white bucktail) for the tail, orange ice dub for the underbody, orange foam, and black and white centipede legs. All the combos look great. John

'tyer, Well, um, uh, uh, the majority of them have already undergone "razor blade recycling." Oops. I'll take some pix of the ones that are left though. John

OK you guys, I have a confession. My imagination carried me away. I had dreams of using Softex on some partridge feathers for a mottled caddis wing, furling a brown antron body, adding some black CDC, furnace hackle, and peacock herl to come up with a different kind of caddis. I've now tied close to 30 of these little buggers, and I'm still not happy with 1) the consistency of the wing shape, and 2) the way they sit in the water. The only one of these that I liked, I gave to fishingbobnelson when we had lunch ;-) Sooooooo.... I'm going to make the last fly in our group an olive X-2 Caddis. Hope you don't mind. I took some pix already of the Softex "dipping" process, so I can post those and show you how the wings turned out. I still think there's a use for 'em somewhere. Thanks! John

Beautiful flies and creative display. Thanks for sharing! John

Received Flytyer14's Henry's Fork Caddis in yesterday's mail. These are definitely fish-catching flies! I'm just amazed at how great a set of caddis flies this is going to be. Thanks! John

Fabulous pix! Thanks for posting. John

Received Old Hat's X-Caddis flies in yesterday's mail. Wonderful! Beautifully tied and another gem in our collection. Thanks! John

You got it. Sent you a PM. Thanks! John

Ah, the advantages of living near one of your swap mates. fishingbobnelson and I had lunch today, plus he handed off a beautiful set of light Elk Hair Caddis. Man, you guys are going to love these flies. Not only great flies, but a great time. Thanks Bob. John

You got it. Sent you a PM. Thanks! John

I just love going to the mailbox and picking up flies. Received jrbean1's Sedge Caddis group yesterday, and fabulous job! This set of caddis dries is getting better by the day. John

Got my flies in yesterday's mail, and wow! This is a mighty fine set. There's nothing like going to the mailbox and picking up a new box of flies. Thanks to all, and thanks Joe for hosting. John

Sent you a PM...

Robert, No worries. I'll bet they catch fish! :-) John

They will catch fish :-) Be sure to save the fly too, when you haul in your catch. I saved the first Adams I ever tied that caught a rainbow. The fly was big, ugly, and all out of proportion. The fish didn't seem to mind. You're doing a great job. Just some tips that helped me: - Remember, less is better. Whether it's the tail, the body, or the hackle. - Some of the hackle appears to be oversized for the hook. - Think about tying in the tail directly above the barb. That'll also be your starting point for the body. You've done a good job too of not crowding the head. Get out and fish those bugs :-) You're well on your way. John

Along with Skip's book (great one), Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying is another go-to on my desk. John

SullyTM's flies got here in yesterday's mail. All I can is, wow! A great set of flies to kick us off in our caddis collection. John

OK, thanks guys. I'll get to work on the new bug. I'm envisioning a furled body with a tent styled wing. Still experimenting, but it should be fun. And Bob, good idea on the pattern and steps. I'd be glad to do it. John

If you guys are alright with the idea, I'll fill out the 12th spot too. We're just one short of a dozen tiers, and I don't want to wait too long before filling up the swap. Besides, I just got home from an amazing class with John Ryzanych of ICON Products, makers of Softex. I'm seeing applications of this stuff in a whole new light and have some ideas for a different kind of caddis. Sound OK? (I've already finished my October Blimps so I'm looking for more to do ;-)) John