breambuster

Have you loosened the thumb screw at the top of the vice where the vertical post and the horizontal jaw assemble come together? I have to keep tightening this screw on my Traveler to keep the vice from rotating when I don’t want it to. Yours may be extremely tight. BB

Moshup, I watched a YouTube video the other day where the guy said to make the wings as long as the shank plus the eye. BB

Hey, thanks, niveker, and Flytire.

How do you guys know how tall your split wings should be? I saw a video where a guy used a card with a line drawn on it for each hook size, but when I looked it up, the guy wanted a small fortune for the thing. Ouch! I’m wanted to work on my Catskill Dry Fly skills and especially tying in wings with wood duck flank feathers. Thanks. BB

To whoever got my set, I was thinking Hopper/Dropper when I tied them up. There is a foam Predator for the Hopper and the rest of the set were flies that I thought might work as Droppers. Hope they work for you. BB

Santa has arrived at our house and he brought me a very nice assortment of goodies and a super duper set of flies from Rick Zieger! Thanks Rick. Great set of flies. Thanks much. BB

N0GYM de N4LCV. Extra Class here back in the days when CW was required. I hope to one day put up an End Fed Half Wave for 80M and down. I’ve lived here 2 1/2 years and, so far, all I’ve got up is a 2 meter vertical on a 10 foot ground-mounted pole. I’ve trying to get on DMR which is a new digital mode, but my progress there is at a snail’s pace. COVID has everything shut down so I haven’t joined a club yet. There is at least 1 Ham in the Church we attend but he comes to the early service and we go to the late service. I’ve met him once, but it’s mostly emails. I hope to eventually put up my Hi-Gain 620 Vertical. Wish you were still on the air. We could try for a QSO at some point. 73 N4LCV - (BB) Oh yes, Meant to mention that a friend downstate killed a Wood Duck this past Saturday, so I’m watching the mail for a bag full of feathers. I’m going to learn to tie wings even if it kills me. BB

Got mine a few days ago and it’s under the tree. It may be the main thing I have to unwrap this year. My wife helped me pay for an amateur radio antenna about September because I had some guys coming to help me put it up, so Santa came early. But 1 of the guys ended up in the hospital and rehab and the antenna is still in a box out in the workshop. So, there won’t be much under he tree this year but Secret Swap Santa. But I am blessed. There are so many things to be grateful for. Hope you guys have a great Christmas. BB

I have a ceramic bobbin that is nearly impossible to thread by the “suck on a straw” method. Maybe there is some trick to that that I have never learned. If so, would someone tell me the secret? I also have a metal bobbin threader, but I don’t feel good about using it on ceramic. What other strategies have you guys found for threading a ceramic bobbin? BB

Mine arrived and they are an awesome set of flies. Thanks, atxdiscgolfer for hosting. BB

I replied to your PM. Did you get it?

No sign of mine yet. Patiently waiting.

The wing feathers came from Davidson River Outfitters. They are listed as Imitation Yaller Hammer Feathers. BB

Jackyjl, here is what I was working from. https://www.uky.edu/~agrdanny/flyfish/ljdecuir/yaller.htm BB

No, Doc. That would be pretty easy to tie and the materials would be easy to find. In the original pattern a wing feather is split in half from end to end. The body is peacock herl, and the longer half of the wing feather is palmered from the start of the hook bend to the hook eye. Then the feather is trimmed shorter at the tail and longer at the head. This is not hackle as in your picture, but a feather from a bird’s wing.

This is to apologize in advance to who ever gets my set. I had wanted to send a very old fly pattern that isn't tied much anymore because the materials are no longer available. The pattern is an old Great Smoky Mountains pattern called the "Yallerhammer." It was originally tied with the wing feather of a Yellow Flicker woodpecker which is now on the endangered list. It was originally tied as a trout pattern, but I've read several reports that it's a real killer of a Panfish fly. But I found a fly shop in Brevard, NC that sells a wing feather from another bird dyed to almost the exact shade of yellow as the Yellow Flicker. The fly shop says that it's just the smallest bit off to make it distinguishable to the DNR guys. But, alas, tying in that wing feather requires a technique that I have yet to master and time was running out for me, so I substituted another pattern that has been good to me. I've caught both Bluegills (Bream to us Southern guys) as well as small largemouth bass. No 10 pounders on it yet. If who ever gets my set wants to know the names of the patterns I tied, please PM me. I'll be glad to share that info. And thanks to Vicrider for his patience and endurance in running this swap year after year. Hope you all have the merriest of Christmases. BB

Vicrider, one of the first flies I learned to tie, 100 years ago, was the Mosquito. It has a moose mane body. Your post reminder me of my technique. I would hold my left forefinger against the backside of the shank as I wrapped. Of course, I had to move it when I actually came down the backside, but then I would hold that wrap in place with my finger until I made the next one. It was a kind of 1-wrap-at-a-time process, but it worked and it put only a small amount of tension on the hairs and only as the wrap was actually made. At any rate, it worked for me. BB

Hey atxdiscgolfer, please shoot me an addy. I have some Chartreuse Marabares ready and raring to go. BB

Mine arrived today. Thanks, Vic, for hosting. Sorry for causing all the problems. BB

Ouch! Teacher Vic, that ruler across the knuckles hurt! Really, it's my wife's fault. She's the one who bought those plastic mailing envelopes. I used a Sharpie Marker to address and it seems to smear for a long time. Even the lady at the Post Office mentioned it. I promise to do better next time. Hope the flies were OK. BB

I am going to attempt to tie the Chartreuse Marabare from the Winter 2014 issue of Fly Tyer.

Just to put a bit of interest into this, and if all goes according to plan, my Panfish box will have in it a rare fly, almost never tied anymore. I doubt that hardly anyone here has ever seen this fly, much less, has 1 in their box, but whoever gets my box will get 3 of them. I’m told it’s very effective for bluegills. I’ve been searching for several years to come up with the 1 crucial ingredient, and have just recently and quite by accident, come up with a source. Don’t ask me what the fly is. This is a SECRET Santa Swap in more ways then one. BB

Christmas is a big deal to me so I want in. That’s tough with 2 swaps due at the same time and me ready for a break, but so be it. I’m in. BB

Well, I looked at it and like Fly Tyer Magazine, but I’m about burnt out right now, so I decided, No. Then I got a PM and said, “I decided No.” But I looked at it again. I do like Fly Tyer Magazine and there are some really good tyers signed up already and I thought about it again. Then I looked at the due date and it’s my birthday. So, with arm firmed twisted behind my back, I’m in. BB

I did a series of swaps a few years ago called a “Skill Builder” Swap. We had a list of things to work on starting with nymphs, then wet flies, then Catskills style dries etc. I also had a guy in Europe who was a professional grade tyer to do a critic of each fly submitted so each guy would know what he needed to work on. Maybe you could try getting some guys to come up with a list of swaps where you all work off a joint list similar to yours. Maybe trade off on who is going to be the Swapmeister of each swap. Just food for thought BB