Hatchet Jack

PM sent but it won't go through (??)

Very nice Steve, ten thumbs up!

Rocco/ "I'd be interested in the setups -- rod wts., line types, tips (if any), leaders etc. -- used."

I'm interested too, tell us about your kit.

Just to be clear, I am not looking for breathables, nor stockfoot waders, just

good bootfoot waders made of sturdy fabric. At $200 or less,

I'm thinking a breathable wader won't be that great w.r.t. durability.

Searching Google is fine, but I'm looking for people's suggestions from here

that have had good luck with their waders & that are similar to what I'm looking for.

(thanks for your above suggestions though)

I'm done fixing leaks in my old neoprene waders, am wondering

what you folks have had good luck with for chest waders.

No neoprene this time & no felt, just good old-fashioned lug soles

and sturdy fabric.

Looking to spend up to $200 so that excludes Simms

and most likely, breathables.

TIA

spiralspey - that's it, thanks for finding that!

Vic/quote:

Which knot are you guys tying that is so much stronger.[?]

Vic, I'm tying the Open Clinch Knot, not the Non Slip Loop Knot.

If you compare the two knots in this drawing below, you'll see the differences:

I'm using the Open Clinch Knot to tie in Jim Matson's Pulse Disc, and I discovered this knot's

written description when I was researching the Non Slip Loop Knot..

flytire, your provided link only shows drawings for the standard non-slip loop knot.

I've spent over an hour searching to find a drawing of the Kreh/Harro/Byford knot.

This knot's word description:

"It is different. The Harro loop knot by-passes the overhand going straight to the twists

around the standing line before passing through the overhand. One step is eliminated."

Another description:

1. overhand knot in leader
2. pass tag through hook eye
3. commence wrapping above the overhand knot (don't pass through it)
4. return tag through overhand knot in the same direction as the line exits towards wraps.
5. tighten by pulling on tag and mainline using your fingers to massage the knot toward fly.

I have tied what I think is correct based on these word descriptions,

but a clear drawing would also be helpful to verify I'm tying it correctly.

So far, my version of this knot shows it beating the standard non-slip loop knot

every time. I used 15 # test Maxima Chameleon and did the usual tug-of-war knot

testing trick.

I've searched the Net for a drawing of this knot and could not find any.

It's like a nonslip open loop knot.

Anyone have a drawing?

Damn Cream, you must have robotic hands and micrometer eyeballs.

(and Artist melded with Craftsman, that sorta thing ☺)

The problem I've had with applicator bottles is that the needle clogs up rather quickly.

With Sally Hansen's, I trim the fibres off the end of the brush in the cap, until there's about 2 - 3 remaining.

One ends up with a fine 'applicator tip' and no cleaning hassle.

LOL!

Those items are right up there with muffler bearings & air-cooled hawsers.

Pretty simple -

Full sink line

3' to 4' of 6 pound Maxima Chameleon

Non-slip mono loop

Good story Willie, thanks for sharing.

Worst thing about the stuck truck is that it cuts into a man's fishing time.

Pretty much Deceiver-ish, but tied on this base it's going to be much more snag-free.

 

Does the word "brillant" come to mind here?

You're a natural, Mr. Cream. Kudos.

"I liked the way the wing looked, though, leaning back more like a real mayfly wing,"

Yes!

Very interesting; a new twist to an old wrinkle.

Never have tied up such a critter, but I shall.

Thanks for the cool pattern.

If you could take a pic and show what your dealing with would probaly help alot.

Ditto!

Also, I'm reading Elder's info as fibres being a total length of 7".

Divided in half by the wire, that should be do-able.

All the advice above and some practice can make a nice brush.

I've found that there's a lot of 'waste' coming off on the brush during

the intial wire twisting but thems the breaks.

Bugsy & vicrider, that's it!

It really is a beautiful fly & probably floats quite well.

Thanks to all for your responses.

Time to go back to the vice, oh drat

The other night I was up late browsing various fly tying sites

and I found a rather striking dry fly. I thought I had bookmarked it,

but alas, not to be. Don't even remember its name.

It had a hair fibre tail, a turkey or goose biot abdomen, then some peacock

herl, hackle, and perhaps upright wings of deer hair? I know, I've got the basics

but would sure like to see the real deal again, thanks.

Of course!

DOH, my bad.

Got up too early & coffee's worn thin all ready.

Merci, mon ami.

Ah, there's a fine classic, the ZUGBUG!

?????

Perhaps I'm not understanding the problem, but if you trim the MicroFibbets

to length at the butt end, you won't lose the nice delicate taper.

I tie them in with enough wraps just to position them, then I pull the butt ends

forward to set my desired tail length, then trim off the butt end excess.

I also try to keep hackle and tail proportions to the dry fly 'standard', as I think it was

designed to help float the dry fly correctly on the water's surface.

I've been playing around with a soft hackle design, using Sulky's metallic thread (Mylar)

to reinforce a turkey biot abdomen. It's very strong and highly reflective.

I'm calling it the Sulky Turk.

Mr. Brown took a fancy to it too.

"...Those short thicker front Skagit tapers also call for bigger diameter guides than the advertised wt of the rod would suggest..."

Rocco

 

.

Steelie, before you build your Spey rod, some subjective as hell suggestions

with respect to running guides:

First, settle on what line system you're going to use - head, running, backing, etc.,

then measure your widest loop-to-loop connection - use this dimension to choose guide sizes.

I have found that a gap of roughly 1.5 mm (minimum) on each side of the widest loop-to-loop connection allows for good line clearance, like when using MOW tips and a big fat Skagit line.

I went from ceramic single-foots, to Minima 4's, then finally went back to good old snake guides - these offered the best line flow and loop clearance. The loop-to-loop connections seemed to 'catch' on the other guides when fully retrieving the line, like a car wheel smacking dead on into a curb.

And of course, go large diameter on the tiptop. Snake Brand as you probably know has a decent length on their tiptop tube, which I really like.

Keep us posted on your progress, lots of us are eager to see what evolves!

Very nice!

Short, sweet, efficient SbS.

Proper punctuation can really change a sentence.

For example, "Let's eat Grandpa" becomes "Let's eat punctuation".

Six BarkEaters, size 16.

A challenging tie for me.

Ended up wrapping the entire shank with hackles,

then going back to trim out the abdomen.