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I usually use Utmost Enterprises. I've described what I was looking for, usually after searching online and familiarizing myself with the different styles available in components from various manufacturers. They've been very helpful. I've also bought a few components from Bingham Enterprises. another good source. there are so many options in vendors and component manufacturers it can be dizzying. good luck! eric fresno, ca.

it's easy to play armchair quarterback on a monday but just looking at the specs on that original light i wouldn't have imagined it would have worked out well at all. lowe's has a table lamp with 20-something LEDs and a flexible neck listed at $19.99 but was on sale 2 days ago when i bought it for $17.99. i wish it had a longer neck but it'll work out just fine if anyone's interested. slightly blueish light (which i don't like that much). i mean, really, if it's "daylight balanced," or "neutral," i wouldn't see a blue cast like i do on tons of highly regarded lights. i supplement that lowe's light with a warm halogen light, the overlap of colors makes it more neutral to me.

i didn't see a link but i copied and pasted the URL. the 9-10 reel is a $144.99 gamble i too found it odd to go with a "no-name" after great suggestions of established companies but i've done the same in the past. look at that Colton reel i have sitting unused in a box somewhere. just do not fish a lamson, hardy or galvan beyond that 10 day period, or after, and you should be ok. ignorance can be bliss. he has 10 days to determine whether he wants to keep it.

Fly fishing DOES seem like a rich man's sport if you believe the hype i all of of its manifestations. but it doesn't have to be. I don't use flouro tippet or leaders, my trout are opportunistic mountain feesh. if i don't catch, i tell myself it's my own technique or tactics not related to choice of tippet, but tippet choice IS something i exercise. I use a lot of tippet. I fish with friends who are new to the sport so i am often tying or retying their flies for them (that ended last season, my new years resolution, they need to learn). or i often switch out flies. every new season i buy new spools of 4x, 5x and 6x tippet, and sometimes buy 5x again (it's used most often), and relegate the old stuff to my gear bag and give out to the buddies when they are short. when fishing for bass, LMB or stripers, i use straight 10lb mono. maxima chameleon sounds interesting. since i now tie my own flies (materials usually bought online), and have been wrapping my own rods on imported blanks, and have an addiction to vintage used single action click reels (rarely over $70), buying tippet and leaders from my local shop is the least i can do. though i do jump on internet deals, like the sci-anglers guide spools i just bought last month for next season. those should last all of 2016, which with california's snow fall so far, i hope to be epic for fishing AND catching. eric fresno, ca.

Nice!

In my mind, Lamson and Hardy are opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to reel design (i'm thinking of the classic series hardy). i assume you mean the disc drag versions of hardy reels which i haven't paid much attention to. They're both good reels. consider Galvan too. (this list could grow huge). eric fresno, ca.

Contact Wolff Indiana. They are very open to communication. eric fresno, ca.

I imagine a Lamson Liquid is a good reel. "Cast reels" are much better quality these days. I would say the Guru is a better reel. If you get a Guru, you'll be very happy. A Nautilus is a fine reel. I would venture to say better than the Guru. A Nautilus FWX 5/6 can be had for around $275. It's their "low end" reel. eric fresno, ca.

It's ok Mike, the flies are all barbless and put away when I'm done. even when I'm watching them they have no interest in the flies. They like to show off their mastery of the whip finish tool at times, but usually just interested in the calf tail.

She's waiting for movement... (though both cats usually prefer to pull my calf's tail out of the box late at night)

EZ Fly Tying Tip #17: eric fresno, ca.

There's a lot of good points in the discussion re: fixed vs rotary vs true rotary vises. Randy, the original poster of this thread, was having trouble tying small flies. He has started after retiring and he is new to tying. we should have asked him, What kind of small flies are you tying and what kind of issues are you struggling with in this new venture? tying small flies can be difficult at any age. but if retired, perhaps he is suffering with sight issues. or hand-eye coordination. do hands tremble? are hand/finger muscles not used to working with small items like flies? and what size and patterns of small flies is Randy trying to tie which are proving difficult. i'm 49 and even i have issues with eye sight and hand control, too many years gripping heavy pro level (and weight) cameras. i think being new, it may be a case of practice. small things like magnification might help. vise design, being able to brace and hand (or not) might be an issue or solution. perhaps Rand is trying to tie complicated patterns, easier patterns might be best at this stage. i do not think rotary versions vs fixed is necessarily the issue to be addressed. but having a true rotary may be an itch that needs to be scratched in the end, just because! Randy, what do you think of everything that's been posted so far? eric fresno, ca.

