notenuftoys

Not really a dislike, just more of don't know what I'm doing with it. And that's synthetics like Congo Hair and EP fibers. I have enough of both to fill a fly shop, but just don't have the knack for using it to make quality flies that work right. That goes for spinning deer hair too. I don't like it because I don't know what I'm doing. But I've resolved this year to build some competence and confidence working with it. My love: hen capes and partridge capes. I love soft hackles. I love the infinite variations available. I love the different feel of different types of capes and the little techniques required to make them look good. I love the very simple thread and hackle to the more complex to the buggy hare's ear or fox squirrel flymphs.

With some Christmas cash I bought several Whiting 4B hen capes. They are softer than Brahma feathers and so far I really like them. Here's a couple cinnamon caddis soft hackles I tied a week ago and forgot to share.

I may be doing it wrong, but the fish don't know. And last I checked, that was the point.

Thanks for sharing this with the community. I've seen the powders and thought about picking up a few colors to play with but wasn't quite sure the best way to do a few at a time. I look forward to your results.

It's a competitive space, but that doesn't mean you can't make it work. Do you need to make money at it, or just a little extra revenue? The answer to that question will have an impact on how you move forward. I don't know what the margins are but when you're selling a pack of dubbing for $2.50 it takes a whole lot of dubbing to make a living. That means a lot of product needs to be stocked, which means a lot of overhead, which means you gotta move the product, which means you gotta get some advertising somehow so people choose you over someone else. If you're looking to supplement your guide service, go for it. You have the site so you just need to add ecommerce capability. You'll never know until you try. But don't try to beat the Hook & Hackle and J. Stockards at their game. Find something they aren't doing and fill that need.

I just upgraded to the iphone 8 and first the camera is far superior to the iPhone 6. I'm very impressed! Second, that trick is what I've learned works the best. And I think it's because the camera is just so much better.

I'll echo the others here that there are perfectly good tool available at Bass Pro. You don't have to spend much money. Just make sure the bobbin as a ceramic insert. Warning: over time you will become a tool junkie and a $70 bobbin will absolutely be required to tie quality flies. ;-)

From time to time I cast a longing eye at the Rite bobbins. But every time I just about buy one I remember how well the simple Griffin Supreme bobbin works for half the price. I'm a tool junkie like a lot of folks here but with limited funds I chose to spend the money on materials instead. One day, though. One day.

It's only 10:51pm, so I'm sneaking this one under the wire. I actually tied it yesterday after playing around with some materials. I wanted a bass fly with a bunch of movement, eye-catching flash and weight to get down and ride the bottom. It has a rabbit strip tail, polar chenille body, rubbers legs (weren't included in the first few I tied), schlappen collar and ice dub around the lead eyes. I call it the Vegas Hippie. I hope fish will call it lunch.

Thanks, denduke. I've struggled with biots so this was a way to force myself to tie a bunch of them over and over and see if I could figure it out. I think I did and I'm happy how the batch came out.

They won't win any beauty contests, but here's a small mess of gold ribbed hare's ear nymphs. I used Thin Skin for the wingcase and added a coating of resin.

I initially started to separate different sizes of flies but quickly realized I would have storage containers stacked floor to ceiling. So now I just combine sizes for each fly. Note that I usually don't tie more than about 3 different sizes of any fly.

Great job coming up with that little pattern. Small streams like that filled with brook trout are what I dream of at night.

I'm pretty particular about fly storage. While I'd love to have a nice wooden cabinet with drawers to store my flies, I have neither the room or the budget to build such a thing. And, I love tying a wide variety of flies, experimenting with different materials and techniques. I've found several different plastic storage containers perfectly satisfactory. Right now I have 18 different plastic containers in addition to a bunch of fly boxes. Here's breakdown: For midges (containers bought off the big auction site from China or Hong Kong): For other trout flies (these containers also came from the big auction site): For big flies for bass or saltwater, or for articulated flies, I use Bass Pro containers that are just like the Plano containers. When BP has a sale on these I grab a few more. Every fly is labeled, and every fly pattern is stored in Evernote. These makes it very easy to come back several years later and tie more.

A very buggy soft hackle with a red fox squirrel dubbed body and partridge on Firehole Outdoors hook. These are super high quality hooks.

I'm wondering about this as well. I'd like to try some foam poppers over the holidays and I've looked at Copic marker spray system but there's got to be a better (cheaper) solution.

Tied up a few Ray Charles sowbugs the other night. Then I started playing around with a soft hackle pattern using McFly foam as a tail. Then I used orange wire and orange thread to create a black and orange contrast. It looks cool, but I have no idea if it'll fish.

UV resin will pick up the color underneath it. This Evil Olive pattern reflects and magnifies the mallard flank that's underneath.

A very simple bugger with marabou, Hare'E Ice Dub in Bloody Black used in a dubbing loop and a grizzly Brahma hen collar.

Those look like they'd be deadly on anything in my local waters. Can you share a material list?

Finally getting back to the vice after being away for a little while. Tied up some soft hackles using fire orange UTC thread for the body, overwrapped with mylar and covered with Loon Flow resin. Peacock herl collar is added and Brahma grizzly is used for the hackle. A very simple fly that I hope the winter stocked trout like.

Yep, that's where I got the idea. I didn't have any measurements so we just laid out tools, threads, glues, etc to come up with the size I needed (18 inches wide).

It's not a fly and not a vice, but after planning for a while I borrowed my Dad's design brain and, using a similar style I've seen on this forum, I finally have my tools and stuff organized. I really like how it turned out.

Wow! I bought a couple several years ago for, if I remember right, about $24.

I never ordered the boxes, but picked up a bunch of Congo Hair a while back. Still have a ton of it. It's good to see him expanding his dubbing line, getting more diverse and creative. I have yet to order a bunch, but soon might have to pull the trigger on a variety. I hope he's profitable. He's a real asset to the fly tying community.