ness

Yeah, I will. Sure would love to pick your brain a little on your techniques.

Thanks for sharing that. I've become more and more jaded towards the media over the years for the very reasons he's talking about. Not the 'media bias' -- the quality. The blurred line between reporting and opinion. The constant filler with 'experts' speculating about the things that are unknown in a story or what the future holds. Some of it's just laughable. Last week our venerable Kansas City Star ran an article on their website and used the word 'busted' when describing someone kicking in a door. Our local Channel 5 had a story in their entertainment feed with an f-bomb in it a while back.

Aw man -- got mine, and wow! Lot's of great flies. I'm gonna try these out today. All except the painted popper. That's going in the China cabinet

Huh -- mine look different: ``

...cough

You're in pretty good shape there, man. I don't see anything glaringly wrong. That fatter tip section is kinda odd -- don't know what to make of that. Could it be combo fly/spin maybe? Anyhoo finish looks pretty good, wraps too. You're lucky.

LOL

Congratulations on 30 years of building a successful business! And for showing us that some fashions never go out of style

I got on Facebook when it was relatively new. My daughter had been begging me to let her sign up, and I said yes as long as I was her first friend. It has been a lot of fun reconnecting with people, and also a reminder why I didn't keep up with others. I've turned off notifications on probably more than half my 'friends'. The 'groups' function is a mess on there -- just not very good at sharing information with a bunch of people. This forum is far, far superior. I've heard more than one kid say they don't use FB anymore, because it's just adults now. They all tweet.

Ha -- no, not an attorney. Just an overactive imagination.

Details required before I can commit. You just want to find him, or do you want to convince him?

Ahhhh -- out of town, flies in the mail. That explains everything

Well, this is just silly.

Maybe a stern collection letter threat is in order: Dear Outside Bend, We are disappointed you have not taken care of your fly swap with our forum. You now have two options: Forward our flies to our homes by July 15, or become a party in a legal action. A court judgment may add court costs to your obligation. A judgment against you will also damage your credit record and your standing in the Ozark Anglers community. Sincerely, ness, Esq.

That would make a good song!

South Bend was a kind of working man's fly rod, but that's a real treasure for sure. Do you know what he fished for with it? I guess there's no reel with it? That could zero you in a little. A friendly fly shop might let you try it with a few different lines to determine the right weight. Or a friend who's into fly fishing. As for repairs, it sounds from your description like it's in pretty good shape. A loose ferule isn't hard to fix, and a rewrap isn't too bad either if you find a loose guide. Lotsa folks could do it. Bamboo isn't drastically different from graphite, but given the value, sentimental and otherwise, someone with experience might be better. A lot of older cane rods can benefit from a new coat of finish too. If you can, post up some pictures. And, Google images might get you a little closer to what you've got too.

Eveything's looking pretty good under the plastic. Low of 35 last night.

Dang.

I was thinking about some kind of folding thing too. Pegboard on the back, some fold out wings with pegs for spools on one side, tool/hook storage on the other side. Wings support it when it's open, and close/latch so it can all be stuck somewhere when not in use.

I don't have much for you, but I hope this stirs some good discussion and ideas. I'm a fan of multi-purpose stuff whenever possible, and have always stayed away from a tying-specific desk with all the drawers and compartments and what not. Seems to me you're looking for two things: a good work surface with easy access to tools, and a place to store all the materials. Right now I tie on a table with a white foam board surface and a pedestal vice. Height is just right and I've got a little tool caddy for the tools. Materials are sorted into baggies in a big Rubbermaid container, so there's a lot of fumbling around when I need something. I've been tossing around the idea of some kind of peg board setup to hang the materials on like you'd see them in the shop, with an integrated tool caddy and some kinda hook storage and pegs for spools.

Yeah -- next pair I buy will be bifocal. When I bought these way back when I was good on up close work. Not any more.

Where's that global warming when you need it?

Similar to my setup Billethead. I like the idea of the chicken wire over the hoops. I've just been laying the plastic over the hoops, which requires pretty sturdy clamping at the corners to keep it from sagging in. Man -- that's a lot of salad you've got going there. I put the maters and peppers in last weekend, even though the weather said it was gonna get cold. They were still in cells and starting to suffer from it. Covered them all up Wednesday night. I got a little late start on peas, onions, spinach, lettuce and other cool weather stuff in the ground. Transplanted some lettuce and chard last weekend. Trying to stagger out the lettuce so I don't get it all at once.

Bogus address.

Can't say my setup is ideal, but here goes: I've got two big Plano boxes that stay in my big bag all the time. It's the inventory -- not what I carry in the vest. I've got four smallish boxes in my vest -- two for dries, two for wets -- one each for big and small. I like to carry nymphs in a boxes with foam, and dries in boxes with compartments. I could probably reduce it to two boxes, but I kinda like to grab and go, rather than fine tune things too awful much. I'm not overloaded, but could get by with less.