BassMouth87

Was planning a review for the rod yes, I have been czech nymphing with my 9'6 6wt for brown trout and have been wishing for a little more reach and a lighter more sensitive rod, this should work nicely.

Cannot wait to get this bad boy here...have been putting off getting a reel until I can have it in my hands and balance it properly...thinking this will be another deadly tool in my arsenal. Glad you like the inscription Mike, I have been on a nymphing kick lately and figured it was humorous lol. Going to be seeing how this rod performs with the wet fly swing as well, should by deadly on the small trout streams in my area.

LOL have to try my hand at some of those in the future and stick with them, great looking fly Jam.

Ring Neck Pheasant,

http://fanaticaltying.blogspot.ca/2014/04/dont-drink-kool-aid.html An article on using kool aid to dye fly tying materials.

I would feel the same, I learned lots saw lots of old faces and made new friends learned new techniques. I went in figuring I would not do to well so it was a shock to finish up 3rd, competition for me at least is about doing my best abs growing and learning.

Glad to hear you guys are liking the pattern...this style of pattern easily makes the top of my confidence flies list.

I honestly in the past thought the same thing..I have a few books that touch on competitive fly fishing, that being Dynamic Nymphing and Tactical Fly Fishing that I have read through for knowledge more then anything. After reading both books I figured that competing at any level would take the fun right out of fishing for me and seemed way to serious. This contest was organized and put on by a gentleman who used to compete competitively in Europe for years and years and as I understand has also competed in a few Canadian events since he moved here a few years ago. In our area nothing of this sort ever takes places so he wanted to create an event to get new anglers interested in a different aspect of fishing. Honestly the preparation, planning, tying of flies, more planning, more preparation and then trying to execute the game plan with changing variables was very exciting....trying to stay calm under pressure knowing if you blank the session you are out of the running is nerve wracking but it seems that I can perform under pressure...the last section I was stuck in had not had a fish caught in it two sessions prior, and through some change of tactics and staying calm I was able to pull out 4 fish and win the session...... It was a blast lol

I just got back from my first time ever competing in a fly fishing competition and am on cloud 9! 30 guys entered the tournament and a high percentage of these people I would consider great anglers and tough competition. Through preparation, sticking to my game plan and staying calm I was about to secure myself a 3rd place finish after fishing 3 of 6 40 minute sessions. The venue was still water fishing for rainbow trout in a stocked pond which you think would be a slaughter but the fish turned out not to be push overs. One section of the comp had an advantage as the feeding happens in that area so a few competitors who had the luck of the draw and got a good spot had a marked advantage. While fishing that section I was pushed over to the far left side of the area, outside of the feeding zone but still managed to land 3 fish and secure a second place ranking for that session. The rules were based loosely around the FIPS- Mouche competition rules with a few modifications to make it less intimidating for anglers such as myself who have never fished competitively before. None of my friends outside of my fishing buddies seem to care about my outburst of happiness on this grand occasion so I figured I would share it here to let off some pent up steam, I cannot stop grinning, it is a great feeling.

A friend of mine here at the forums offered me a great deal on the lost lake float tube that has a heavier weight rating, also comes with a pump ans over boot flippers ...figure I will give that a try first as the price is right.

From the hooks I have used they seem pretty on par, I have mostly used their dry fly hooks, and all around style hooks. Might be worth sending them an email or finding one of their field staff guys to ask.

Chartreuse and white are killer for bass in my local rivers. Also anything brown, orange, olive or crayfish colored seem to do well.

On my last run through with fur I skipped the pre wash and just went straight to the dye batch and things seemed to hold together better...might be a solution to the problem on cleaner furs and skins. Have also been messing around a lot with dying feathers and have been having good luck, the same dye that wont do well on fur does GREAT on feathers, got a nice dark black out of it.

I am keeping it all in this thread to inform people who are enjoying my content and following along of a new post. My site is not monetized, does not host or share adds and is not making any money. I just want to share information, my opinion and experiences. If and when the admins or moderators here say its a problem I will stop sharing my posts and information here...but that has yet to happen.

http://fanaticaltying.blogspot.ca/2014/04/new-addition-to-family.html Latest post going over a recent addition to my fly rod line up.

It is a variation on a wooly bugger, for which there are thousands, but at the end of the day you can call it whatever you want. My advice? Keep on tying, watch some videos and keep practicing, here is a video that goes into great detail tying the wooly bugger: As you learn different patterns you will start to pick up different techniques and tricks on how to use different materials. The hook eye is great, not crowded at all, common mistake for those getting into tying, looks like your off to a great start in that regard. The hackle looks a bit big for the pattern, and the tail is a bit long, but these are all things that everyone has their own personal preference on. Keep tying my friend, and fish what you do tye along the way!

Not a bad first fly my friend, I can guarantee that the bluegill, crappie and bass will love it. I have a few pictures of the first few flies I ever tied...they shall never see the light of day lol, perhaps if they looked even remotely close to your first crack I would post them...however they do not.

Thank you very much for the feedback, it is much appreciated!

Glad to hear, would love to see come pictures.

Looks great to me, you clearly are paying attention to detail and are a quicker learner. If I may suggest a book Charlie Cravens Basic Fly Tying is a great book for those getting into tying, he starts with similar patterns such as the Zebra midge you have tied and with each fly adds techniques and different materials. He also has great diagrams showing proportions and the intro goes over all sorts of terminology, tools and materials. Keep on tying and more importantly get out and catch fish with those bad boys!

Latest blog entry about making your fly tying dollar go further. http://fanaticaltying.blogspot.ca/2014/04/more-bang-for-your-buck.html

Posted this a few days early just to answer some questions and perhaps get you further with your fly tying buck. http://fanaticaltying.blogspot.ca/2014/04/more-bang-for-your-buck.html

I am in the process of writing a blog article about getting more bang for your buck out of fly tying. At the end of the day people build collections over years and from stumbling upon deals or constantly keeping an eye out on kijiji, ebay, talking and networking with people etc. Finding good quality stuff for cheap can be tricky but is possible, but finding cheap quality stuff for cheap is easy, and matters more for some things then others.

Without pictures it is hard to tell what is worth what, posting clear pictures will be a great help in determining what things are worth.

When I got into the sport I grabbed a box of stuff from a guy who was getting out of the sport...tying materials, cheap vises, tools, flies, boxes, magazines, dvds, a fly rod and reel, two nets etc, the list goes on and on. It cost me $200 and I have sold around $400 worth of stuff from that box and still have all the extra goodies for myself...these kinds of deals can be great to stock your own boxes and anything you wont use can be sold, traded or otherwise given to someone else.