flyfishing99

I really enjoyed my LAW vise. One of the best vises ever made. I now use a jvice with the damasteel jaws. Never used paper on either vise. I believe someone said the Ekitch or Ekich vise is the one that costs 3,000. Not sure about that personally. I think I paid about 700 for my LAW about 10-15 years ago and sold it not long ago for 900. I hear they get more than that though. It was a thing of beauty. I wish every tier could afford to own one or a jvice. There is something special about tying on something made so well and so personally. Merry Christmas!!!

I really enjoyed my LAW vise. One of the best vises ever made. I now use a jvice with the damasteel jaws. Never used paper on either vise. Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Mele Kalikimaka from Hawaii This is the shirt I received for Christmas

It sure is and tying commercial is a pain too.. If you enjoy your hobby stick to it, if you are looking to make some money then you had better be willing to get all the tax stuff and business licenses so you can buy wholesale. Trust me I have a shop. Its tough especially during season. just remember that when the shop calls during a good season and wants flies and you want to go fishing. feel free to call me if you want to on details of tying commercially.. I used to tie a limited number of patterns for a fly shop. I didn't mind doing it, but I can tell you that you really don't make much from it. You could make a lot more taking a part-time job somewhere. The only real advantage is that I was allowed to buy stuff at the shop at wholesale. So, I never really had any money from it as I spent my earnings at the shop............................ Best of luck to you though!!!!!!!!!

Matter of perspective...damascene steel is neither cheap to produce, or easy to work...so although no tying vise may really be 'worth' $3000, I am sure that there is close to that in time/work/material investment in this vise. You should look at the Jvice and see if he has more damasteel jaws available. Probably less than 1,000 with tying table and all.

Jeff, Here it is in a nutshell: Lawrence decided not to accept any new orders, and is presently clearing order backlog. Once the backlog is cleared he will decide whether to take on any fresh orders, and build more vises. Regards, Hans W You never know...........I sold my LAW vise here about 4 months ago................

Trimming makes it ride lower, but it is still a dry fly. That also helps stabilize the fly. You don't have to trim the hackle though.

Jason Borger shows his method ( which I tried to emulate) Thanks, Byron http://fishfliesandwater.com/flies-tying/loop-wing-dun/

My next version following comment above

Thanks Frequent. I will adjust the tie-in point and try again. Byron

Hi, I've been tying for a long, long time. One fly pattern that I like and does not seem to get much attention is the Loop Wing Dun. There is very little on this fly pattern on youtube, etc. I'm not sure if I'm doing a good job on this pattern or not. If not, I would like to know what it is that I may not be doing correctly. Thanks for looking and appreciate your comments. Byron

Great idea there!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, It is "normal" zelon.

I won a tying contest of AK Best and I had not crimped the barb.

I think it was made in the mid-90's, as I recall.

Hi there! Why is it that most waterfowlers have gone to steel shot? The thing I never understood about such discussions is this: If there is even the slightest possibility that the move to lead-free weight substitutes is better for the wildlife, why not adopt it? Why continue using lead and then find out a decade from now that it is proven more dangerous to wildlife than you thought and it's too late then? Catch and Release was poo pooed a decade or so ago and now, I think you'll find most fly fishers agree that it is important in maintaining good healthy populations of trout............... Just my personal opinions, I know, but I want the fisheries and other wildlife to be better for my grandkids than it was for me. By the way, I was in the infantry and then the MP's in the late 60's and never really hunted again after I got out (Spec 4!) Somewhat interesting article here from NY State: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7908.html

Found this post on another forum: I use to think Split Shot and lead was no big deal! The amount of lead in a split shot or some lead wire on a hook. BUT AFTER SEEING A REGIONAL TV SHOW NORTLAND ADVENTURE LAST WEEK I HAVE A NEW OUTLOOK ON LEAD! THEY DID A FEATURE ON A WILDLIFE REHAB CENTER. THREE EAGLE WERE THERE FOR LEAD POISONING THIS FALL,ONE DIED! THEY STATED THAT STATED THAT LEAD AS SMALL AS A #6 BUCKSHOT CAN POISON AN EAGLE , A LOONS OR OTHER BIRDS OF PRY. iT'S A BIG JOB TO REPLACE MY FLIES AND SMALL JIGS. no more lead for me!!! Fishin' Jimmy

Hi, Not my best ties. Got up this morning and decided to tie 4 flies for June-July on the Henry's Fork River in Sparkle Duns. These flies work well there. I think the Sparkle Dun is a great style of fly and can represent most hatches on the Fork when tied in different sizes and colors. Supposed to be: Green Drake, Brown Drake, Flav, and PMD............... Thanks for looking. Appreciate your take on the concept. Byron

Hi, I have been exploring Jason Borger's blog (son of Gary Borger). Jason is a very accomplished artist as well as caster/fisher/tier. Anyway, I like his method of tying a loop wing. Tried to emulate it, but probably not up to par with his version. I went back and looked at Jason's. It is more like the one below. Somewhat sparse. It is not a particularly "good looking" fly at all. Just one that looks like it would be taken by Mr. Trout (to me at least).

Thanks Eric. Was just ready to post this photo when I saw your response.

As said earlier, similar to the early days of the catch and release movement

OK, this may be a bad start to this forum on my part, but here we go. . . I appreciate the concern for the environment and the critters we share it with. I really do. But in this case, let us consider what the quoted article states, namely that "the TWS/AFS technical review concludes that the greatest hazard arises from direct ingestion of lead ammunition and fishing tackle by wildlife, particularly birds." To which I respond, uhm if a bird or other animal ingests a fly deposited in the waterside trees and bushes, he's going to have a bigger problem than eventual lead poisoning. A hook in the gut will do him in before the lead will. Thanks to all for the tips on using lead and lead substitutes. I'm glad to see there is a consensus on how to do it That was just one quote I found. A number of states are considering, or have passed, laws banning lead from fishing tackle. This reminds me of "catch and release" about 15 years ago. It was not well accepted by all at the time. I think most fly fishermen have adopted catch and release now - except, perhaps, in stocked streams with adequate hatchery production. Personally, I don't use lead anymore and don't keep fish. I don't think any of us want a bunch of lead on the bottom of our streams (I think most lead gets lost on logs/rocks underwater in the stream).

Hi, When I used to fish the Frying Pan, the best pattern was a CDC comparadun. However, it had either wood duck fibers or mallard flank fibers in front of the CDC. Gave a better definition to the wing. Anyway, I use to tie these myself, but I am having trouble doing it again. I do not recall if you use cdc feather tips with wood duck feather tips in front of it. \ Could someone tie one for me, show a photo, and describe the method of marrying the wing fibers? Thanks, Byron

That sure is a great storage system. Any idea of cost and where it was purchased?

you might be but i'm not! i dont think this thread is about substitutes my reply would have been the same for that too! Thing is, lead is bad for the fisheries. In many rivers, it is banned. There are fine lead-free substitutes available. From an internet report: "lead tackle also poses a potential toxicological threat. Lead (Pb) is a nonessential heavy metal with no known functional or beneficial role in biological systems. Although lead is relatively stable, under some environmental conditions (e.g., soft acidic water, acidic soil), lead objects can weather and the element can mobilize, spreading the toxic properties. However, the TWS/AFS technical review concludes that the greatest hazard arises from direct ingestion of lead ammunition and fishing tackle by wildlife, particularly birds"