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hopperfisher

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Everything posted by hopperfisher

  1. Just found this post...how was the trip? I've fished the Taylor many times years ago and loved it!
  2. I have several Maxcatch products...rods, reels, lines (skagit head and WF), polyleaders, braided loops...never had an issue with any of 'em...maybe the drags on the reels but I only occasionally catch anything big enough to use the drag but they have held up to a couple salmon and steelies....check out Tigofly (on Aliexpress, Amazon, or the Bay) for tying materials, I have some dubbing (synthetic), goat, and arctic fox tail rings from them that cost about 90% less than what you'd buy at the shop...I love to shop local/stateside but I'd have to give up the hobby without these cheaper materials and equipment...I wondered about Eupheng hooks, good to know Cheers!
  3. Thanks!! That's the question I meant to ask too...if it was happening to anyone else. Thanks for the reply!
  4. The "Next" button doesn't work when I want to go to the next page...works on all the other sites...anything I can do?
  5. Hi guys...not tying related, need to get in touch with a moderator foe site issues, don't know how/who...Thanks!!
  6. These are pretty micro and cast well even on my 3wt...basically a mini Slumpbuster...they have caught several species fish in Texas, Florida, Colorado, and now Oregon Hook: Any size or style you want...I've even tied them on sz 8 baitholder hooks and Eagle Claw gold aberdeens (GASP!!)...sz 6 salmon fly hooks used here Head: 1/4" or 6 mm conehead or bead, color of your choice...brass conehead used here Thread: White 6/0 Danville or similar Rib: Oval silver tinsel, wire, or thread...the rib is necessary for the wing...oval silver tinsel used here Body: White or silver dubbing...white UV ice dub used here Tail/Matuka wing: Micro pine squirrel, any color, lashed Matuka style with rib material...olive used here Collar: Micro pine squirrel wrapped like a hackle...I apply super glue under the collar...about 4 tight and carefully placed wraps to avoid bulk...stroke the fibers back with every wrap like you do with a wet hackle Tie off behind the cone with as few wraps as possible with super glue coating the thread and only 2 half hitches to avoid laying the collar back too much. I also put super glue inside the back of the cone and "cram" the cone backwards and the collar forward as to minimize the gap behind the cone. Hope this is as clear as mud...these are micro, fun and fairly easy to tie, and have 4 materials...I think that fit your request... Variations: burnt orange or brown with 2 tails and orange teased out dubbing makes a micro craw... black or purple with an orange/pink cone or bead makes a micro egg sucking leach grey or white with silver cone or bead makes a good baitfish, glue on eyes go good here too If you have some grizzly dry fly hackles you can tie them in along the sides of the body for a barred effect A couple of strands of flash never hurts This pattern alone with all the variations should keep you busy for a minute and your bug box full! Cheers!
  7. Very nice!! Don would certainly be proud! Your persistence is what makes you a good tyer...no one was born with a bobbin in their hand...even Master Bastain...He would tell you that for every good fly he tied through his career there were more way bad ones that good ones...the only way to get good is keep spinning 'em but also be present and learn from your mistakes...one of the things people struggle with when tying winged wets is head size...if you can get that divot at the back of the head intead of the head tapering into the wing, it's a success!! Well done
  8. @mikemac1 has it right...many, if not all, of those patterns will serve well for fresh and salt water. Synthetics are a good way to go for product consistency...when you're on a budget it's even hard to throw away the material cutoffs and such...I'm a tight budgeted tyer as well...Amazon is not necessarily the best place to shop...Ebay works for material lots (search: fly tying material lot)... J. Stockard is good (jsflyfishing.com) Fly Tyers Dungeon has good deals Bears Den is good most all of these sites have great customer service, give them a call, let 'em know you situation, they will help (I know this from personal experience) Cheers
  9. Thanks Bob!! Your opinion carries weight for sure! The Winter's Hope is a wonderful crossover pattern...I've tied it in smaller sizes for SRC and used it on warm water species as well...Thinking about tossing it off the beach for who knows what!!!
