zip

Hey y'all! Been a while since I've posted. Finish my second degree and started a job as an accountant. Survived the plague of the 21st century while I was at it! Anyway, I started production tying for side money and realized that I was spending a ton of money on the materials needed for 10 dozen of a single fly. Long story short, I have started dying my own materials. Doing a lot of rabbit, Aussie possum, squirrel, and beaver. Now, Im a purist when it comes to traditional fly patterns so I dont blend in any synthetic fiber- newer stuff is a different story! Are there any of you folks out there who enjoy this or has the world gone synthetic? Also, when I get more animals sheared, degreased, dyed, and dried, I'll put some up for grabs- no charge. The only thing I ask is that you post some pics of the fish you catch! All the best!

You and I were in the same exact boat brother! When you hit rock bottom though, you can only go up from there! Well of course he's losing weight! Take off half a leg and half your guts, and we'd *all* lose weight! (Just trying to lighten the mood for you a bit, no bad thoughts for you or your father!) I didnt take it negatively at all! We give him all kinds of hell about the leg and he takes it with a smile! Actually, I'd say you had a pretty good year. Your dad is cancer free and on the road to better health. And, you got a new boat and quit smoking. I'd say those are all pretty darned good things! :-) Guess I can't really argue with that!

Thanks for the words, Mike. I think he understands now!

Hey gents! Long time, no talk! As stated- 2019 was, for lack of better words, rough... Everything went south bound to hell Jan.3. My dad had just retired, pulled his entire 401k, left my mom (finally-they'd been divorced for 10 years and she mooched off him), bought a place on Lake Okeechobee, and was living it up. He called me one afternoon complaining that he thought he had cellulitis on his toe. Him being a diabetic, I recommended that he immediately go to the hospital, but, alas, he was stubborn. He called the next day and told me that his toe was black and green (knew immediately what I was) and was headed to the ER. Come to find out, not only was he going to lose the toe, but he had become septic. They removed the toe and started him on an antibiotic that's 10k per bag; consequently, this shut down his kidneys. So now he was minus a toe and on dialysis. They ended up taking the toe next to the one that was removed as he had developed osteomyelitis (diabetic bone infection). Eventually he headed home with wound care and a wound vaccuum. Well... after a month of the wounds not healing, they (surgeon) went in and cleaned out more infection,but ended up taking some foot bones that were infected. He again returned home only to have his gallbladder rupture and return to the hospital. During the gallbladder removal...they found cancer. Really rare cancer. A carcenoid tumor. They run through all the tests and put him on a waiting list for the surgery because he still had an infection. His kidneys finally restart at this point and I have power of attorney over everything. I speak to the surgeon on one of the 15+ trips down and ask if he would remove my fathers leg below the knee... to me, it made sense because they couldn't get ahead of the infection. The surgeon agreed and his leg was removed the following week. Three weeks after (December 17) he finally had the cancer removed from his small intestine and lost half his stomach. Not kidding- between all the major things I spoke about here, there were probably 10 other smaller surgeries and procedures happen. He is finally home and recovering. Has a prosthetic leg and losing weight he should have lost 20 years ago....and hes cancer free! On top of this, found out my and I are having trouble conceiving, but military insurance doesnt pay for those treatments...and man is it expensive! All this going on and I'm still in school working to finish my degree... The year was absolutely horrendous. It was not without the goo though. I bought a brand new Tracker 170 Pro and quit smoking (8 months now). This year is much better...thank God! Nice and smooth with school, dads doing great, wife is happy, and I woke up this morning! Back into tying too! Just finished a set of 50 classic trout flies for a friend of mine in PA. Nice to switch from synthetics to traditional materials and techniques. I need to get out and swing the buggy whip before too long!

We had a damn blast on Saturday!We caught so many peacocks it was crazy! Not only was the quantity nice, but the quality was legit! First pic is the one I kept for mounting. Its 19.25 inches. FWC says you can keep one over 17 inches per day. The pictures CB and I posted are just a few of the many we caught. On top of that, we really had an adventure. Had an iguana try and jump in the boat, I ended up wearing a ladies hat, essentially fished in people's back yards, sight fished a toad for the final of the day. We always have a good time out there.

Cant argue with that.My guess would be that it just came off a bed

Today I caught my new personal best...Talked to caloosa about it and he thinks its 10+!!!! Stuck it up on frog after a rainstorm.

I'd like to see a a good rotary vice that came with a set of jaws for small flies, set large and a tube fly attachment. What would be really sexy looking is Damascus jaws...drool!

These are for FW,but I agree,I do need some of those as well

Tied up this mess of clousers for an upcoming trip to FL.Think I covered all my color and weight bases

In that case...its a real TOAD!!!

Thanks man!Who's JS?

Went out after all those nasty storms rolled through our area. It had been cold but warmed up to around 75 for a couple days.Second cast in and I stuck this fat girl!Fishing a senko on a 1/0 weedless finesse hook with 12 pound fluro.Used a 7ft med/lt spinning setup(that was a real fight). This was the biggest of 15!What a good day!

+1 on FTD!Always good stuff at phenomenal prices!

A basic bass fly: Tail:purple hackles feathers tied in whole Body:black marabou wrapped forward to the eye. Hook-any stinger or bass hook Mix the colors and materials up.It will produce!

The tail is tied with a pinch on top and bottom,body is 3/4 sparkle dub brush and the front 1/4 I've tried the fibers in facing forward then folded them backwards.The front profile is round/teardrop. I appreciate the kind words Dave!Hope all is well buddy!

I actually find they fish better tied less densely fwiw. The colors still pop in the water. I tie them about 5" long, you could find that getting smacked by some big fish ! This time of year around here big breeder pickerel love those things ( like 29" pickerel that are roaming in 5-11 ft of water now). And later going into May the big bass like them (around here anyway). Nice pattern, once you fish it you will see what I mean about tying them less dense or more sparse, which ever way you want to look at it. They flow better in the water imo. It will still fish as is though. I appreciate the advice Dave!Will do on my next one! Hope you're right bud!

I use CLP on my spinning reels.I got turned on to it in the service. Used it to lube all my weapons.Works great on something with lots of gears and moving parts

I too enjoy Ligas dubbing.Havnt used wapsi dubbing in more than 10 years.

Been practicing with craft for and EP a lot lately. This is the best I've produced. Tying a bunch up for Okeechobee next week!Should be a killer! Any advice on this one? Steve

I'll second that for Mary Orvis Marbury!Practically pioneered fly for bass.Developed some absolutely stunning patterns with some unusual materials.

Eric Leiser,Charlie Craven,Blacker and Kelson, Ron Blessing, Al Beatty, and Davie McPhail. All played a major role in my being able to tie flies correctly and are still huge inspirations.

Really nice!Myself-Im a bit more of a purist,but when it comes to warm water;I'll try anything that works!

I would be interested to see if it has the same fall flutter that the senko is famous for.

That's a genius throught! I may start using some craft fur on spey patterns!