COMike

Bryon, I will look for that book at the library and if I cannot find it I will try to snag one off Amazon...... Your pictures are AMAZING! It is hard for me to portray just what I "See" when I am in the mountains. I try but will have to look into the book you suggested before I try to justify a camera purchase to my lovely wife! Mike

Welcome Bimini! I used to be stationed in NW Florida and was a pure saltwater/bass guy (NO FLIES).......fast forward twenty years and I am living in Colorado and am enthralled with the whole fly fishing arena! If you are fishing for Bass and other fish in your area...Mikechell (a member here) does a ton of work with that and you might want to hit him up for some tips. Cheers, Mike

Welcome Christian! You have found a great community here and happy to see you! Mike

I managed to get a copy of Charlie Craven's book "Basic Fly Tying" at an estate sale this past weekend and I REALLY enjoy it! I find myself going between it and the Skip Morris book. I splurged and purchased a copy of "The Benchside Introduction to Fly Tying" by Leeson and Schollmeyer as well......I like it's split pages!

As I continue to tie, I have found TWO other books that really help. They both go into selecting materials and just how to use them. 1. Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying.....this book really goes into depth on tying flies and I really like it. I was able to find one in an estate sale for under a dollar when all the other books were thrown in! You can get it on Amazon.com and get a good used copy as well. I do this a bunch when looking for a printed copy of a book. IIRC I saw this book for around $25 or so. 2. The Benchside Introduction to Fly Tying.......I actually splurged on this and bought it the other day. I really like the split pages so that I can look at techniques and "rewind" (for lack of a better term) to have the techniques displayed. I think you have some great advice here......DONT spend tons of money at all. When you find some patterns your son wants to tie....ask and I am 100% positive we can all assist and point you towards good videos and offer suggestions! Mike

Way to go Steve!!!!! I am still in the learning phase for fly tying and can't wait until I finally catch a trout on a fly I tied!!!! Great work!

Cool.....I REALLY like the idea of having the hole for pushing trash into. It makes it that much neater in my opinion. I don't think I would use the shopvac attachment but for someone that needs it, it is a nice addition if someone were building a new bench. Mike

Ahhh I understand Shoe! I am not at the stage where I can experiment yet. The pic I posted was on a whim....not that I got bored with what I was tying mind you, but I wanted to try some of the things on hand. You know what though? You mentioned seeing things in your fly box and wondered "what was I thinking?"....Perhaps you were doing as I did and just wanted to tie something up differently. That is what I was thinking....LOL! This Saturday I was at our Project Healing Waters Denver Family day. I elected not to fish simply because my rod is not back yet and I already got a chance to fish last Wednesday. I instead socialized with the vets and volunteers and tried to pay close attention on what flies folks were catching fish on. I was AMAZED that one of the flies that was catching a ton of trout was a little midge type....IIRC it was called a "Snow Cone"....it was tiny and was fished in a dropper situation. I would have never guessed it would catch fish as it really doesn't resemble any of the insects (and their stages of life) but damn did it catch fish!!!!

Nice work! Are the clear containers on the desk VHS containers? I think they would work great! Mike

That looks very nice! I am still tying on my plywood desk downstairs but in the future I will be making something similar to yours! One thing I am considering is putting a hole in the desk so that I can swipe scraps into. Some scraps I keep for my "mega scrap dubbing" that I will attempt in the future. Mikechell....didn't I see you make a bench with a hole in it AND an attachment for a shopvac? Mike

First Trout on a FLY ROD!!!!

Shoebop, From a frugal and beginner standpoint......YOU have to tell us here just what YOU are trying to achieve! Are you trying to tie flys that are "perfect" according to "standards" ......if so then you might find materials that are not quite like you see in the books/online....... I am still a beginner and learning but I spend HOURS a day practicing.... Do What YOU want to!!! Here is a shot of a thing I am trying to do with pet hair. I think the things I have taken from my dogs works. I will see soon if they catch fish but who cares, it is about the journey right? Mike

NICE WORK! My tying center pales in comparison........

I'll toss in an opinion from a beginner....... My mentor has a Dynaking......he LOVES IT! Great, I cant spend that money on one so I tried a bunch of vises and came up with my Peak Rotary Vise....... I really like it!!!!!!! When I see a vise that does the same thing I need I will make a change but it works for me .... Mike

So at MY stage in the fly tying journey, I probably should stick to "approved" things..... HOWEVER, I just started a fly with both of my dog's fur....... Here is the shot.... It won't amount to much but I WILL fish it...... Now back to attempting the Gold Hare and Pheasant tails........ Mike

Thanks Everyone! I have read the top three books .... all on insect ID so to speak. The Art Flick book was AMAZING!!!! Art Flick's Streamside Guide It is a really good read....the nomenclature is good to have but the journey that he took over the years was really inspiring for a new trout fisher like myself. I like reading things from a couple of decades ago.....less hype and more thought. Just my opinion. I have read the first few chapters of Charlie Craven's book....why this was in the collection I have no idea as all of the other books were much older but it was a TOTAL SCORE for me! Come to find out he lives just north of us in Arvada CO so I will be making a trip up there this week! I love Charlie's explanation on tying flies........what an inspiration! Mike

Hi Everyone! Well I hit up an estate sale today near the house and lo and behold I found some very cool books....most of them are older but they are in great shape. I am enjoying looking at all the fly patters and such. Picked them all up for a whopping total of $15! Not bad!

Did it work??

Piker did you see this vid? Kind of my mantra.... Mike My quote...... People don't know about the things I say and do They don't understand about the shit that I've been through It's been so long since I've been home I've been gone, I've been gone for way too long Maybe I forgot all things I miss Oh somehow I know there's more to life than this I said it too many times And I still stand firm You get what you put in And people get what they deserve Still I ain't seen mine No I ain't seen mine I've been giving just ain't been gettin I've been walking that there line So I think I'll keep a walking With my head held high I'll keep moving on and only God knows why

Piker I have tried but in less than 24 hours it simply goes to a link..... Let's see how this one goes..... Thanks for the tutorial you sent me and we will see how it works out Mike

I Simply have to be done with things here.....I keep trying but nothing shows up. Just links....... Sad to see this....... Thanks for all the help from folks here but this is killing me Mike PS....EDIT....there is a delay on the site......if anyone can see the embedded vids I will be happy!

That's a good point Piker. I have the same thought sometimes, especially when there are two or three new members per day introducing themselves, but I'm going to remind myself that while it might feel repititious for us, it's really nice as a newcomer to get a warm welcome; it makes all the difference in how people perceive our virtual community, and how active they'll choose to be in posting to the forums themselves. My dad always used the old saw, "You only get one chance to make a first impression", which grew to be an old saw because it's true. AMEN.......this community will die unless there are folks that are wiling at least to say "Hi"... My two cents....

Nice work! Hope your O-Chem didn't taint your opinions of us! Prev P-Chem guy that went straight BIO! Mike

Islander, I spent a TON of time off the coast in my boat......Where are you in SW FL????? Let us know your location and what you want to fish. Snook and Bluegill are two VERY different patterns........just clarify for us. BTW....Just what trout are you fishing for? You confused me... Mike

Does this work?