Jump to content
Fly Tying

COMike

core_group_3
  • Content Count

    284
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by COMike

  1. Great responses to this post! I have actually moved on to the lead wire for now. Got the blessing from my wife for a couple of spools and with the size flies I tie, it is much easier to use than my TONS of solder! I think Mikechell stated this earlier but I may be mistaken, however, I am a packrat when it comes to electronics! I cannibalized an old Kenwood receiver and got some amazingly thin copper wire off the internals! It isn't as dense as the thinner lead wires I picked up but it is working out well for me now! Mike
  2. They say that if you think the hum of a C130 is the most beautiful sound in the world, then you are either a Coastie or a Marine. LOL When I win the PowerBall, I know that is gonna be my personal aircraft.... Hell, now I even know who to hire as a Crew Chief and a Driver!!!! This site really CAN solve all the world's problems.... I'll sign on for the DRIVER position! Mike, I never realized you were a HERC guy! Literally the 130 was MY ONLY plane (aside from flight school)! She ALWAYS brought us home each and every mission! I did a 900 mile round trip to Cannon AFB NM because it was the right thing to do.....sad to say I am "old" now at 45 years old and two of my weapon systems have/will be retired...AC-130H and MC-130....... http://www.cannon.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123410070 Mike just make sure you aren't including MRE's as part of the "package"....LOL...... Mike
  3. FlyTire, I am using Charlie's book and using the "Bead Head" variation as we have TONS of run off here....... Here is an attempt at one that does not use the bead on the head. Keep the comments coming! I am limited on hooks at the moment but thought this one was "fishable".....agreed on the proportions....the dubbing I am using is killing me. I made it from Charlie's recipe but it is a pain to dub on the thread. I have tried licking it and using wax. What I have found is that I really need to understand dubbing! That is a good thing as I simply can't get it correctly! Mike I need to take the tail end back to 1.5 of the hook gap so this one is a tad bit long
  4. Nice "Ride" Bryon!!!!! You better post a video of you fishing from it! Mike
  5. Hi everyone, I can tie some more "complex" flies but the Gold Ribbed Hare's ear is kicking my proverbial butt! Here is my latest attempt on a size 16 hook....... Honest critiques and tips would be greatly appreciated!!! Cheers, Mike PS...the smaller I go the harder it is to tie something!
  6. I took my final Beginner class yesterday and boy did it help! I can make tight loops and was able to incorporate in the air mends on the casts! What fun! I just started trying the double haul and will be practicing it tonight in the yard. Looking forward to the intermediate class in a couple months. In the meantime, "perfect practice" is what I am aiming for!!! I would simply be at a loss without the professional casters mentoring the ten of us throughout the past three weeks! Cheers, Mike
  7. Silver, Just sent you a PM with regards to your resin! Mike
  8. Great to meet you as well Caswilso! Making things up as you go is fun! However, you might want to look at things anglers are tossing in your area and on the streams/lakes you are fishing. Once you know what the folks are catching fish on you can then go to the internet and see videos of folks actually tying those flys! Keep at it and again welcome! Mike
  9. Thanks Bryon! I attended my second class last week and OMG it was even MORE helpful than the first! Simply building on the skills learned in the first class went a LONG WAY! I have another class up in Denver tomorrow so will see how that goes! I set up the flower pots in the yard and can actually get my "fly" to them with pretty good accuracy now! I had some serious issues from going to the 9' 5wt during classes to my 7'6" 3wt at home for practice. Two TOTALLY different animals but the principles are the same. My instructor gave me some tips for the 3wt prior to class last week and now it is simply a pleasure to cast the 3wt now. Essentially, I was trying to make the 3wt cast as far as the 5wt.....NOT happening for me. Once I was instructed on the 3wt prior to class I am very happy! As a friend told me years ago..."use the right tool for the job".....the 3wt and 5wt are two different tools but have the same basic principles in their use! Mike
  10. Assassin, We got cut off on the phone call and hopefully other folks can chime in! 1. You mentioned you caught the carp on the spinning setup you had.....TRY TO MATCH IT! From the time you let the fly hit the water just wait and see what they do! 2. If you are "chumming" the place, then try to match the CHUM to the FLY that you are trying to fish and try to make it in the same range of the water column they are used to eating in! If they are eating CORN or PUPPY CHOW when you chum....you MUST match what they are eating! Make sense? 3. Sometimes you have to WAIT for a fish to bite/eat.....if they are eating on a spinning reel bait (corn/bread/velveeta).....then try to match that with the fly rod/reel.....no magic here.....the fish does NOT know what you are using for a rod/reel combo...they ONLY know what they see/smell/are used to.......so duplicate what you are doing with the FLY ROD! Keep at it! Mike
