Flytyer

No.......craft fur actually........I find it has a few qualities similar to polar bear. I save my polar bear for display flies.

I found something else that is similar to straggle fritz......it's called polar chenille from Hareline Dubbin

At the suggestion of a friend this one is tied rather sparse. It was one of the best producers including a unexpected salmon

Here's is another pattern of among 12 that I whipped up this past summer . It too did well on browns

This a fly I devised on rainy night this past summer in Newfoundland. A friend did quite well on sea run browns with it.

If you could only have one book on fly tying; what would it be? In my opinion there is only one book to have and that is The Flytyer's Benchside Reference to Techniques and Dressing Styles. There are no patterns in this great work but practically any technique or method you could ever need to execute is in there. Mind you this not a beginners book but once you have the basics this is really the only book you'll ever need. Not exactly cheap either but worth every penny. I personally have not much use for most books that are out there; they are mostly pattern books. Mostly what I have is a few books on classic salmonfly tying and history on flies. My most prized is The Practical Angler by W.C. Stewart the 1907 Centenary edition.

Yup! fur & feather fluff

Just wondering what kind of themes you ladies and gents would like to see in upcoming swaps. Just list away here. I'm not going to suggest any here as I have picked the first 2 and co-conspiried on the third.

Great looking fly with a rather unique method of tying wings. Great sbs Tupps.

Looks like a winner to me Dennis. You must really like that cdc

I know someone that bought this very same kit and was not happy at all with it. Quality just isn't there in the materials. Old saying you get what you pay for applies in the case that I know. The best advice I can give is don't buy premade kits; they just measure up for quality. Now if you go into a shop and ask if they can help you with selecting a personalized kit with special pricing and select more items tailored to what you want to tie this would be great. My personal view on buying most materials that are non metallic for tying is if I can't visually inspect it I don't buy it. Just my take on this subject.

The best feathers to use for the wings you refer to are duck wing feathers that are matched one left one right but not necessarily from the same bird.In essence you you a the left and the right wings from a duck/ducks. As for your pheasant there is a recent issue of Flytyer magazine that actually has an article about which part of a pheasant is best for which parts pertaining to fly tying. It's in the Spring 2007 issue.

Could be some interesting results on that theme

That's an old Thompson , forget the model but had one of those back more years than I care to remember. It was the first vise I ever had.

Food for thought: which one of these styles creates the most bulk? the least?

AC where did you find this article? ....sounds like it could very interesting

You can find it here ; Dave website: http://flyfishingworld.eu/

cactus chenille is the closest I have found to it here........I believe the name straggle fritz was coined by a fellow named Dave Downie in the UK....I know the he sells the stuff

All previous posts have been merged for continuity to this location: http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=1712

I don't think Norm will be here in January. Perhaps Chris Bird might look into having him come in some year but that is his call to make. I'm sure one of the local shops carrying this vise will be there though.

Actually yes it does. But let me tell you this if you can try one out do so there are guys that got one and got rid of them almost as fast as they bought them because they are far different than any other vise out . Perhaps in your case it may not be that way being you haven't started yet but still I would suggest trying one first if possible. It's been said there is no middle ground with this vise either you love or it.....I love mine so much I have 2 that I always use.

This topic is brought over from the Ask the Pros section and is in response to a question asked by Tbone in the fly hooks thread. This topic should bring up some interesting theories as to hook choices in flies.

I think Fish Tales has a seminar on rod building or at least they did in the past.

Being that new names are showing up in the tying section all the time I thought it might be of some use to start a thread about vises. This could be of use and interest to those starting out or looking to upgrade to another vise to get first hand input from us here and to ask more questions about vises of particular interest. The main theme for this will be : What vise do you use now? what do you like or dislike about it? I personally use a Norvise exclusively now. I like the fact it has 4 different vise heads available: standard jaw, large jaw, fine point jaw and a tube fly head. I also like that fact that it spins in line which is really neat for dubbing, makes the process much quicker. Probably the biggest drawback most people will find with this vise is the cost but it's not the most expensive vise on the market. One more thing about it is the fact it does take time to get used to using one.

Try this : send them back to yourself , open them then delete. Most likely cause is deleted unopened messages. It has worked for me and I have done this deliberately to try and see why it happens and this is what I have found.