FloydianSlip

I reuse my hooks for personal use. I usually end up with a bunch of beat up flies and experiments-gone-abomination at the end of the season. I spend an afternoon cutting them apart and sorting the hooks. This brings up another question. Is there a faster way to destroy old flies and salvage the hooks without comprimising the integrity of the hook? I thought about burning the flies off. I'm not sure if that will hurt the hook or not.

I just read an article from http://www.wwdoak.com/byhook.htm. It brought an interesting point that allowing people to fish waters may be the only method of stopping illegal activity on the water. Are there any stories out there of people actually stopping or confronting illegal acitvity? What were the results of your efforts? Illegal activity includes poaching, fishing without a license, or any regs that are broken in your area. I've only had an argument once with a spin caster who was annoyed at a fly fishing only regulation on a river. Nothing came of it, and I didn't report it. I also never saw him on the water again. Anyone else?

I'm in I'll do a braided body caddis pupa.

I'm in I'll be tying Ice Cream Cones for the lot of us.

Sent mine air mail from Canada yesterday. Hopefully be there within a week

This is a cool fly. It looks like a could-be fly...could be a number of things without really being any one thing - Very tasty looking

I'm in woven bodied caddis softhackle

Hehe, interesting thread The final answer will come when nanobots are implanted in each hook to detect which fly is tied on so that the originator is awarded a buck and a half each time it's tied. When that happens, let the lawsuits begin!

A broad answer for a broad question I look for a good price without sacrificing good quality. For hair products, I look for hunted patches rather than packaged hair. I usually can find larger quantities for less, and if the seller knows his stuff, he's selling a good fly-quality patch. Hackles - i spend too much money on, but I try to buy something that will last months or years (I wonder if I'll ever make it through that cape?) Dubbing - there's a fly shop down the street who does all of his own dying and bagging on dubbing, both natural and synthetic. Price is very good, and he's an expert fly tier. I've not been disappointed by his products. Did I mention his prices bury other fly shop prices? Of course there is the hobby section in any store that isn't fly tying related. They often have staples for fly tying that are used in many crafts and often beat the price by an unfair margin. I think if I made something, I would have to add "Fly tying material" on the label and mark the price up by about 200%. Cost is huge to me, especially when the quality can be found elsewhere. I can only see spending a lot on good quality hackles. Everything else can be bought in bulk or found in other stores for a fraction of the cost.

I really like the border between realistic and impressionistic. It seems that the realistics look so good but don't often suggest life with moving parts. I guess that depends on the tier and the fly but for the most part, they look like a replica that a guy could find in a wax museum. At my favorite fly shop, the owner would sit down and get on semi-realistic tying streaks. He would make beautiful flies but add flare to them to either attract attention or suggest life. I've never seen him use the realistic materials used here. He would always use commonly found materials, mostly natural. If he were to set them at a place where you'd not normally see bugs, they might frighten a person (like me) who is terrified of ugly insects. I voted impressionistic because my tying skills are still bound to impressionistic. I try to take some ideas (like heat bending goose biots and weaving larva lace) but they still don't look anything like the beauty I find on this site.

I've tried caddis patterns tied this way. They skate beautifully without sinking too often. When the hair is left trimmed, often skating it will pull it under the water. Nice Fly moskito

Wow, those are really beautiful work. Very cool ideas too.

That kind of leaves a bit of a sick feeling in my stomach. Everybody knows the fight is fixed, The poor stay poor and the rich get rich. -Leonard Cohen

Silly question coming... What is eminent domain?

QUOTE WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU LET YOUR PETS NEAR YOUR TYING STUFF?? Cats learn quick that bugs bite back. If their curiosity is satisfied, they generally leave stuff alone. I tied a half-zonker on a string and I've never seen her attack something so ferociously. I guess it's my winter fix for fishing to catch my cat on a big ol' zonker.

I'm a little curious about the health hazards of natural materials if my pets should get into them. It seems my cat loves zonker strips a little too much with ostrich hurls being a close second. Most of these are bought from a flyshop, but a couple of these are hunted. Is there anyone who knows what kinds of bad things could happen if my cat ingested an item or two?

