Losthackle

A little pick up today from our local craft and fabric chain store (Spotlight) $3 each. The one on the right for wiggle discs, but the one on the left was a purely instinctive impulse purchase. Any ideas? I thought they might make interesting crab bodies & I wonder if they would work as wobble discs. They are beads so there is a hole through the long axis.

Oh if its deluxe you want The Colorado with the Nor Vise option (On the bottom of the page at...) http://www.stoneycreekflytying.com/the_colorado.htm

It all rather depends on what space you have available and your lifestyle. My choice was a simple lap station, so I could tie flies while "watching" television with the family or just sitting around the kitchen table. You can read about my reasoning and the "construction" here http://losthackle.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/fly-tying-lap-station/

Apart from their obvious uses as soft hackles, I would suggest spey flies (soft game wound palmer style), the killer style New Zealand flies (relatively small game feathers tied along the side and leaning over the shank to form a tent), New Zealand "Craig's Nightime" family (where the wings are tied on top of the hook). Would they be large enough for streamers? I notice you only have the capes. If you had the wing feathers, there are a lot of traditional wet fly patterns using those. Perhaps you could use the fibres as a rolled wing? As for preserving, try this link http://www.uky.edu/~agrdanny/flyfish/petti.htm and this one http://www.flyfishingwis.com/html/tying_materials.htmlJust about everything anyone would need to know. Hope that helps. have fun!

Thank you to everyone who has replied. It's been an absolute delight for me to read the replies. Nostalgic, humorous, factual, excited...they've all been great. Looking forward to more! @@losthackle

What was the first fish you caught using a fly you tied and what was the fly? Where & when would be nice Mine was a scrappy just-legal rainbow taken from Moffatt Falls in New England Australia on a brown nymph tied using wool and cotton! Somewhere in the 1980s!

The obvious comment is that it will depend on what you are intending to tie. I'd say your selection will cover a lot of flies, so it's a good general choice. For my money, I would probably substitute a red-brown or furnace (preferred) for the brown and add a cree (if you can get it). Personally I wouldn't go for the barred dun, but use the grizzle with the dun to get the barred effect. Cheers

My blog is here http://losthackle.wordpress.com/ As for what it's about, I can't go past my first post:- In which the author introduces his reasons for writing this blogPosted on January 12, 2012 by losthackle This blog is launched in the spirit of simplicity and self-reliance. There was a time when fishing guides were books, luxury in a lodge meant blankets provided, rods and gear were home-made or scrounged. In the spirit, but not the discomfort, of a simpler time this blog will be writ. I believe that fly-fishing does not have to be the preserve of the wealthy, that you do not need the latest and most expensive rod, reel and accessories to catch fish, that you don’t need a guide to show you where, when and how to fish. Indeed, I believe that these things usually interfere with the direct connection between you, the water and the craft of fly fishing.

Hi there FlyFishin' Jam ... ...the cooler climes?, well Tassie is positively balmy compared to Toronto (I peeked at your profile), but definitely worth a visit if you come downunder. Just to whet your appetite...This from here ..Penstock Lagoon, .not my fish though. Belongs to iheartthefly. I read FlyLife on and off (not for a while, though) Hi there Piker, these pics are for you, too. Thanks for liking my scruffy flies. The Anglers Alliance has webcams for the more popular lakes in Tasmania which you can see here http://anglersalliance.org.au/ Cheers

That's Tasmania, home of brown trout (and a few rainbows, too) in Australia. I've returned here after a number of years away (although I am not a born Tasmanian). I started tying trout flies one rainy Sunday afternoon in sub-tropical, trout-free Brisbane, back in the 1980s, because I had bought a book aptly called the Lure of Fly Tying. Some few weeks late I travelled to (our) New England and caught a trout or three on a brown nymph I had tied myself. Needless to say, I was hooked (pun intended). Since then, I have tied all my own flies. My flies tend to be practical, a little scruffy and not at all pretty (like the tier). E.g. I try to keep things simple and would rather make something myself than buy it (no disrespect to the excellent tackle makers out there). I'm on twitter and I blog about fishy things, including flytying,under the same nom de guerre. Looking forward to getting to know you Cheers