  11. Steel, Would love to chat if you have the chance but your PMs are disabled. Mike
  12. Different areas of the country or world have DIFFERENT opinions...... Here in Colorado I don't fish for food....there are times that I will and have...but I like the fight. Something that really struck me here is that Fly Fisherman (again from MY experience) want to "play the fish out".....something that is very counter intuitive to me. While it makes them "easier" to place in the net/shore/water it makes the fish struggle to the point of exhaustion. Not something I would do from my past experiences. Perhaps saltwater fish are more "resilient" but landing a fish RIGHT away and then letting it got is easier on a trout than playing it for a few minutes and then having to "revive" it..... Subject off topic from barbed/barbless but just my questions for the community. I will still stay on barbless hooks from now on for trout here in Colorado. If I was fishing for sustenance.......GAME ON and BARBS all the way! Cheers, Mike
  13. Nice fly Christian! Haven't seen you around lately but it is a VERY nice fly! Cheers, Mike
  14. How are things Art????? Life happens at times and hang in there! Look forward to seeing you soon! Mike
  15. Well it would be good to know for us new fly tiers to see if he/she progressed on.
  16. Cas! Welcome! My first flies came out OK......I posted a few pictures of them and got some GREAT responses! POST YOUR PICTURES!!!! I did and got some GREAT opinions on just how they looked! It really helped me and that is why I am a member here.....aside from the funny banter! A suggestion to you ......... KEEP those first flies you tied! CHERISH them! DON'T be afraid to show them off.....if you don't have an instructor or mentor to help you out there are a TON of folks here that will! So a question? Do you have a mentor or are you doing this on your own? Let us know here! WE can help! Granted I am a NEW guy......just at your level, but I have a great bunch of mentors/teachers here in Colorado that are willing and available to help! I have discovered some techniques and tips that make things easier for me and have a HUGE library of stuff that has been passed on! Again WELCOME! Cheers, Mike
  17. Not at all Fly Tire........ However, I would challenge the site folks to take a look at how many introduction posts go unanswered for days...even weeks! Would YOU feel like you were part of a community if you never got an answer to an introductory post? Take a look at the "INTRO" section......Look at the dates, look at the responses, look at who posts......... I will PM you with my number if you would like to discuss but I would again challenge this community to be a bit more welcoming! Mike PS.....I am not going anywhere....I love this site and I consider it a HOME for me.......and as your quote said "...moved to your liking.." I don't have a say in this matter but perhaps someone should. Look at the dates of posts and just how many members made posts (Look at the time it took folks to even respond....) I am YELLING because it takes that at times to even see something......
  18. Assassin, I can't comment on Carp for flies...when I fished for them in the Merrimack river in Mass (back when I was 6 years old) I simply smashed "wonderbread" onto the hook and let it ride!!!!! Worked EVERY TIME!!!! So I would suggest that you try to DUPLICATE what they are eating on. You might want to try an "EGG" pattern that sinks. I would try to tie an egg pattern that the "POWERBAIT" folks are placing on their hooks...make sense? BUT for a fly fisherman I would try to tie that fly with some weight on it....perhaps weighting the head down and then tying in the color that you want..... It works....SEE what the fish are eating and then try to duplicate it! CAVEAT: I have only been fly fishing for 2 months.....however when going to a trout ranch here in the mountains (fishery) I noticed the owners tossing out "puppy chow"....it was a specific food they tossed to the trout in the AM and PM. Hmmmmmm......make my fly look like a piece of "Puppy Chow" and I will catch them....lo and behold the fly we tossed was one that appeared BROWN from the bottom and I let it SLAP on the water. Took 18 trout and lost 15 (due to my lack of knowledge in setting hooks for fly trout)........ Just a suggestion but that is what I would do! Mike
  19. JUST a suggestion from someone who was a moderator on a few sites...... BUMP THE INTRO SECTION TO THE TOP OR LOSE FOLKS THAT WANT TO BE HERE......... Just my two cents
  20. Does the "Like" button work? Does it matter? Perhaps this is a feature in the code that needs to either WORK or NOT..... Just a thought...... If I am not understanding it's utility then please let me know. Mike
  21. COMike

