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Mark Knapp

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Cold in Florida??

It's all relative ... I start getting shivers at around 55 degree F. Unfortunately for me, my company is sending me North in January. Brrrrr.

 

North is relative too, how far north?

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Richmond, Virginia then Chicago, Illinois. I know it's not Fairbanks ... But it's North to me.

Ish, Chicago in the winter. I don't even want to go to Chicago in the winter. Richmond ain't too bad.

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Last week I ordered some different materials to play around with. Notable among them are:

  • Trouthunter CDC dubbing - see it on a fly I posted in the December flies. I'll be ordering more for sure.
  • Whiting Coq de Leon saddle w/ chickabou - I started working on a bugger using both the chickabou and saddle feathers. First one wasn't too good (tyer's fault) so I'll try again tonight and post it on the December flies thread
  • Whiting Brahma saddle w/ chickabou - see a fly I posted on the December flies. I'm a big fan of Brahma for soft hackles.
  • Montana Fly thread - haven't tried it yet, but reviews indicate it's a cross between UTC and UNI.
  • Nature's Spirit Grizzly Collaring Hackle - I prefer to collar my wooly buggers, so I created a few buggers with simi seal and a hackle collar. I'll forgot to take pictures so I'll get those done tonight.

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Last week I ordered some different materials to play around with. Notable among them are:

  • Trouthunter CDC dubbing - see it on a fly I posted in the December flies. I'll be ordering more for sure.
  • Whiting Coq de Leon saddle w/ chickabou - I started working on a bugger using both the chickabou and saddle feathers. First one wasn't too good (tyer's fault) so I'll try again tonight and post it on the December flies thread
  • Whiting Brahma saddle w/ chickabou - see a fly I posted on the December flies. I'm a big fan of Brahma for soft hackles.
  • Montana Fly thread - haven't tried it yet, but reviews indicate it's a cross between UTC and UNI.
  • Nature's Spirit Grizzly Collaring Hackle - I prefer to collar my wooly buggers, so I created a few buggers with simi seal and a hackle collar. I'll forgot to take pictures so I'll get those done tonight.

 

I can't wait to see them.

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Last week I ordered some different materials to play around with. Notable among them are:

  • Trouthunter CDC dubbing - see it on a fly I posted in the December flies. I'll be ordering more for sure.
  • Whiting Coq de Leon saddle w/ chickabou - I started working on a bugger using both the chickabou and saddle feathers. First one wasn't too good (tyer's fault) so I'll try again tonight and post it on the December flies thread
  • Whiting Brahma saddle w/ chickabou - see a fly I posted on the December flies. I'm a big fan of Brahma for soft hackles.
  • Montana Fly thread - haven't tried it yet, but reviews indicate it's a cross between UTC and UNI.
  • Nature's Spirit Grizzly Collaring Hackle - I prefer to collar my wooly buggers, so I created a few buggers with simi seal and a hackle collar. I'll forgot to take pictures so I'll get those done tonight.

 

I can't wait to see them.

 

 

Here's the collared seals.

 

Here's the fly from the Coq de Leon saddle. It's almost a one material fly except I mixed ice dub with the fluff in a dubbing loop for the body. It's not the prettiest fly, but I think it has all the right things fish care about.

 

45462259575_f1727b1368.jpg

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Last week I ordered some different materials to play around with. Notable among them are:

  • Trouthunter CDC dubbing - see it on a fly I posted in the December flies. I'll be ordering more for sure.
  • Whiting Coq de Leon saddle w/ chickabou - I started working on a bugger using both the chickabou and saddle feathers. First one wasn't too good (tyer's fault) so I'll try again tonight and post it on the December flies thread
  • Whiting Brahma saddle w/ chickabou - see a fly I posted on the December flies. I'm a big fan of Brahma for soft hackles.
  • Montana Fly thread - haven't tried it yet, but reviews indicate it's a cross between UTC and UNI.
  • Nature's Spirit Grizzly Collaring Hackle - I prefer to collar my wooly buggers, so I created a few buggers with simi seal and a hackle collar. I'll forgot to take pictures so I'll get those done tonight.