ai yi yi..... look at it this way. do the math. Basic Peak vise $150 Midge jaws $40 Large jaws $40 Pedestal base or c-clamp $40 Total= $270 Atlas vise $125 One jaw does it all Includes both pedestal and c-clamp eric fresno, ca.

Sometimes people just like shiny metal things... or black metal in the mongoose case. eric fresno, ca.

There are so many variables when it comes to hiking boots, it's like asking, which vise should i buy? btw, i think i read recently that Vaqsue has re-released their classic Sundowner model, so if that's the boot phg is referring to, he may be in luck.

By the way, here's my professional lighting set-up (chuckling)

Playing with stones, Day 2. eric fresno, ca.

I grabbed the pattern from tightlines for the simplified version and tied a few last weekend with a buddy. Today I tried tying on biots in front. Size 12 hook, brown beadhead. Oops, looks like I screwed up the wire spacing at the rear. lol eric fresno, ca.

I too just noticed this is for production tying. if that's so, it's a business expenditure. increase your budget if necessary, get the best vise and write it off come tax time. I ain't sleeping with it but I still think the Atlas is pretty darn good vise. I should add though, my only previous experience is with a Griffin 2A. eric fresno, ca.

The Griffin Blackfoot appears to have a segmented shaft judging from the photo (and my owning an older Griffin 2A vise which is also segmented). you might be able to unscrew it and have a half length shaft for pedestal use. contact griffin to ask, they are very responsive. I have the Wolff (formerly Anvil) Atlas vise, bought last spring. It is true rotary. A nice thing about the Atlas is it has only one jaw. there are no optional midge or large jaws to have to buy, or fiddle with (or misplace/store) and the default jaw holds a wide range of hooks (i fish for trout and bass and i've been tying from size 2/0 down to size 22 hooks) . Another nice thing is it comes with both a pedestal and c-clamp. One "bad" aspect is they saved money by not machining certain parts they deemed not necessary. this is good, it brought the overall price down. An HMH Standard vise is nicely machined everywhere, but then that's way out of your budget. It was a wise compromise in design. It's also made in the USA and has a limited lifetime warranty. My Atlas vice felt a bit rough when it first arrived. I questioned this with the seller and the next day i had an email from the owner and designer of the Atlas vice. He provided me with his phone number, we chatted, he was friendly, explained the design and answered any questions I had. The vice was smooth as butter after one quick adjustment and 1-2 flies. It's a heavy duty vise. It feels like something that will last a long long time and the designer said replacement parts are available if ever necessary. No buyer's remorse at all. Cons: It does not come with a bobbin cradle but you can pick one up from $12-$20. and it does not come with a carry case. also, the material spring isn't the best design but it's of a design many use and works. it just could work better. I think a Peak material spring can work great with some tinkering for attachment. But that goes with many vises, they could all benefit with the Peak design of material spring. The Blackfoot's spring design seems to be slightly better too. Also, there are three screws which use a black plastic head on each, plus on the c-clamp. I don't think it's a serious flaw, they should work fine and have so far. in fact, i haven't touched them since the first week of use. eric fresno, ca.

"Am I handicapping myself by trying to begin with a fixed vise?" No. Particularly if you're just starting out. eric fresno, ca.

I've toyed with it some but haven't fished those flies yet. From one of several web pages i've bookmarked, apparently CDC comes in four forms: http://globalflyfisher.com/tiebetter/tying-with-cdc/ eric fresno, ca.

troutah's photo lightened a bit to show off the purple

not a problem for me, shifting mid-stream is par for my courses i can see the enthusiasm and excitement. the Peak was on my list for quite some time. Congratulations. now, forget all prior research and love that vise, don't look back eric fresno, ca.

Nice! But the photos appear a little dark to my eye. eric fresno, ca.