BrookTroutAngler

Well I'll be, I'm not a fly fisherman!

I mainly use Sally's. Cheap, gets the job done, locally available.

You should have mail. Thanks for doing this.

I'd like the other bag if possible. I'm a new 16 year old fly tyer. That CDC looks espsecially appealing. Alway wanted to play around with some but I don't have any.

Wow. Who would of thought perfection would come from the rear end of a duck.

I get most of my beads from here: http://www.allenflyfishing.com/tungsten-ball-beads/ That is the normal price, I have not seen it go off of sale. Lots of sizes and they usually have a few more colors than that. For 100 beads that would be around $15, but shipping is free.

I think we need to be hush-hush, PM ONLY on future plans to take out any of Santa's reindeer. Evidently he reads this forum.

Hoppers. Size 14 or bigger flies that are often foamy and fun to tie. The aggressive takes can't be beaten.

Something makes me think you've done that a time or two before.......

Uh, Steeve..... I know you don't know it yet but you and I are going to be best friends before next winter. Nice looking fly rod.

Sounds good.

EXACTLY!!!! I voted another form of fly tying, because in my mind fly tying is the fly anglers art. Some people craft bamboo fly rods or graphite fly rods and that is another form of art. A hook to me is like a blank canvas, waiting for the artist to skillfully apply substances to create something. Just like art it can be impressionistic, realistic look, or incredibly detailed and ultra-realistic. This is just another form of tying, one that takes a lot of skill and perfectionism, but it is, as all tying is, an art. The main difference is that we use that piece of art for a purpose, namely to catch fish.

Seems like the perfect first fly swap on this forum for me, started tying earlier this year. So count me in with a tan mini-hopper, size 14. Perhaps my favorite fly to fish and tie.

Thanks. That one is size 14. I prefer a smoother body on my hoppers but all I had in that color green was antron dubbing.

Tied up some mini hoppers earlier this month. Here's a picture of one of mine. Great pattern, btw. Look it up.

Thanks all. I did counter-wrap the wire, even though it does not look like it.

Well I was watching a youtube video today when I realized I had never tied a stimi before- even though its a favorite of mine. I even had the materials and decided to rectify the situation immediately. I saw a video or two that tied them on size 6 salmon fly hooks- perfect if you plan on fishing the Deschutes during a golden stone hatch, but a bit big for Arizona. However, this reminded me that I had some size 8 salmon fly hooks that were given to me and needed to be put to use. I also figured its easier on any given pattern to start out bigger and go down from there. So I whipped up my first stimi with the materials I had on hand. I think it came out alright. Maybe the tail could be a bit longer and a little sparser. I used the largest proper hackle I had. Any thoughts on proportion, neatness, etc.....? Usually the first two or three of any given pattern I tie look pretty ugly (nice oxymoron, eh?) before I get proportions but sometimes a blind sow finds the odd acorn. All in all I'm really happy in how it came out. Usually working with hair is a pain in the but. Score one for big hooks! It was a fun tie even if I'll never fish it in AZ. I ribbed it with fine gold wire.

I have Harrison Steeve's book Fly Tying With Foam, Fur, and Feathers and have been thinking I need to tie some of those up!

Could that reason be AZFAT?

Hey all, just wanted to introduce myself before I jump in spirited discussions. My name is Colton and I live in Arizona. My location isn't the best since I am about 3 hours away from the closest trout stream, but we do have some fantastic fishing here. I love chasing bluegills like just about nothing else. The streams we do have are great in terms of bug life. When I can I fish dry flies, terrestrials preferably, but I still love to match the hatch. Fly tying fills my free time when I am not fishing. I started fly fishing last year and I started tying earlier this year. I have totally immersed myself in the two sports and like to think my learning curve has been steep, but I know there is a LOT of things I can learn and would like to learn. I'm excited to join and hopefully get a lot of good ideas and critiques to help me along in these two wonderful sports. I happen to be 16 years old and I prefer fly fishing and tying over just about anything else that most teens enjoy. The outdoors are where I like to be. I hope to join some fly swaps as I have participated in several on other forums and they are a great tool to learn new things from multiple talented tyers. They are also great to help me practice. As my username might indicate, I really love brook trout. They are my passion and fishing for them is my greatest pursuit. They are rare here in Arizona and streams that contain them are guarded, very hush-hush, so seeing that flash of green and orange at the end of my tippet really is satisfying. It's been a great year of fly fishing for me as I have visited the San Juan after ramp-down for fantastic dry fly fishing, caught a 20" rainbow on a size 20 midge while there, found multiple brook trout streams, and caught a lot of beautiful wild trout in streams using hoppers. This is my favorite type of fishing. Anyways that's it- for now.