 

I can't wait to see them.

 

 

Here's the collared seals.

 

Here's the fly from the Coq de Leon saddle. It's almost a one material fly except I mixed ice dub with the fluff in a dubbing loop for the body. It's not the prettiest fly, but I think it has all the right things fish care about.

 

45462259575_f1727b1368.jpg

 

Very nice, all of them

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I tied last night for the first time in 2 weeks. Was in Vermont for a week, then this past week has been busy doing holiday prep and mudding drywall joints. Can't wait for that to be over...

 

Anyway, I figured I'd tie some woolly buggers last night for a family member I know I'm going to see soon and who just started fly fishing. I couldn't believe in those two weeks how the little skill I had acquired over the past month or two regressed! I tied a bugger, hated it, stripped it and started over. Happened twice more until I finally got a decent one.

 

I told my wife and her response was "I thought it's suppose to be fun". She's right.

 

So in short, I'm working on making sure I tie at least every other night and to "have fun".

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Some days it's just better to step away from the bench. Last night for some reason, I kept breaking my thread. Stress of the day I guess. I grabbed a beer and put on some music and it seemed to help. Then the wife came and started a very important conversation (as always) and as I turned to face her, I cut my thread instead of the waste and the bobbin hit the floor. She looked at the streamer as the wings slid off into the waste bin and actually laughed. She almost said the exact same thing.

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OK, I'm still working on the photography but here's some of the stuff I've been working on.DSCF3002-XL.jpg

G.R. Hairs ear nymph.

 

DSCF2999-XL.jpg

 

DSCF3003-XL.jpg

Letorte Hopper

 

DSCF2993-X2.jpg

Classic Clouser Minnow

 

DSCF2994-X2.jpg

A variation with polar bear hair.

 

DSCF2992-X3.jpg

Woolly Bugger.

 

DSCF2990-XL.jpg

Hairs ear soft hackle.

 

DSCF2989-XL.jpg

A variation.

 

DSCF2983-XL.jpg

a Mosquito.

DSCF2978%20%281%29-XL.jpg

Blue Wing Olive

 

DSCF2996-XL.jpg

Bead head hairs ear soft hackle.

 

DSCF2991-XL.jpg

I've been adapting flies for fishing through the ice, to be fished vertically. I'm putting beads in front of the eye on many flies I fish in the summer so I can fish them in the winter. I like to watch through the ice to see how different species will approach different flies. This one is a scud.

 

I've also done the Adams, the Borcher Special and the Pale Evening Dun but I'll have to work on photos a bit more to post them.

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In my quest to tie all of the flies in the two Orvis manuals I have, and get better at photographing flies, I tied several of these and took some pictures.

 

DSCF3030-XL.jpg

Here's a blue wing quill

 

DSCF3010-XL.jpg

and here's a Hendricson Dry.

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Lucian, those nymphs are the best.

 

Wr1nkles, That's pretty funny. The fly tying room is where I go when I'm "cutting the threads" in all the other things I do. I go there to hide, where no one can find me. They're catching on though. Even the tying room isn't safe anymore.

 

I've been tying on my new HMH TRV. I like it. I've been spinning some sweet little dubbing noodles on it, Norvise style, My camera won't focus on them though. Gotta work on that too.

 

I tied some Borcher Specials and some Light Hendricksons.

 

DSCF3529-XL.jpg

DSCF3525-XL.jpg

 

I've also been working on the photography.

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I'm continuing to work through the Index of Orvis Fly Patterns. The first Orvis book I had featured six of the most popular flies with instructions. The Index has untold millions of flies in it. I did the first six then started on the index. I'm to page 4.

 

DSCF3093-XL.jpg

Here's the Brown May Fly

 

DSCF3076-XL.jpg

The Red Quill

 

DSCF3089-XL.jpg

The March Brown

 

DSCF3085-XL.jpg

The Gray Fox

 

DSCF3077-XL.jpg

and the March Brown

 

This exercise is making me a better tier. By the time I get through the book I could be pretty good. I'm learning a lot of new stuff.

 

What are you working on?

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