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OK, I had to look it up, it's just a hen Ringneck Pheasant. Common, plentiful, naturalized throughout much of Europe and N. America, fully legal (in the US). Good wet fly and soft hackle material. The picture you posted is a nice looking pelt, but it seems, to me, a bit overpriced (an eBay special?). As SBPatt and Crackaig have shown, though, you can do a lot with it. Basically, it can be substituted in any pattern that calls for game bird hackle or body feathers. The wings can sub. for turkey, grouse or guinea.

A few hours out in full sun is probably the best natural disinfectant. Here in the South, where we wade on slime covered bounders, several states have backed off on banning felt. It is a safety issue.

I'm afraid it all depends on the warden. When I was in Yellowstone, a couple of years ago, the warden that checked me was OK with me just pinching the barb on the fly I was using (although I did have to demonstrate that I had the necessary tool with me.) From what I've seen and heard, most are like that, but you can always run into someone who is having a bad day.... I'd do what Troutguy suggested, and just carry a small box of barbless flies with me. If you need another fly, go back to your car, pick out what you want to try, and debarb it.

...make it a point to wade in salt water between each fresh water outing? I have 2 sets of waders and boots. I switch gear between watersheds, if my gear hasn't completely dried from my last outing. Normally, it's at least 5 days between outings, so it's a rare problem.

OK, Troutguy asked me. Sounds like fun. The only hard part is deciding who to ask myself.

...which, if you have to mail order the thread anyway, why not get fly tying thread? Like the others, I've used standard sewing thread on larger flies. It works fine, even if it isn't as pretty. Cotton coated polyester is the most common type of sewing thread. It will build fast, and look fuzzy. If you are making a bulky, fuzzy looking fly (like a size 4 woolybugger) what does it matter if you add a bit of extra fuzz to it?

Expensive ones were silkworm gut. Cheap ones were catgut - at least that's what I was told.

...and practice, practice, practice.

What goes 'round comes 'round. When I was a kid, in the 1950's, dad was still using catgut for leaders, and you could get it, cheap, at any bait and tackle shop.

Definitely! If the pattern isn't working, I back up to where I went wrong, and do it again. As has been suggested, though, with practice comes consistency. The more times I tie a pattern the less often I have to back up, but there's little point in finishing a fly I won't ever fish.

I guess my point is, contact Okuma. If it isn't buried somewhere on their WEB site, I'm sure they can pull a spec. sheet and tell you.

My guess would be goose shoulder. They've obviously been trimmed, so we can't really see the full size and shape.

According to the Okuma site, the spool diam. is 74mm, and the spool width is 29mm. http://www.okumafishing.com/product/view/reels/fly-reels/cascade-1

The Chernobyl Ant is about as easy a hopper as there is. Lots of videos, this one is decent. https://youtu.be/Rc4TDNKmrXc

If the epoxy is still tacky (long after the prescribed set time), you didn't get the mixture correct. Often, as the viscosity of the 2 tube is slightly different, it is necessary to warm the tubes before dispensing. I do this by letting the tubes soak in hot water for a few minutes before dispensing. Dry the tubes with a paper towel, and then measure carefully. Also, a thorough mix is required. This is the second most common point of failure. I use a flat stirrer to turn the edges into the center, and work my way around the blob of material for about 30 seconds. If, after you've done all that, if it still stays tacky, wipe the popper down with isopropol alcohol (or DNA) and then coat with clear nail polish.

Probably you're thinking of the Albright knot. It's often used to join the fly line to the backing. Very strong, but a beast to tie.

Sure, one size larger, one size smaller, both have their purposes. Usually, one size larger is used to load the rod better on short casts (less than 40'). One size smaller generally works better for long casts, 60' or greater. Of course, every rod is different, and then there's the skill of the caster to consider....

There are official standards and there are de facto standards. The Mustad 94840 was the de facto standard for dry fly hooks for some time. The TMC 100 may be the new de facto standard, I don't know, but I do like that hook. Other than than that observation, I pretty much agree with your summation. With the plethora of hook lengths and gapes that are in vogue today, just base your proportions on the HSL, or even just the body length.

This is a common problem, when switching between brands, as there is no real standard for hook sizes. The Allan hook would appear to be 2x short relative to the Tiemco hook. You just have to adjust to get the best balance on the hook you are using. The standard hackle gauge is based on the Mustad 94840, but that isn't always appropriate for the hook you are actually using. To augment Charlie Craven's proportion chart (not original, by the way), the "standard" hook shank length is 2x the gape. If, however, the HSL is more, or less, than that, then you have to adjust accordingly. If your shank is 2xl, then you may need a slightly longer hackle, and if your shank is 2xShort, you will need a slightly shorter hackle, etc. You just have to pay attention....

Early on, someone suggested that you contact Dr. Slicks to see if they can help. I concur with that suggestion. Dr. Slicks is a small company that is very proud of their product. If they don't give you a free replacement, they may be willing to give you a discounted repair. I'm told that they disassemble and fine tune every pair of scissors they receive from their suppliers, before packaging and selling them under their own brand name. I'm sure they have the skills to refurbish almost defect you can throw at them.

I have never tried it, but, remember, Carrie Stevens was trained as a milliner (ladies hat maker) so she had a lot of experience mounting exotic feathers on hats. It's only natural she would use the same techniques to create wings for streamers. What's interesting is that she became better known for her flies than for her hats....

They came in today's mail. Interesting set of flies. Good work, y'all! I didn't expect that extra bit of fluff in the envelope. I think I can find good use for that as well. Thanks.

Piker, I swell the butts on all my bamboo rods. Not true swelled butts, but I fatten the blank going into the grip to stop the action. It does make the rod a bit quicker, overall, but bamboo is always slow when compared to graphite. I have one rod, a Payne 100 taper, that flexes all the way into the grip. It's kind of unique, and a great dry fly rod, but I don't really like that aspect of it. Most modern bamboo rods are made on the shorter tapers, which are lighter in hand, and matched with modern weight forward lines, cast all the distance you need. As I said before, I generally fish a 7' or 7'6" rod. In that length, a bamboo rod is neither heavy, slow or unwieldy. Bamboo isn't for everybody, but neither is any other material. While I build and fish both, in most instances I prefer to fish with bamboo. It just seems to come alive in my hands. I won't try to explain it any more than that.

I use bamboo exclusively, when fishing for brook trout. The flexibility of the tips keeps me from launching 4 inch fish into the next county on hook set. For most of my other trout fishing I use bamboo as well, just because I like the feel. 7' to 7' 6" is ideal for most trout streams. I only switch to graphite where I know I have a good chance of getting into larger fish, and I want to be able to land them quickly. All my rods are modern builds. My favorite is a 3-piece Cattanach 7' 6" 4wt Sir D that I built a couple of years ago.

I store mine, in the original packaging, in plastic bins with some kind of insect repellent. They'll keep for decades that way.