SilverDoctor

The easiest adn safest is the use throw away rubber gloves. be sure to work in a well ventilated area.

Then pull off the cork that is fracturing carefully, slap a bunch of two part epoxy in and you're in business again.

What color intruders where you using?

It definitely is a rebuild on the handle. Unconformity it usually means a full strip down of the cork handle including a re wrap of the guide. A good sized job. You might try to do it yourself if you're handy with tools. pm me if you need more info.

Cost of materials to date $1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 Time to learn to tie to date about 48 years. Feeling I get when taking a wily brown on my own flies, teach someone to tie, or come up with a new pattern... priceless

They are kind of teardrop shaped. they form on the hook quite well and have a very streamlined shape. A lot of the guys that tie Czech Nymphs use them for the fast sinkers. Not cheap though.

Skid Bitches have been great for me this year. Standard streamers haven't worked well although the doc's Dodger bead eyed streamer I gave you Toolman worked great for me with quite a number of large browns and rainbows. Teh best for me have been classic north country wets in tandem and triple flies.

Bought a bunch in BC last year. They work great. All out now so have to look arround for more this winter.

I will make it a point to post when I get back. I've had most of my large fish on Intruders. I'm at work now and won't have time tonight as I'll be packing to leave in the morning.

More than likely but as you said, to each his own.

Heading out to BC Saturday morning. Visting with the folks in Kelowna then off to the Skeena on my yearly trip (actually probably the copper) for a couple of days. Tied up Golden Demons, Red Butt Skunks, Montreal Silver but mostly intruders plus a few others. Post when I get back.

I phoned Togens and found out from the gal at the desk that the hooks come out of China. I will not buy anything from that country. I'll stick with north American and British products. I normally buy all my materials from various local suppliers unless it is something not stocked or they can't bring it in.

I always pinch split shot with forceps. Makes for a solid hold. Also be sure to push the leader material right to the back of the split shot hinge. Some varieties are also softer than others and open easier. They can also be dislodged if banged into rocks or on a snap cast.

I only use a hopper dropper rig in shallow water next to the bank (less than 24"). And only when I see good rises. I fish other methods like high stick, swinging or indicator otherwise.

You forgot the part about casting and eating of the haggis while chanting the secret ritual broge "we seek thee yon bonney, little trout" and of course the casting of the blarney.

I love Partridge, It suites my needs in the shapes I like. This winter I want to try Togens hooks out of BC.

By the way flattening the stems is great for display flies to get everything to lay right but for fishing flies fracturing the stem by flattening can weaken the stem. I was chatting with a tyer in BC last fall who stopped doing that after client complaints his flies lost feathers.

I use a mini pair of needle nose pliers at the bench as I tie. The trick is to keep horizontal as you squeeze and only use enough pressure to pinch the barb. That said some brand of hooks are more brittle than others. I got a batch of tiemco's a few years ago that fractured every time you pinched barbs. I have been using some Partridge hooks lately that are barbless. The perfect way to go, unfortunitly not all hook makers offer barbless.

Just a point, trout are opportunistic. I don't believe for a moment that a trout will pass up a large morsel that it believes to be a meal. The trigger response may not be exactly that it is a hopper or a stonefly but a large something good to eat. I have Hopper patterns I fish that are orange and don't believe for a second that grasshopper are what the trout key on. Many of teh flies we fish are general imitations of life. Not exact copies. That's why such classic flies like the mudder work. In a given situation it can be mistaken for anything from a Stone fly to a Minnow. By the way great postes

The GP comes in a lot of different styles. Tied quite a few of these over the years for the Steelhead market in BC. Don't lacquer the tippets, it will spoil the look and action of this fly. When you use your Golden pheasant tippets be sure to cut a "V" out of the feather and tie down the stem under your thread wraps. There are two things to look for, first the thread and material base must be flat. if you have tied with an uneven base it will be impossible to have finer materials sit straight. Second is the tying thread pressure, too much will make the tippets flair. Keep the first back wraps with less pressure and then gradually give it more pressure along its length, also keep your wraps close together. As for the rumps,be sure to choose rumps that don't have an inherent curve. If you have a curve you can wet the feather and lay it on newspaper to dry to straighten it. Again be sure there is nothing under your rump (he he) to push it up, that is you base material should be reasonable flat. The same applies to the thread pressure (see above). Another thing that will come into play is the quality of your feathers. Hope this helps. It's always had to make a judgment call without seeing what you've done.

If you intend to practice on grass you should check out a grass casting practice leader either commercial or make your own. They are basically a leader with short 2" pieces of mono or leader material tied onto about a 12" length. It grips at he grass to try and simulate water drag on the bottom of the D loop. I does help to simulate the action but nothing is like casting on water.

Should work but you had better put a swivel on one of those babies. I think from a casting point of view on steelhead there are a lot of other patterns that would be more suitable. I always try to contact local fly shops to see what is popular for the river at a given time.

I never bother with a foam hopper. floats nice and with deer or elk hair on the wing it will be good for a long time. Often when I'm walking to the next pool I drop it in some dryer salts. I also tend to change flies quite often especially when they do get a bit waterlogged.

And don't forget ouur own Toolmans & Max fine fishing courses. Not to mention meeting board members on hte water. I second Jims fine books. and of course read this forum's past posts.

What weight is the rod?