kschu

I use the "Snack size" ziplock bags. They are about 1/2 the size of the sandwich sized bags. They work very nicely and are relatively inexpensive.

More later,

Ken S.

So the question is when you submit flies to a fly swap, do you submit them as barbless or do you leave the barb intact? This is not a general question of how you tie flies for yourself. This is specifically what you submit for swaps. I listed the answer choices as:

Barb intact - You left the barb on the hook.

Barbless - as in the hook was barbless when you bought it

Barb smashed - wether you smashed it in the vise or with a tool

Barb filed off - removed as opposed to smashed

Varies by type of fly

I expect that the "Varies by type" answer would be the true winner. I expect that more nymphs are tied barbless and more streamers are left intact. I expect that if I did a search of the forum, there has already been a discussion regarding barbless or not for flies one ties for personal use.

Let the opinions start rolling in.

More later,

Ken S.

This board is so awesome. I post a question and less than twelve hours later I have six answers. I knew there would be a simple answer.

The answers did raise two good points besides. I like the idea of putting the recipe in with the fly. Either that or making sure the recipe is availlable on the board in a pattern database. Mark mentioned small ziplock bags. I assume we are talking one fly per bag, so that they fly and "paperwork" stay together when the swapmiester divides things up.

It would be quite interesting to take a poll to see how many of our swap participants submit barbless vs barb intact flies. Is there a way with this forum software for the moderator to post a poll?

Thanks guys.

More later,

Ken S.

Greetings,

So I have joined my first swap on this forum, The Nymph Swap. I just read through the rules and policies to make sure I do all this right. So far so good.

There was a section in there that talked of putting a small tag on each fly with the tier's name. My question is, what do you folks use for these tags? I know when I look at flies at Gander Mountain, they have these tiny tags on them with a very small bar code for the cashier to scan. I know that my local fly shop has a small sticker sort of tag. They fold them over and the two tabs stick back to back with a thin piece that wraps around the bend of the hook.

Will, do you carry some sort of toe tag item through Green Caddis? If not, is that something that you could add to your line, or would it be more trouble than it is worth? Or is there some quick and simple trick that someone can share for this.

My initial idea is to wrap a heavy thread (3/0) around the bend a few times and then fold some sort of small label in half over the two tag ends of the thread. I don't think that would be too much of a pain for the final recipient to remove from the fly.

Thanks in advance,

Ken S.

I'm attending my weekly Men's bible study at church tomorrow at 06:30 CDT. I've printed out this thread and will share this with the guys. Your friend and her family will be in our prayers.

Jer 29:11-12 (NIV)

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

God's Peace,

Ken S.

Alright. Might as well jump into the pool. I've not participated in a swap on this forum yet. I'll tie a Prince Nymph. Now I just have to decide which size and wether or not to use a little weight under the body. Maybe I'll fish a few variations on my lunch hour tomorrow. Which ever catches the most fish is what I'll tie. Or something like that.

More later,

Ken S.

Hello again,

This is probably the first time in a week that I have had a chance to check in. We had several people out on vacation at work last week. It was rather hectic for those of us left behind and filling in. I owe you replies to several postings in this thread. Sorry, most of these replies have nothing to do with the Hare's Ear fly. I will say I am going to pick up a Hare's Mask the next time I am at the fly shop.

Steve, I'm very glad you enjoyed my site. Thanks for your kind words. I know that you folks in Michigan have been rather rain soaked lately. I don't know if it is any comfort, but we have been getting dumped on here in NE Illinois as well. The Fox River and the Fox Chain of Lakes have been closed to all boat traffic due to the very high water levels. My Monday morning holiday outing ended with a downpour. Our rivers are starting to go over the banks. Our creeks look like rivers. The fish really seem to be rather put off by it all. A fly fishing friend at work was predicting that it could be July before we can safely wade into the Fox River again.

