Swamp Fly

Provided you don't have any aggressive cows in the herd, have a visitor go into the pasture with a five gallon bucket and then have them use the bucket as a seat. They should have nothing but cow noses at about eye level surrounding them in short order. Of course that's about the time you call out to the visitor with a warning not to move too fast because the cows haven't had enough protein in their diet lately. The momentary look you get before they realize you are messing with them is priceless. Swamp

I agree with PD. Another thing to consider is that to really get the bade to work to it's fullest potential you need to block the discharge chute on the lawnmower. The idea is that you turn the lawn mover into a big food processor which cuts the grass over and over. This can make thick/tall grass problematic, you need a powerful mower to be able to mow at "normal" speeds or the mower get overwhelmed and spits out a big grass ball. I'm not saying mulching blades are bad, not at all. Like with everything though nothing is for free. For a gain in one area you get a change in another. Swamp

LOL, I had a calf follow me into the house once. The wife thought it was hilarious, the dog had a look on her like "We can do that, we can bring my friends in the house?!!!", but the cat was not amused. Nice looking herd. Typical cows though: "Whaaat's going on? Got sumtin' to eat?" Cat's have nothing on cows as far as curiosity is concerned. Before moving here, my mother used to come visit every year and one year she decided to take a folding beach lounge outside and read a book. She abandoned that in a hurry when one of the cows started licking her feet! You'd have though she was being mauled by a gator listening to the yelling. I quietly put the pistol back into it's hidey hole... Swamp

Yes I do use mulching lawn mowers. They are called cows. Sorry couldn't help it. 😁 Been so dry here that the electric fence isn't working because they aren't grounding out when they hit it. Been a real pain in my backside for the last few weeks. As far as mulching bladed are concerned they can be very good or bad. They do a good job of putting down some material that helps keep in moisture and that is a good thing in hot dry weather. Unfortunately in cooler wetter climates that can also lead to smothering and rot. As far as bits and pieces is concerned unless you sweep/bag up the clippings they can get tracked in the house but I'm not sure it's any worse than with a regular lawn mower blade though. Swamp

I just don't know... tough call! Swamp

Looking good Steve! I have to admit as I was looking through the pics I kept thinking that plant would die, that one, that one too, and... Florida where northern plants and retirees go to die. Swamp

No need, just put a bounce house in the front yard and invite the neighborhood kids over. If you use an airboat to blow up the bounce house even better. Like garlic to a vampire, no way he'd go near the place. 😈 Swamp

Haha! You are probably right, I DO often have a tendency to fish too fast. However I tend to work an area to slow and mot move to more productive water. One of these days I will actually take you up on that though! Swamp

Sloooow down your retrieve! 😁 Swamp

Gudebrod used to make braided mono in 35# and 50# but they are no more. Check Evilbay there should still be some floating around. I've heard that someone else makes some, maybe Cortland. I have a spool of both sizes and make loops for most of my setups 6wt and up. Swamp

Well that is unfortunate that your second go was not as successful but i look forward to seeing anyway. Swamp

Very nice! For what it's worth, I completely agree with the judges about the weight issue. I have spent a significant amount of time in armor hitting people in the head (and elsewhere). If you only have to swing a few times then the heavy weapon works great but you won't be worth poop for more than a few swings. In melees, after an hour your arms are ready to fall off even if you are using a very light weight weapon. At that point in time you couldn't control anything heavy, hit with any kind of power, or have any speed. The other guy could finish a cup of coffee before it got to him. Kinda like the old caliber arguments, would you rather hit a charging elephant with a .22 LR or miss with a Howitzer? FYI a mace is a horrible horrible thing, made me cringe just looking at it. I'd much rather take a hit from the axe end any day of the week. The hammer is another one of those things that would leave a mark... Swamp BTW, please don't ever make any high end migration era ring swords, I really can't allow myself to afford your caliber of skill for something like that! There would be a whole bunch of zeros in that price tag. But man I'd love to see one anyway. LOL

