scubohuntr

I have a little plastic box for trimmings from Antron, flashabou and the like. I just cut em into short pieces when they go in the box, and someday I'll use them for a little added sparkle when blending dubbing. I have another little box for hackle tips too short for palmering. I always have Adams and mosquito wings that way. Chenille stubs make fuzzy SJWs. Short pieces of the wretched cheap braided nylon i use for backing does alright for little black caddis wings when teased out with a bodkin. The core of the Mylar braid I use for Zonkers is perfectly good Antron yarn Little zonker ends make durable tails for small leeches or buggers. Leader butts, after I have broken them off too many times, can be used to make weed guards on pike flies. I don't try to salvage marabou butts any more, and generally not thread unless I have an immediate need for a herl wrap or very small rib. .

I bought a package of foam door hangers at a craft store, looking for 4mm thickness for some larger Gartside Gurglers. The foam is too hard to use for Gurglers, so I'll probably end up laminating two or three layers and punching out some 5-6mm popper bodies. The colours are useless, so I'll likely end up giving them a couple coats of white soft head anyway. I built a couple of Al's Wiggle Frogs out of disposable foam earplugs, cut on the bias. Worked okay. They would probably do alright as poppers too. Mine certainly wouldn't look as nice as those in the pics though.

Checking out the photo post process, with a #14 Parachute BWO(ish) and a #20 Thread Midge Pupa... I can't seem to find 2XL #20 hooks anywhere, so the midge is a little short.

I doubt there is much schist being used as countertops. Most has either got too much mica, hence little or no strength, or garnets which would chew hell out of saws and polishing equipment.

Frogs done, just need to know where to send 'em.

I generally loathe video how-to, but with the subtitles I can leave the sound off and still get something out of it. I'd still rather read than watch, but this works. Well done!

What, no trailer???

If you use them for bait, you need to know what you are doing. A number of freshwater clam species are endangered, and can get you a big fine.

Empty shells are generally from muskrats, mink, and raccoons. Fish don't really eat them, except for drum in some cases (drum will eat small zebra mussels and Asiatic clams).

I'm in...

I use an old tube of Burt's Bees for both. Problem solved, since I don't use either very often. I hate it when I'm taking an odd moment at work to look for a pattern online and all I can find is videos. Doesn't anyone READ anymore? I can't open a video in my cubicle. For one thing, it would disturb colleagues nearby. For another, it would look bad if the boss walked by, even though I am entitled to breaks. Ditto for websites that blast sound when they open.

Weird reaction, but if it doesn't change anything but colour, it is probably a positive. Red is a great trigger colour.

Wow, and I thought I had some obscure reference books (lol). They seem a little bendy, but I'll see what I can do with them.

The vest patch keeps me from putting wet flies back in the box. I put 'em on the patch, and in a few minutes they're gone. No fly, no wet, no problem.

It's a VMC 9283; There's a drawing on their website http://vmcpeche.com/sites/vmcpeche.com/files/hook-range-photo/vmc_hook_range_9283.jpg. I like the Thunder Creek idea, and there have been a bunch of other good suggestions as well. Thanks everyone!

I grabbed a box of #18 hooks out of a clearance bucket at a show a couple of weeks ago. I didn't have much time to examine them. Turns out they are streamer hooks, so now I have to find some way to use up 100 #18 streamer hooks. I tried tying a teeny Wooly Bugger with #0 chenille and midge hackle, but I don't think it will hook very well- too much obstruction in the hook gap. I did a red and white "mohair leech" type of thing with red floss and white Antron; it may work alright for perch if I ever get into the right spot. Should be flashy enough. I've been thinking of tying up some slim foam hopper patterns or poppers. Or long skinny nymphs, I suppose. Anyone got any suggestions?

Having tried some parachute patterns, I think I'll do my bit to keep the fly sellers in business by buying parachutes, and keep tying gnats and bivisibles. Maybe the odd Adams if I can get the wings right.

I picked up some 1/124 oz brass jigheads (#10 hook), and I've been tying some upside down Prince nymphs, Copper Johns, and even a Wooly Bugger. Haven't had a chance to try them out yet, but with a maggot or a chunk of smelt they ought to work.

In hopes of nudging my wife in that direction, where did those fabrics come from? Are they available online, or just at a tiny "secret quiltin' hole" shop off Highway 31?

The main issue with lead is waterfowl. Birds have gizzards that use small stones and gravel (or lead shot) to grind food. Lead shot in a bird's gizzard will stay for an extended period of time and release very fine particulate lead. So lead shot (and to a much lesser extent small lead sinkers), over extensive shallow water, can be a problem for ducks. The public, being the public, tends to over-react to things like this. If lead is bad for waterfowl, it MUST be bad for fish. Of course, the real problems like mine drainage and industrial waste are still under the radar. Transfer of lead through the skin was an issue with lead gasoline additives, which are organic lead compounds, but very few organic lead compounds are in use today (because they are much more readily absorbed into the body). Inorganic lead is almost impossible to transfer through the skin to any meaningful degree. The main contamination pathways are inhalation and ingestion. If you are going to develop a problem with blood lead levels (BLL), it will almost certainly be through occupational inhalation or ingestion of lead fumes or dust, either at work (soldering, smelting, painting) or at home (hobbies, lead-based paint (pre-1976), or imported food packaging). I use either lead or lead-free wire and don't worry about it. If I ever have a problem with lead it will be because of casting bullets in a basement, shooting in indoor ranges, and living in old houses with old paint.

Thanks for the link! (Warning- pay books are not all that sneaked in!) The last free Kindle book I downloaded was overpriced, but Zane Grey is a known quantity. I read dozens of his westerns when I was but a wee lad; he only had three plotlines, but they were good ones. Very excited to see some of his fishing books included. Now if we could only line up some free Ruark...

I use reading glasses for most general purpose tasks and tying big woollies, but I have a head-mounted magnifier with dual lenses (3X and 5X) for tying little stuff. If I ever get crazy enough to get into midges, I have a jeweler's loupe that mounts to my reading glasses and provides up to 16X. Only one eye, though, so it's only for inspection, not tying. Agreed, the fly doesn't have to be perfect to catch fish, and wearing magnification will make every flaw stand out, but I can't get better unless I can see what I did wrong with this one. Unless I completely missed a tie-in so the fly is coming apart, it goes in the fly box. Then out comes my tying journal and I write down what I tied, what I did right, and what I did wrong. If you get all depressed and mopey after seeing your flies at 5X, dig out a few commercial ties and look at them. I guarantee you won't feel nearly as bad about your own efforts after you have examined a few commercial $3 Prince nymphs or BWOs under a magnifier.