KnotLikely

Nice setup! The only rod I've ever had issues with was a broken tip on my first rod, a cheapy Pflueger, which wasn't under warranty, and broke taking it out of the tube...my fault in a total moment of stupidity. I've been pretty lucky with my Sage and Loomis rods that do have a decent warranty, but also hit the wallet a bit harder...hope 'Murphy' didn't hear that. Just bought a Tioga Magnum for my Sage DS 1090 salmon rod, awesome quality for an affordable reel, and drag that could stop a truck. I'd love to replace my DS 690 with a Z-axis. As for the TFO's my buddy and his wife have about 6 of these rods between the two of them, and have had to get a few of them warrantied. They might be more prone to breakage, but for the quality/price and the ease of getting them warrantied, I'd say that you can't go wrong with one, especially if you're just starting out, or need a rod that you might only use a few times a year...or fish with your kids or a dog!

I've always used wrapped wire in the past on a straight shank with a bead. I've tried the 'All Rounds' but found that for one reason or another they seem to tangle with my dropper more than a straight shank. (I tie my droppers to the eye and not the shank...might be why) All that said I probably get a higher percentage of fish on the dropper anyways, and not the worm,

What do you find to be the most productive SJW. Chenille, Floss, Wire, Cobra Cord, a combo of those?

I've been told that a purple leech with a pink chenille or hot glue egg works well.What were you planning on using for the egg; egg yarn, chenille, beads, or hot glue?

Sorry about that. I've received a few tips, so future posts should be of better quality.

SilverDoctor: I'd love to see some of those Intruders

These were my top 3, with the Orange and pink Alaskabou Volcano and flashfly working on everything, and the yellow bunny leech being my number one Chum fly. Two other patterns that worked well were purple egg sucking leech with pink chenille egg, and chartreuse egg sucking leech with fire orange bead head

Here's the finished product. Looks like I need some tips on photographing flies.

You can also try using a small swivel at the end of your leader (size 14 I think). Tie your tippet to the other end of the swivel, and pinch the split shot on the leader side of the swivel...it'll never slide down, you're leader will last longer, and tying on more tippet is a breeze.

I use a pair of curved needle nose pliers, and try to pinch from the front of the barb to the back using as little pressure as I can get away with. If I'm tying on larger hooks with bigger barbs, sometimes I'll take a pinch at the front to start the barb downward, and then one at the back to finish it flat instead of reefing down on one pinch trying to get the entire barb.

After I got back from the Bow last night, I tied a few GP's, even though I should have been replenishing my stimulator supply. I did a lot better on the Golden Pheasant eyes. What I thought was a nice "V" looked more like a "U" on the first ties, so I spent a bit more time getting a good "V", then making sure I had a flat base, and progressing with the tension. As for the carapace, they're a little straighter, by watching my initial tension, and pulling the feather slightly forward like CapeBSalar suggested. I've done this in the past to keep tails from flaring, don't know why I never thought to do it here. I'm hoping to fish these flies on the Kitimat next year, so I probably won't flatten the stems. I'll get a few pics of the finished flies up soon. Thanks guys!

Thanks for the reply SilverDoctor. I think I might be applying too much pressure too quickly on the initial wraps of the Golden Pheasant tippets, causing the fibers in each eye to flair and separate. I'll tie a few up tonight trying to take it easy on the initial wraps. As for the rump feathers, I've actually been purposely selecting feathers that have a bit of a concave curve to them. It's not that they flair up in the back, they flair out to the side...almost like they're having an 80's 'Flock of Seagulls' flashback. I'll try a few of the straight ones, like you've suggested. Thanks again for the tips, I'll tie up a few tonight, and maybe take a few pics of the steps I'm struggling with to give you a better idea as to where I'm going wrong.

I'm looking for a few tips when tying the General Practitioner. flyangler.ca has a great step by step article, but I've been having trouble with two parts. 1. Are the Golden Pheasant tippets lacquered to keep them from separating? 2. The Rigneck Pheasant rump feathers tend to want to slide to the side, especially the two used for the carapace. Any tips on keeping these straight? Thanks for your help

Hi Chris, Great news on the new venue! I’ve heard rumors that LeRoy Hyatt might be at this years show, any chance of this happening? Pretty much everything I’ve learned about flyting was thanks to watching LeRoy Hyatt and the late Dave Engerbretson. I remember meeting you at a sportsmen’s show before you started the Canadian Fly Fishing Expo, and you mentioning you were planning to start your own show dedicated to our sport. Who would have thought then it would become what it is now. You’ve given people the chance to meet and learn from legends like Jack Dennis, Bob Clouser, and our own Vic Bergman and Jim McLennan…thanks, and keep up the great work.

I was up on the Skeena earlier this summer, and the preferred sockeye “fly” used for flossing was a red Gammy about a size 4 -6, with a thin piece of orange egg yarn tied above the eye and knot. The guys would take the red Gammy, and tie it on to their leader. They’d then cut about a 2 inch piece of egg yarn, take a strand of that 2 inch piece that was about a quarter of the original diameter, then wet it with their mouth, roll it until it was quite thin, and then tie it just above the knot with an overhand knot, trim it to about the length of the shank and start casting. The theory was that the yarn would get stuck in the sockeye’s teeth, to help hook up, but I met a guy using bare hooks that was just as successful. I did see quite a few fish hooked in the mouth, but there were also quite a few that were foul hooked Not to pass judgment, on those who do it, but I never felt comfortable with the process, and decided to target other salmon instead.