Catalpa_Joe

Look like deer flies

I've got the same Fenwick 8 1/2 ft 7wt rod that I built back in the late 70's. Except for 3" that the wife broke off while vacuuming too close to it. I've rewrapped the guides once & still use it every time I go out. Bass & bluegills & crappies. It does everything I need. I built a 9 ft 9 wt carbon rod about 15 years ago after all the hype I was reading & hearing. I hate that rod. Find one that works & stick with it.

1955 Chevy, 4 door, 265 c.i., automatic

Got mine today. Good job everyone. Thanks for hosting BB.

Mine went in the mail today.

I'll be tying a green & yellow popper.

Here's a pic of some Flo Green Chenille I bought from a supplier in Western Canada a couple years ago. I can't remember who it is. Can anyone help or advise a US supplier. The chenille is flo green about 3/16" dia, maybe a tad smaller & very soft. Not stiff bristles like some I bought recently from Cabelas. I checked H&H in the US but no go. The label on the package said H&H Canada. Thanks in advance for any leads you can furnish.

1. Swappers that are late. 2. Swappers that drop out without notice. 3. Swappers that don't send enough return postage. Then there's guys like Floyd who always sends extras for EVERYONE. Thanks Floyd. Then there was the guy from Canada who sent $5 US for $2 return postage. He even said keep the change. All in all it's wothwhile, but there are those days.

1/2 cup cornmeal 1 cup white flour 1/4 tsp garlic powder, not garlic salt mix well dip fish in egg wash, then dredge in flour mix, fry in canola oil till golden on both sides.

And you thought it was BAD news! It was one of those GOOD days.

Bloop, How much gap do you leave in the top of the box before putting the lid on? Do you tape it closed or just snapped in place? What happens if you don't put the lid on? I was thinking about using Great Stuff, the expanding foam insulation for around wall outlet boxes & door frames. Anybody try it yet?

Thanks Cencafly, the 7500 was said in jest, it's not even in my wildest dreams. When I left they said if I ever wanted to come back or work part time to let them know, but they called me!! I've got several good friends there & I want them to have a long & fruitful future. It's only been a couple of months & haven't tied the first fly yet, something I really wanted to do a lot of. Before retirement I often thought if I could just work Jan & Feb, when I don't get outside much, would be the perfect situation. Maybe I'm getting my wish. I checked further into the SS. They say the 14160 is prorated to 1180 per month. So if I earn over 1180 per month I lose that month's SS payment. If the price is right I'll give it a go!

Great ideas everyone. I've thought about working from home but the 3d software requires way more computer than I've currently got or need for anything else. I'll check it out to see what it requires & price a new one just to check that box. The SS income limit for me is $14160 before I lose part of that benefit. I know they bid this project at $90-$100 for engineering hours. But with automated assembly equipment, which this is, for the automotive folks, there's usually a penalty fee for late delivery, usually 1% per week. So on a $750,000 system that's $7500 per week. I'm pretty sure that's what they're up against. So maybe I'm worth just a little bit more to them than I originally thought. Do you think I could really get $7500 per week? I was originally thinking $3k, but who knows. I'll bet they hope I've forgotten it was over 6 years since my last raise!! I'll find out next week!!

I got a surprise phone call today from the company I retired from several months ago. They've got a project with a short delivery date & nobody in house to the 3d mechanical design. They hired a replacement for me but he/she isn't up to speed yet. Good help is hard to find were the words they used!! So they want to talk to me about coming back for a while to get them out of trouble. So my question is this. What am I worth with no beny's. 20% more, 30% more, 50% more? What's the going rate for contract work these days? I don't want to bend them over too bad, but gas is supposed to be $4.50 soon & it's a 45 minute drive each way on a good day, close to an hour when the roads are bad. The money would be nice but I'm real content sleeping in until 8, then lunch & the afternoon nap too.

I got mine today. Great job everyone. Thanks for hosting Margaretann & Merry Christmas to all.

I tried to scrape any remaining flesch off of several that I got in South Dakota recently. I found the skin to be very thin & impossible to scrape down completely like I did a deer hide several years ago. I used 50/50 mix of kosher salt & borax applied to the skins for about 2 weeks. Then into a zip bag & into the freezer until ready to tie some flies.

Done & in the mail today. Thanks for hosting Margaret.

Almost done. Addy please.

Works for me.

Here's some pics from my pheasant hunt last week in SD. We had a great time & saw some new country. There's sure a lot of open space there with towns 30-40 miles apart. Note the 65 mph speed limit sign on a two lane highway. The group photo is from one day when we limited out in about 3 hours. The one with the birds on the back of the truck was the next day. Again limited out in about 6 hours. I brought home lots of feathers & would like to share them with you. So here's the deal. The first (10), U.S. only, to PM me will get a large bunch of tail feathers. All you need to do is send me a book of 1st class postage stamps. I'll furnish the envelope & get them out to you right away so you can stay busy this winter.

Thanks everyone. Item #1 on my bucket list will get checked this week. I leave tomorrow for a week of pheasant hunting in South Dakota.

I'm in with my Green Head Special. Do you want us to send 12 or 13 flies?

Thanks EF. Luck had nothing to do with it. I didn't say I won the lottery. Hard work & a frugal lifestyle did it for me.

It's finally here!!!!!!! I retired today. No more 30 mile drives thru the snow to get to work. No more deadlines to get that next job out the door. No more thankless customers who don't realize it's THEIR product variations that has caused the project to be late. It's now MY time. To sleep as late as I want. To go fishing when I want. To go hunting when I want. To spend weekends with my grandchildren when I want. To watch & enjoy the sunsets every night without worrying about what the next day at work will bring. Yep, I'm enjoying it right now!!

What was your work before retirement & how is life after retirement? I'm getting real close to pulling the plug. There's lots of flies to tie, fish to catch & geese to hunt. I just feel like I need to NOT be working right now.