Will, I do notice a lot of friendly jabs between the Smallie fans (like me) and the trout folks. Sometimes I can't help myself and I have to add fuel to the fire. It is a bad habit. Anyway, I envy you having both trout and smallie waters in close proximity. I'm surrounded by good Smallie waters. Plenty of good local waters (by local I mean less than 20 mins) and many excellent choices within a 60-90 min ride. Trout fishing is at least 2 hours away, with the better fishing 3 to 6 hours ride.

Ted, What can I say. Whenever I get calls from Headhunters, I ask if the position they are trying to fill offers several excellant fishing options on-site for lunch hour fishing outings. Very few of them ever call me more than once. When one has a good thing going, you have to make the best of it.

Let's see, last Friday over lunch I got a 16" largemouth on a #12 Marabou Leech with the 4wt. Just this morning I fished for an hour before work. I got a 15.75" Smallmouth on a #14 Fox Squirrel Nymph, again on the 4wt. Both of those outings also included numerous Bluegill and Green Sunfish. I saw lots of Carp, but I could not entice them into biting. This is on two different ponds, on the property at work, one just 1/4 mile from my desk and the other 1.25 miles.

More later,

Ken S.

About a month ago, a friend and I were fishing a favorite pond here in NE Illinois. We saw bunches of carp floating belly up around the shoreline of the lake. We were not seeing other fish, just the carp. We caught a few bass that day, but not as many as we sometimes do.

Since then, all fishing has picked up. Including the carp fishing. I never did find out what happened to cause the fish kill. Obviously it was not a major problem.

More later,

Ken S.

If you can see the fish in the shallows, I like to toss a foam / sponge spider. It is such fun watching them get sucked off the surface. Otherwise, the old standby is a lightly weighted nymph. I'm particularly fond of bead heads. I find a Prince nymph or a hare's ear work very well. I've also had good luck with small pheasant tails.

I like a slow steady retrieve. I'm thinking that makes the nymph look like it is swimming through the water. Personally, it seems that a quick strip has to look very un-natural. My first fly fishing class back in High School made a big point about one of the greatest advantages of the fly rod is that the fly looks more natural to the fish than any jig or crankbait.

If the water is a bit murky, I sometimes just watch the end of the floating fly line. The leader may be sunk into the water with the nymph, but when the end of the line starts to twitch, you know something it going on with your nymph. When it starts to twitch, I'll stop retirieving. If the tip of the floating line starts to move away, it is time to set the hook. If you wait too long, you'll have a task ahead of you trying to get the fly back out of the mouth of the bluegill that has now taken the fly deep. Wait too long and you will not have a lip hook any longer.

More later,

Ken S.

For North East Illinois (Chicagoland) our weatherman was saying that we have gotten more rain in the last three weeks than in all the weeks prior in 2004. And today's weather report says that we will have some rain every day for the next week. He went on to say that historically, when we get this much rain in a short period during the spring, it is normally followed by a very wet summer. I guess we will not be hearing the word "drought" this year.

Guess I'll have to fish between the raindrops.

More later,

Ken S.

I find myself using quite a bit of Marabou lately. I've started tying Marabou Leeches (cause I don't have any bunny strip materials). The first fly I really learned (as in tied at least a dozen of them) was a Woolly Bugger pattern. That also uses Marabou. My latest craze is a Damselfly with a marabou tail, bead chain eyes. a cactus chennile body and darlon as a sort of wing case.

Anyway, I was wondering where Marabou comes from. I know it is a feather, but from what bird? I doubt that knowing this will make me a better tier, but I am curious.

I was reading articles on another site and found an article in their "Tips" section on Marabou. It does not answer the question of their source. However, some of you may find it helpful in getting the most out of each feather.

More later,

Ken S.

I'm thinking along the same lines as Mark. You can't do anything to change the fish. Nobody would want to turn down the chance to catch full pound sunfish. Perhaps you need to re-inforce your flies.