Must remember http://www.westfly.com It's got a huge database of patterns, tactics, water reports, entomology, etc etc. Very easy to use

Good luck to you Skunked and SteelDrifter. I quit for a year and a half before caving in again. Two things that helped me quit. Zyban! (Huge help) and buying myself something small everyday that equalled about how much I smoked. It's how I started fly tying again. Two things that helped me start back up. Moving in with a roommate who smoked like a chimney, and friends who gave me cigarettes when I asked for them. Use any means necessary to quit, and use any means necessary to avoid caving in. :(It's a very costly way to send yourself to an early grave smells bad the fairer gender hates it it's worse than illegal in Canada (the law and nonsmokers treat you worse than animals in many cases) and the list goes on... On the plus side of quitting: it's full bragging rights for those who succeed (I so look forward to that again) the girls smile at you more spare bucks not having to worry about going to the store at 1 AM because you ran out not having to leave a great conversation to go on a smoke break more fishing days (because of money and health) healthier libido ...and the list continues forever! The good news is if you do cave in, you can quit again. Keep at it guys...I will be joining you soon.

I'm in I'm going to tie a spun deer hair sculpin pattern. Don't know the name but it's big, ugly, and effective.

From Kamloops BC - just moved here last summer from the West Kootenays. My favorite 3 will likely change by the end of the season due to the vast amount of still water fishing here and limited stream fishing. My new favorite three will likely end up being: Bloodworm chironomid, Makuluk Sedge and that very beautiful breathing dragon my Mr. Akl. But that's just a guess...can't wait to find out

I think wings catch more fishermen than fish. If I were buying them, I would look for well tied wings. It would indicate the tier knows his stuff. But to tie them, I don't know that the fish would mind eating a wingless Adams. I get frustrated with wings too, but all the pretty pictures of Adams have wings so I make a best effort to tie them on with mixed results. Sometimes I end up with an Adams with only one wing. I haven't fished one yet, but I think it will probably twist my leader. Likely I'll rip it off when nobody is looking.

I heard of a catch and release derby sort of like this. It was a long weekend derby where you took pics of what you caught. It was more of a choose the fly you want and use only that fly for the day. If you lose it, you're done for the day. I like your idea. Random is good.

It's been a while (10 or more years) since I've had to prepare taxes for my own business. Last I remember I could write off everything related to my job. If you've done any guiding, you can probably write off some fuel, food, and supplies. All of your purchases (each box of hooks, hackle, etc). Coffee can be a big one - it's considered an office expense. If you ever use nail polish on your flies, write off your wife's nail polish purchases if you have the receipts. I'm pretty sure you could write off a fishing trip or two somehow if you can prove it was for your business (testing new flies for marketing purposes??) Any travel expenses for seminars or tying shows or symposiums, etc. Just some ideas you may have already calculated. There are tax guidlines for writing off a portion of your living quarters if it is dedicated to your business, but I don't know what it is - I wasn't in that type of business. Some folks are really good at paying very few tax dollars by incorporating their purchases for their business. Ask some subcontractors about the kinds of things they write off. The amount of tax some of them legally pay is so low it's almost funny.

The wind is blowing hard, the tempurature is just above freezing, and another cold snap is on the way which will drop tempuratures to the -20c (-4f). It's really heartbreaking after a couple weeks of near tee-shirt weather and ice off beginning. I'd rather be fishing too.

I'm usually a person who needs answers even if the question is about a tiny, insignificant detail. I get hung up on these little details and my hoppers (and Mr. Akl's Breathing Dragon) would have to wait, legless, until I knew for sure what the most vain way to tie them are. So if there are any other newbies struggling (probably only me) the answers are as obvious as I should have guessed. Knotting pheasant tail is an exercise in frustration. Use a hook to pull the fibers through the loop, hold your tongue just right for just long enough, and you'll get the knot in the position you need. There aren't any real clear answers if clipping them is something that is commonly done. But in all of the picture perfect flies I see the legs are not clipped. Too bad...it would be much easier. The fish probably don't care. They would likely eat a hopper whether it has legs or not. It's really for my own eyes that the look of the legs really matter. I guess I'm a bit of a leg man A simpler answer might be to go out and buy pre-knotted pheasant tail...and even easier, buy a tool to do it, or (gasp) use rubber.