  10. Thanks for the kind words @niveker. I just started this style as well! I love the large profile and how it stays really sparse...I'm learning a few tricks along the way...like pinning the rib on the bottom of the fly with my left pinky finger while separating the wing fibers at the stem with a bodkin and applying forward pressure...then, using left thumb and fore finger to grab the tail and apply rearward pressure to the hackle stems while wrapping the rib through the wing fiber gap...still working on it...I might toss an SBS out there at some point
  11. Winter's Hope (Matuka style) Hook: Allen SS001 #2/0 Thread: White 6/0 (Red 6/0 for the head) Body: Silver tinsel (mylar) Rib: Oval silver tinsel Tail/Wing: Saltwater neck hackle (2 orange, 2 yellow) Hackle: Whiting American cape (blue), Saltwater neck (purple) Head: 1 layer of red 6/0 over white thread
  12. I like it!! Brings to mind the Juicy Bug, a favorite summer pattern
  13. I've fished peacocks myself...it'd be awesome if steelies were that aggressive!!! They might have been back in the day...and maybe now too, but there's one fish where there used to be a hundred...that's why we try so hard
  14. Hi guys, interesting thread...wanted to bump it. These flies, like most flies for andromadous fish, are not designed to emulate food. These fish, salmon and winter steelhead, don't eat much at all after entering fresh water. They have one thing in mind, making babies. Imagine how much a 50 lb salmon would have to eat!!! These guys aren't hungery, they're territorial and have a "personal space" that they like to maintain. If you see salmon breaching in a deeper pool, they likely bumped into another fish and pissed 'em off. When something big and colorful swings into their "bubble" they lash out at it with their mouth (their only weapon). This is why you see big, nasty modern flies like the "Intruder" style, doesn't look like food at all but man does it piss 'em right off!!! And, as with most things, it becomes a bit of a friendly competition to see who can make the prettiest, most eye catching and elaborate works of art. As it has been said, a steelhead or salmon would eat your car key if presented correctly. The flies are for us, not them. Cheers
  15. Do they come from China? just sayin'
  16. My first was a cheap PSE Sable TD recurve 45#..... I had a sweet older Pearson (can't remember the model name) 50# glass backed, 42" ...surprisingly smoother than the Bear Super Magnum 50# 46"
  17. training fly for casting big hairy flies...maybe
  18. Never seen this site before as I am not a classics tyer, but WOW!! What a collection of info for those that are!!
  19. I was fly fish only...and dries only when I was in CO...OR is different, I fly fish with wets only for steelies and SRC and gear fish with beads, bait and jigs for both steelies and salmon...I like getting bites and I take home any hatchies up to my limit
  20. You have a great vise! And, a great vice! Get some red micro chenille and red thread and tie a dozen San Juan Worms...these will start you on the right path to thread control (i.e. thread tension, number of wraps needed, etc.) Then graduate to something like a Hare's Ear nymph (thread, tail, dubbing)...dry flies can, and will come later...work on these fundamentals, as well as proportions and you'll do well. You have the first part down pat...a great attitude! THAT is everything!! Happy tying!
  21. Glad I could help! Davie can be hard to understand for sure...if you get some wax and need help preparing it, let me know...a decent hackle plier will be your friend as well, not only for winding hackle but winding fine wire, body materials, floss, etc. and holding tension on things like peacock herl, pheasant tail fibers, biots and the like...tying small stuff can be very rewarding but frustrating at the same time...let us know how it goes and post some pics and we can help!
  22. I have fat stumpy fingers, before I left Colorado I was tying tricos down to 24 and BWOs down to 20. I found that working your way down helps, but also learning to use different parts of your fingers helps too. For example, I started out using the whole pad of my finger which was fine for size 14 and bigger but as I worked my way down I found that using my finger tips is better. Also, make sure your fingers are not cracked (I use O'Keefes Working Hands constantly as my job beats my hands to pieces), dirty, etc. as this can snag thread and materials. A few other considerations... try using a prepared tyers wax (Semperfly, Veniards, Overtons, etc.) it's cheap and will give your thread tons of grip and hold materials in place better so you don't have to use your fingers as much. Check out Davie McPhail's You Tube channel and watch how he ties small flies and how he uses the wax. He also has a video on how to prepare the wax cake for use. I follow his methods and they do work. Hope this helps and good luck on the journey!
  23. I think you're right on! You may find that you need a bit more CDC to float that hook, especially after a fish or two. The length of the CDC doesn't matter to the fish, but the volume will matter in floating the fly. That is a fantastic fly! If my first emerger was that good, I'd be patting myself on the back and filling a box with 'em!
  24. Diggin' the caddis! I tie a similar one in orange for fall
  25. Allen Fly Fishing...allenflyfishing.com good hooks, good prices...never had one break, straightened a couple out but from accidental catches (big steelhead , tiny trout fly)
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