I was asking just so I was sure I was on your page. Nothing wrong with a level leader. I will fish them and I know plenty of others that do as well. In fact one of my friends uses an 80# "poorboy" leader for tarpon. That last one is too risky for me since the 80# leader has a breaking strength higher than most fly lines and standard backing. I actually want a weak link between the fly line and the fly. Try taking 10'-15' of 30#+ mono and try to break it by straight pulling on it. If you get snagged with too strong of a leader and can't for whatever reason get to any part of that leader you either cut your $$$ fly line or leave the whole rod and reel... Here is what I do for all of my looped tippets (and level leaders). I cut a section of tippet off of the spool (use trial and error to figure out how long a section you need for your purposes), both ends of the tippet must be able to twist freely. I tie a twenty turn Bimini Twist to double the line on one end of the tippet. I then cut the loop formed by the Bimini so I have two equal length lines. I then use my forefinger to separate the lines right at the Bimini and with the other hand I roll the Bimini to furl the doubled line. I loosely pinch where the furl forms with my thumb and the forefinger separating those two lines. Just follow the furl up as you roll the Bimini. Let the two ends for the double line jump around as they twist, if they tangle together just work it out while clamping down with the thumb and finger "guide" to keep what you have already furled from unraveling. When all of the doubled line is furled pinch the end and tie an overhand knot in the end just to lock the furl, you don't have to do this but it just makes life much (much!) easier. Now you have a tippet that is doubled and the doubled section is furled with an overhand knot to lock it. Take the furled section and tie a 2-3 turn surgeons loop. The number of turns is determined by being able to properly seat the knot, so the heavier the line the less turns. Cut off the tag (with the overhead knot in it). Done. I know it sounds complicated and time consuming but it's actually easy and once you get it down it's pretty fast. I tie up bunch at a time and in different strengths. After a while it just gets mindless so I usually tie a bunch while watching TV etc. Just tie a sacrificial perfection loop in the end where your fly would go and you can then loop the pre-tied pieces together, spool them up. This way when on the water you can just grab the spool of pre-made tippets in the strength you need, pull off a section, cut the sacrificial loop, give the tippet a good stretch to straighten it out, and you are good to go. BTW I use Ande Monofilament for everything other than cold water trout fishing, it's cheap and works great. So here is why/how it works: Loop knots are not 100%, if I remember correctly a Surgeons Loop has a break strength of around give or take 60%. Now if you double your line then you are at 200% of the single line since the load is split between the two "legs" of the double. The Bimini Twist is as close to 100% as you can get for doubling a mono line. When you loose the 40% from the Surgeons Loop you are still well over the breaking strength of single line tippet. Now here is the really neat part, take a pen or other item that you can insert through the Surgeons Loop to be able to really hold on to that end, grab the other end of the tippet and pull. The whole furled and looped section will unwind and wind back up like a spring as tension is applied and relieved. That is the purpose of the furl. For my own stuff I take it a step further and furl the section that is already furled over itself before tying the Surgeons Loop. In truth that extra bit is probably more to appease my compulsive nature than any real world practicality for the kind of fishing that I usually do. This "double" furl also provides a very small/slim loop opening, which is better reason to do it. You can adjust the amount of spring by how much space you leave between the Bimini and the Surgeon loop and also by how tight or loose your furl is. Be warned that you may have to get pretty aggressive with your hooksets the more spring you put into your tippet. It's like attaching your tippet with a rubber band. FYI this kind of tippet was designed for IGFA record attempts and IGFA rules tournaments. Traditionally the fly end of the tippet would also have a Bimini tied in it as part of a Huffnagle Knot for attaching a heavy bite/shock section. Nowadays many just go straight to a Slimbeauty Knot for attaching the bite/shock. Since I'm not record chasing or tournament angling I just grab a stronger tippet rather than attach a bite/shock. If I do need the extra I just use heavier tippet and then don't mind any loss when I tie on a shock with a quick and dirty Surgeons Knot. Swamp

Like I said great job! Duck, I love the old Wonder Rods. Depending on the model they can still give modern rods a run for their money. Looks like you are good to go for a few more generations of Ducklings! Swamp P.S. Steve, I haven't really looked myself yet, but does anyone still make that style of spring loaded reel seat?

That's what I was afraid of. I can't tell from the photo if you refreshed the cork or replaced it. Either way, good job. Swamp

Nice! I have a question though, is there a way to restore or replace the decals on an old rod? Swamp

So that's how a computer gets a virus... Swamp

Peartree am I correct in my understanding that you are using a level (AKA Poorboy) leader which is just a long piece of mono or fluoro attached directly to you fly line? Swamp

That is pretty much the same system I use with the exception that I never tried those coffee filters, the ones I had sucked. I lucked out and found that the regular copy/printer paper we had in the house works well for me but I suspect that brand may make a difference. I may be out of luck when I need to make another cylinder as I generally buy the cheapest paper when I need more and am not brand loyal. I'll keep those filters as an ace in the hole if I have problems. The only other difference than the paper membrane is that I superglue the paper in place but that does not affect function. FYI, I've learned to keep my "canisters" in a sealed plastic bin and temporarily put another test cap on the bottom end of the cylinder. Our humidity here in S Florida is an issue, dry fluffy powder is a must. I may have to get my system out of the corner sooner rather than later. Since the COVID pandemic started finding components is really tough so I may have to cast and PC soon. Luckily I still have plenty of powder and primers. I pulled a few hundred pounds of lead out of my trap earlier this year. Oh, if you ever have the chance to pick up a convection oven for cheap do it. I love mine as compared to a regular one. Then again I put a couple of hundred pieces in my toaster oven and need a very good consistent cure. 900-1300 fps is kinda tough on the PC so I need every advantage I can get. lol! Swamp

Thanks. Swamp

That's just the new 3D projector he installed! Dare ya not to move! 😈

That sure is purdy! I might just have to PC some Boolits with that color. Do you have a product number for the powder? Swamp

Bwahahaha! That's awesome. Didn't realize how much I needed a laugh. Thank you. Oh, and nice fly too... Swamp

Don't you mean you need to get the "Bluefather's" approval? Don't blame you, waking up next to a horse head is disconcerting especially one that's been painted blue... Swamp

Nope, sorry Mike blue is an automatic 10'-20' distance penalty. I thought that's why you liked blue so much, so you could rise to the challenge. 😁 Swamp