    Cahill

    NICE JOB!!....... I am still having trouble with my hackle so as a beginner I would love to do the hackle like you do! Mike
  22. Laz! Great tying!!!!! Flytire is giving you some EXCELLENT ADVICE so heed it!!!! I just started tying going on 7 weeks now and I have tried to take in all the advice from my instructors, books, videos, etc...... If I can elaborate on flytire's comments..... TRY TO GET CONSISTENT in EVERY fly you tie! CONCENTRATE on ONE FLY PATTERN at a time and do your best to perfect it... What I have found is that when you try to tie a few patterns in a tying session (aka switching between patterns) it can lead to variations you (I) don't know where they come from...... Do you happen to have a mentor that teaches you? They can be invaluable!!!! Don't take their criticisms personally. There are MANY different ways to achieve a great fly that will catch fish! But listen and TRY their techniques! It takes practice...something that I have not done over the past couple of weeks due to "reality" at our house......but do try to duplicate what your teacher taught you! If you don't have one you can pick up a book and then look at videos on YouTube to help. I have found that sticking to ONE or TWO to find a way to make the pattern "look" correct helps reinforce the consistency you need! Just some thoughts from a "professional student"....LOL........ Mike BTW.....I would fish each and every one of yours!!!!
  23. Hello Everyone, Sorry for lack of attendance here for a couple of weeks but life happened and things NEEDED to get done here at the house. I am probably someone who tackled fly fishing in the REVERSE method than many of you. Being a fisherman for over three decades, I always thought of fly fishing as a pastime that was for very "rich" people or hard core backwoodsman...LOL! I simply passed on that area of fishing for decades and I am saddened that I did not give it a chance. Fast forward to the beginning of this year when I started with Project Healing Waters ( a program for disabled Veterans that teaches EVERYTHING about fly fishing). I began with building my first fly rod, then learning to tie flies, and now I am casting. Kind of the reverse of how folks might do things but I was at the mercy of the schedule between doctors appts and life stuff.... I JUST started three weeks worth of Casting Classes last week. Let me tell you, I am SOOO THANKFUL that I started them without poorly ingrained habits! Being brand new to this sport, I simply wanted to go out and FISH! Hell, I KNOW how to fish!!! Tourney Bass fishing, Saltwater events....etc....however, fly fishing is a different animal all together! I attended our first 5 hour session up in Denver last week and I must say I am so very fortunate to have PROFESSIONAL casting instructors in our area that donated their time to us! I never realized that there was a whole certification program for fly fishing instructors!!!!! It was a bit intimidating at first as I only have fly fished ONCE last month but I think that it paid off that I had no bad habits for fly casting...aside from trying to POWER the line like a lure and it ending up in a pile of loops 15' from me....LOL! I have two more weeks of sessions and am so very excited to have had the opportunity to experience this first hand! My BOTTOM LINE for new folks.....if you have the chance...TAKE A CLASS! Whether at a fly shop or at a local fly fishing club in your area. It will pay off DIVIDENDS in the future! Trying to break poor habits is a hard thing to overcome...both for an instructor and a student. In two days I will be back up in Denver for another 5 hour session and I am so excited! I won't be a pro at the end of the classes but I will have built a foundation that should not fail me! Cheers, Mike PS....All of our mentors are master casting instructors and certified guides.....here is a site I discovered AFTER being taught by them and was surprised that there is actually a training and certification program for folks who fly fish! http://www.fedflyfishers.org/Home.aspx
  24. Great topic! I have been a "Sunglass Murderer" for many years! I have sat on, lost, scratched, broken more pairs of sunglasses than I care to admit. Just ask my wife!!! While not having to get back into the prescription realm as of yet (already went through the eye surgery route ten years ago) I am just getting at that age for reading glasses. I use the scripts for close in things such as fly tying and rod building (ok....reading on the kindle, reading books, reading labels....) I can GET BY without having to use them all the time for close in things. Some of you have mentioned "amber" colored lenses....there are many others..."rose", "yellow", "bronze" etc..... I have NEVER EVER liked any "colored" lenses aside from the simple "gray" colored ones. I like the gray lenses because they seem to just darken things as opposed to changing colors of what my non-aided eyes would see. Are there benefits to other colors? Sure, I still keep a variety of lens colors for my shooting glasses but use them MAYBE 5% of the time. Several of the brands that I have liked over the past decade have been Native, Oakley, and the REI brand (?) "Peppers".......I have LOVED my Native's for years but tend to snap the ear sections off. They have a good warranty plan but it gets expensive replacing frames every 6 months or so. Current pair is a set of Oakley polarized that I got through US Standard Issue. For folks that are Veterans and such you can go to their site and get "issue" glasses for a drastically reduced price. I like them and are my GO TO pair for anything that does not involve yard work, car work, home repairs.....my mowing glasses are taped together Native's that have scratches all over them but again I am just mowing. If there were a pair of gray colored glasses that are polarized and are GLASS that are under $150 I would snatch them up but I haven't found a pair that I like. As MikeChell mentioned earlier.....I ALWAYS have a couple of pairs of the cheapo Wally World/REI/BPS on hand JUST in case I lose a pair...and I have done that a ton! Better to have a backup pair than ruin a fishing trip! Call it insurance! Mike
×
×
  • Create New...