DWSmith

I'll have to get me one of those...soon!

We have lived out in the country 16 years as of last December and I've had only 2 tick attach to me during that time but I've gotten countless of them off of my skin before they attached.  I'm hairy to the point I've been called a gorilla behind my back and because of the hair I can feel a tick crawling on me too easily.

I retired in January and have been spending more time outside this year.  This time of year the ticks here are really tiny to the point I don't feel some of them until it's too late.  So far I've had 3 attach to me this season.

I'll get some of the  stuff you guys recommend.

Thanks!

Ticks and chiggers.

I went outside for 45 minutes a little while ago and since I have come inside I have picked off at least 10 ticks in 30 minutes.

The only thing I hate worse than ticks are chiggers and chiggers love me.

I've been fighting the ticks since Easter and they just keep getting worse.

Now that I've eaten a sandwich and had a cold glass of water I'll have to head back outside.  Dang!

2 hours ago, niveker said:

Plenty of opinions expressed here @ the virtues, or lack thereof, of rotary and true rotary vises.  Some find they need it, some find they like it occasionally, some find they never use it. 

That's why the best advise given here was to try tying on some vises, if possible, and then make an your choice.    

👍

"To each his own."  "Live and let live."  etc.

I'm not criticizing anyone's choice but just thinking out loud about my choice.

I will add that in Poul Jorgensen's Book of Fly Tying by ... Poul Jorgensen he only recommends the HMH and D. H. Thompson vises.  In Production Fly Tying by A.K. Best he says to check out the HMH vise.  I think I made a safe decision even if it wasn't the best decision (but I think it was the best decision for me).

Okay, I get what you're all saying but this raises more questions for me so I'll just silently/gracefully bow out now.

Thanks again guys!

28 minutes ago, flytire said:

did the tyers in all of the videos you watched finish tying the fly with this major error?

 

I don't think of it as an error at all but just a matter of convenience.  If the hook doesn't really need to be on a fixed axis then why bother adjusting?  I think the Spartan will be all I need.

If I had a Traveler I probably wouldn't fully (I shouldn't have said 'proper' earlier) adjust it most of the time, if ever, either.  Seems a bit too fiddly to me.

I watched the video.

Is an attractor primarily used as the first fly when having a trailing fly attached to it or can you be fishing only 1 fly and it has a bit of extra flash that makes it an attractor pattern?

What determines an attractor pattern and what is its purpose?  (Yeah, yeah, I know.  I'm just a dumb beginner.  )  I would think that all patterns should be designed to attract fish so aren't they all attractor patterns?

Well, the more videos I watch the more I see the Traveler being used without proper adjustment so the hook shank is not staying on a fixed axis  They're using it like the Spartan works.  I'm not criticizing but just saying that it looks like a rotary is plenty good enough for me as compared to a true rotary.

I imagined you looking at least a little different from that Norm. 

My graduation picture.

2 hours ago, niveker said:

Congrats. Give us your opinion after you've tied a few on it. 

Will do!

Very nice!

Have you considered loading Linux on your current computer and forgetting about M$ Windoze?  There is a lot of support for Linux.

Just a thought.

Bought a Spartan with free shipping and a $50 gift card thrown in for free.  Woo-hoo!

Thanks for all of your help guys!

2 hours ago, RickZieger said:

I like the rotary function but have found that it helps to put a half hitch on before using it.  This may be because at time I am the worlds largest klutz.

Rick 

I just watched a couple of Norvise videos with Norm Norlander and that guy slapped half hitches on the fly right and left.  I think he's the inventor (?) maybe so maybe it's not you.

Update: Watched some more of his videos.  He's a real gem!  Lots of neat tips and helpful tricks.  Of course all of you guys probably already knew that but I haven't watched him before this morning.

niveker,

Thanks for the PM.  Very helpful.

Traveller was at the top of my list IF I got a rotary vise and then I read about the Spartan.  It sounds like I couldn't go wrong with either one but I may be leaning towards the Traveller again.

So many Youtube reviewers mention how they don't use the rotary feature or very rarely use it so I thought I could do fine without it.  But maybe this is my opportunity to get one and try it out.

Other than that I could always duplicate Lefty Kreh's vise. 

The HMH Spartan is the one I really like the looks of but I wanted to hear from folks here about some vises, not just reviewers on Youtube.  Thanks all!  👍

1 hour ago, flytire said:

use the one you are currently tying on

Been there.  Done that.  Got the scars but haven't bought the T-shirt.

No, seriously I could stick with it but I have a birthday coming up and thought about getting a vise made with a bit better quality than my Sunrise.  May get something other than a vise though.

Looking for some recommendations for a non-rotary vise, just in case.

When it comes to reviews we live in a wonderful time IMHO.  Youtube rules!

I'm not yet in the market for a new vise but knowledge is power and videos are entertaining so in preparation for the future I'm watching vise review videos to learn about what's available.

Maybe I just don't get it but so many reviews talk about how a vise is fast.  I find this humorous.  This is a hobby.  If I sit down to tie a few flies then reach over to my cup of coffee for a sip I've wasted any time I've saved.  I don't look for ways to save time doing something enjoyable (unless somehow it makes it even more enjoyable).

Also, the mention of a vise's coolness factors comes up now and then.  Is tying flies a cool activity?  Let me ask 10 non-flytying friends to find out.  I'll also ask them if they want to see my really cool vise to see what they say. 

For me these reviews are worth watching.  Most, if not all, are very well done by very knowledgeable folks.  I'm learning a lot but I'm also grinning pretty often.

I'm not criticizing but just poking fun.

Life it good! 

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A: To prove to the possum it could be done.

Good info.

When it comes to bugs in the feathers/fur can you just zipper bag them and stick them in a freezer for a couple of days and that kills all the bugs?

Poopdeck,

As long as it can catch a fish I'm okay with it but I do admire the skills of many flytiers here.  I've asked before if some of the flies shown are really used for fishing or are just for display. They are works of art!

But many of the other flies shown here are the products of ingenuity, creativity, knowledge, and experience and show what works well without breaking the bank.  Show me more!  👍

If you haven't noticed from my previous posts I'm a cheapskate and it doesn't take the finest equipment and materials to catch panfish or any other fish that I know of.  (Flies tied on my Sunrise vise do catch fish.  The fish don't know what vise I've used.)  Commercially made lures,  flies,  etc. are mainly designed to catch fishermen in the sporting goods stores and may happen to also catch fish.

"I choose not."  I'm with you!

10 hours ago, niveker said:

Poppers, buggers I think, and some I wouldn't consider a fly, like those rooster tails.  

I looked at his hat again last night and there were several blades showing on several spinners.

Anyway, I'm going to guess the vise is a Thompson but I don't know which model.  It did have a knob like the B and C.

23 minutes ago, niveker said:

What was he tying, could you see?

Nope.  Couldn't tell.  Probably something like the ones on his hat and I don't recognize those.  Some of them look like spinners to me similar to Rooster Tails.

 It may have been a Thompson B or C.  It had that kind of knob.