ski.parent

Hi there, I'm very much a beginner but here goes: 1. Have had a Norvise since Xmas - I love it. I enjoy the precision engineering. The automatic bobbin is a wondrous thing. It lives up to the claims made on the website. To me it is worth the considerable expense. Whether the flies tied on it will catch any more fish is another question entirely. 2. I'm practicing tying a woolly bugger, a 'generic' dry in different colours (white, grey, brown), and a terrestrial imitation (a red tag). I should try a bead head nymph soon. A nice glass of red can help ! Cheers, Brad.

As a beginner I haven't tried possum dubbing, but I must get around to it as indeed I live in the land of the Australian possum. We call them possums (not o') and like your opossums are mammals but are a very different species. Ours are said to be cuter because they don't have scary teeth. This is what my local store says about possum fur for dubbing: Possum Fur Patch NaturalPossum is one of the most underrated furs used today and is available in many natural colours from creams, through tans to reddish browns and black. The fur varies from being extremely short (5mm) around the mask to very long (30mm) along the spine. Unlike many furs, Possum has a crinkly structure that enables the tyer to achieve a bulkier looking fly whilst using less material. Its fineness makes it very easy to dub. The creams and tan make good Caddisfly adult imitations whereas the other colours are adaptable to a multitude of patterns. 'ne darker fur is suitable for tying Mudeye imitations.

Thanks jakonyx and shoebox. If there are any Aussie members reading I would be very interested in experiences at importing hackle / skins etc. Cheers. PS http://clearwaterhackle.com is an impressive website ! I'll certainly get in touch with them.

Well I have probably got you worried by my introduction.............I meant "vise" of course. I don't have any cheap vices, or at least none that I admit to.

This is a great table which I've saved for future reference .I think there is a minor error - the 3.8mm size should read 5/32" (there are two 3/16" sizes for 4.8mm and 3.8mm in the above table). Cheers.

Hi folks, "Beginner Brad" here. I had a few questions which this thread has largely, but not completely, answered. Its difficult to buy Whiting, or even any hackle sometimes here in Oz other than online from USA. I'm happy to pay the cost for quality product. So three questions: 1. Recommendations for online sellers ? ( I note feather emporium and jimsflyco - any others ?) 2. Experiences with Whiting high and dry capes ? It sounds about the quality/ price point I'm aiming for - how would this product compare with say bronze grade Herbert Miner ? 3. Would you go with these grade of capes (e.g. high and dry) for tailing and wings of 'basic' patterns (e.g. Adams) or also purchase other winging/tailing products (and if so which ?) Many thanks, Brad.

Hi, I'm a new member and a keen , beginner fly tier. Had a cheapie vice for a year and just got a new high quality one for Xmas !! So I'm keen to have a place where I can ask some questions and learn by others experience. I've posted question #1 on the beginners threads. Thanks in advance folks, Brad.