I have found that Prince Nymphs are some of my best flies for the bluegill and green sunfish in my area. The problem is after you catch 50, the biot that was tied in as a wing starts getting bent out of shape. These fish almost engulf flies like this and when one has to use forceps to reach in and retrieve the fly, the feathers (or hackle, or dubbing) can only be manipulated so many times before the fly looks worse than worn out. I find that I ruin more flies retrieving them than any fish has ever damaged the fly with their tiny teeth.

Things to remember are over-wraping with a light wire ribbing builds body strength. Make sure you wrap a good head on all flies and add that drop of head cement to hold it all together. I'm sure others who have been tying longer than I will offer other suggestions.

More later,

Ken S.

Hey Mark,

That is a nice looking fly box. I hope to try my hand at tying a foam/sponge spider in the next few weeks. I have never tied any sort of popper. Now Streamers, those I can do.

I like to use the spiders for locateing the fish on the pond at work. This 14" smallmouth took the spider right near the shore. You can still see the spider in the corner of the fishes mouth. Oh and this picture was taken in August 2003. Once I found this one, I started having some real fun.

I've not had much luck with Topwater yet this year. Lots of rain has really muddied the waters. We've had two cold fronts in the last week and severe weather tonight. We had an awesome light show in last night's thunderstorm. My friend Jamie is doing well with his topwater Zara Puppy. My co-worker Jim and I have had more luck on large nymphs and smaller streamers so far.

More later,

Ken S.

I had already tried that. I learned that trick years ago when I used to work for an Internet Service Provider. It was not working on the Internet Explorer browswer at home last night. This morning I have accessed the site using a Mozilla browser on the Linux system on my desktop at work. It is showing the animated graphic listing 7th place.

Just in case anyone did not pick this up already. I HATE anything to do with MicroSoft.

Thanks Will

Ken S.

One thing you have to say about this site is that it is very entertaining. Sulfer Love. Wasn't that a song by the Captain and what's her name. (I remember her name, I just can't spell it )

More later,

Ken S.

I'm thinking it has something to do with the way the image is cached in one's web browser. On my computer it still lists the site as 12th place. Who cares what the graphic says. We all know this is the number one site anywhere.

More later,

Ken S.

So if we are up to number 7, why does that little animated graphic at the bottom of this and other pages say we are number 12. Maybe it is just a stupid picture.

Ken S.

I fish mostly nymphs. In my home waters, I can catch so many different kinds of fish on the nymphs. The first fly I learned to tie was a Woolly Bugger, but for having tied so many of those (and clousers), I've caught many more fish on my nymphs.

It amazes me when I do throw a bugger or a clouser and the bluegill will attack the thing. Some of these bluegill could be that clouser's big brother. There is no way these gills could ever get the whole bugger or clouser in its little mouth, but that never stops them from trying.

I must say that I do really enjoy throwing sponge spiders. I've caught all sorts of fish on them. I get Crappie, Bluegill, Greenies (green sunfish) and bass on those rubber legged weapons. And there is a special satisfaction when they suck that spider off the surface. With the nymph's it is so much more like fishing with soft plastics. You pull the bait through the water and try to feel for the tug on the other end. At least with the spider, you can tell when something is "attacking".

More later,

Ken S.

That's right, there is a mirror in it. And I do recall George (or was it Kyle) dropping a fly in there and having me look at the mirror to see what it looked like from below. I just assumed that George came up with this thing himself.

I hope to visit the store on Saturday. I need more beads for bead head nymphs. I'll try to remember to bring my son's digital camera. I'll get a photo of this box, with the CDC fly still floating I'm sure. I'll also try to get photos of some of the awesome bass bugs that Kyle tied recently. It is remarkable (to me anyway) how talented this young man is. He'll be going off to college this fall and the fly shop won't be the same without him.

More later,

Ken S.

I sure that others have seen a similar display. At my fly shop, they have a small clear cube filled half full with water. Many weeks ago (6+ maybe), George tossed in several dry flies and put the lid on the box. The fly made with CDC is still floating. The others are soaked and have sunk to the bottom of the cube.

I've not tied with it yet, but this is my first year of serious tying and I'm still working on other patterns and have not done anything that would use CDC yet.

Ken S.