Hardyrod1974

Thank you again, you have been very helpful!

Thank you flytire very much. I just ordered 100 from an Amazon seller. Do you epoxy or UV glue them in place or will head cement do? Thank you for the pictures of your flies also. They are awesome! Richard

I'm wanting to tie, in the traditional manner, some of the Optic series Steelhead flies that Jim Pray made popular. What kind of beads did he use? How big were they? What is available these days and from where? Thank you. Richard

Mark, Any chance for a few intermediate photos as you tie the next one? I'd like to do some up and some extra photos would sure be helpful. Nice work ! Rich

Hi Norm, If you haven't found those black squirrel tails yet, I send you one (maybe two, not sure of my present inventory), N/C. Contact me at artistspad (at) outlook. (com) Rich S

Thank you to all that have replied! Denduke and Fin-ite 34: Those are the beads i am looking for. I'll try my local Walmart on Thursday night and if I have to I'll order some from Rod n Bobb's. Flytire: Great tie! What is the pattern? Richard

I've tried searching on the net for some plastic beads to use when tying feather-wing trolling streamers but have come up empty handed. The color would be reddish orange, maybe 4 or 5mm in diameter or what ever the proper size is for streamers with #2/#4 hooks. Does anyone know of a source? Regards, Richard

I want to try dyeing some bucktails. I've deboned them, washed thoroughly and the skin is very dry right now. I know you can use Rit dye, I'd like to find out which is best- the liquid or the powder? Any hints on doing this? I cannot afford the buy AK Best's book on dyeing and bleaching, so I hope to get some help here. Thank you in advance Richard

Who makes a reasonably accurate digital scale in the $15- $17 range? Thank you

Living in the woods means mice. So this time of year I set traps around the exterior of the house. Occasionally I get a vole. They have tend to have a nice dark grey pelt. I'm not sure how easy it would be to skin one, so I was wondering about about washing and rinsing one (intact) and then using a disposable razor to shave some of the fur off. Has anyone done something like this?

To all- I have PM'd Mr. Frechette with an apology for my two replies that were part of the "Hellgramite by ruben martin" posting on Thursday. My replies were uncalled for, perhaps hurtful and added nothing of value to the conversation. Regards, Richard

Your words speak for themselves. So maybe I should have picked a different than "dump". The point is, here's a new guy on the block, make him feel at home. He wants to learn. Admit it, your words came across a little less than friendly. You are right, I didn't have anything to add to his original post. So? My post was about your wording, as discussed above. Again, your words speak for themselves.

Some folks are way to apt to dump on others around here. How about a little courtesy. COURTESY The showing of politeness in one's attitude and behavior toward others.

I still tie on my Thompson "A" vise that I purchased for $10 in 1971. I bought it from Reed Tackle in Fairfield NJ. I also have a Vienard "Midge" vise that I use for the smaller stuff. That was purchased in1973. I haven't run across anything I need to tie (freshwater) that couldn't be tied on either of these vises.

I'm looking to get a pair of hip boots for my small stream fishing. I'd prefer to actually try them on in person rather than order on-line. The local Bass Pro Shop is still open here in NH. They carry a line of boots called "White River Fly Shop". Does anyone have any experience with these boots? Thank you.

Charlie P- Can you tell me about that round bin that seems to be attached to the base of your vise? I'll assume it holds your trimmed material scraps. Did you make it yourself? Thank you Richard

Mark, Your post a page back, in the picture where you mention the wreath, to the left is a metal(?) frame with spools on it. Where did that come from? Thanks

Not everyone sees the need to wear a pack or vest when fly fishing....

I hope to do a lot more fishing this year and some of it will be in streams wearing waders. I'm pondering the use of cleats or studs or chains in some instances. And I got to thinking about how well sound travels underwater, I remember as a kid banging some rocks around while swimming under water and how loud the sound was. If my waders have some sort of metal attachment on the soles, should I be concerned about the noise spooking the fish while I'm walking around???

This is a progress report on my fly tying bench. It is being done in the Adirondack rustic style. The 4x4 legs are temporary and will be replaced by Yellow Birch logs after they season properly. I stood one up in front of the bench for the picture. The "live edge" bench top is 2 1/8" White Pine, cut 40 years ago. The shelf above it is also White Pine. The other shelves and back board are Birch plywood. The vertical supports holding the first shelf are the ends from the slab the shelf was cut from. One picture shows some segments from a Yellow Birch sapling clamped to the backboard. This is to give you some idea of how the backboard will be framed. After the pieces are attached, the plywood to the outside of the saplings will be cut away. A lot of rustic furniture is designed as you go along. You get just so far, then you consider the options available for the next stage. Another picture shows an oval metal frame with a thick piece of beveled glass (from an old car??) This might be installed where I set it and the birch saplings will butt up to it or maybe I will add a small piece of plywood at the top and let the sapling frame go over it. Maybe I'll not use it. Time will tell. I'll look for a picture of a Smallmouth bass, trout or salmon that fits nicely behind it. My wife might paint a fish on the back side, or ???? The two sets of drawers came from old sewing machines. The set on the left are from a Remington sewing machine made just after the Civil war. They made lots of stuff when the gun business fell off. The pulls are marked "the Remington", that was the model. The final stage will include a lot of trim work using small sticks, birch bark and maybe some small pine cones split lengthwise and who knows what else. Some of the upper shelf supports may have some pockets carved in them and some classic wet flies set in them. I may do a similar thing on the bench top and fill the pockets with some clear 2 part epoxy. Updates to follow. Rich

jdowney, If in fact you are going to toss those old necks, I'll take them. I'll pay postage. Let me know what you have. Rich

Flytire, At this point sending it back is not realistic. Say it only costs $3 to send it back and I get the $5 purchase cost refunded. Add the original $4.99 shipping cost to the $3 to return it. So in the end I've spent $7.99 for postage for a book I no longer own.

I received my copy in the mail yesterday. I did look at the Amazon preview (I wish it had showed more). I took a chance. What Whatfly said about scope and not detail is very true. If I had the book in hand before paying for it, I'd still have my $9.99 to spend on something more worth while. Live and learn

David, I was in your place many years ago, around 1974. I had been tying for myself and friends for about 4 years. I tied for some local shops and for Eric Lieser at the Fly Fisherman's Bookcase in NY state. I did OK, made enough money to have Walton Powell make me a custom bamboo rod and buy some Hardy reels. I sort of enjoyed the whole process, did it for about 3 years but not full time. I wouldn't do it again though. You get an order for 12 dozen dry flies WITH a deadline and all of a sudden your "fun" pass-time isn't as much fun as it was doing new patterns for yourself or maybe a dozen here and a half dozen there for some friends. Tying commercially comes at a cost though. You now have a deadline. You will possibly be asked to tie flies that you have a hard time with initially. You can't say "no" the shop owner too often before the calls stop. Are you in school? Do you have another job? As an experiment, sit down at your tying bench/ table and tie 3 dozen of one fly, one size of your choosing with just a couple of rest breaks. Time yourself for each dozen. Then put your flies in a big group and see if they are ALL the same. Buy a few flies from a couple of the bigger shops, use them as your model. Sit down and tie a dozen of each, do they EACH look the same as the model? How long does it take you? How many per hour? Do the math. What's your time worth? You will get faster as time passes and that will help. Give it a try. Please try what I have mentioned though. Regards, Richard

Has anyone out there used this book? I have a good handle on the basics and do OK ish with the easy stuff but would like to learn more. Thank you. Richard