What Are You Tying?

[jjtroutbum]

Time to break out the small hooks again for me. Restock midges and Nats some scuds. Apparently I use a lot of the same stuff in the summer. Must be the way in a spring creek or tailwater. Same stuff year round just a lil smaller maybe.

So anyone else care to share what is in or will be in the vise?

[duckydoty]

Been tying giant weighted sow bugs that I call Lip Rippers, slump busters with marabou that I call Fish On Flies, T&A rainbows that are not articulated with a full body wool head and dumbell eyes that I call mini bows. DD'sMC has been tying Icy Blue sow bugs.

[Terry Beeson]

Chernobyl ants and hopper patterns... LOL... I'm gearing up for next summer...

[DaddyO]

Bead head Pheasant Tails #12-#16

Black and Copper Zebra Midge #16-#18

BobWhite 1/80th Jig Head with gold hook

Hair and Copper #12 - #14

[MaxDrown]

Blockhead Popper

Sneaky Pete

Don's Crawdad

I'm learning how to tie flies this winter.

[Randall]

After the semester ends I'll be tying lots of streamers, mostly Galloup stuff as well as slumb busters, leeches, sculpins and maybe some warmwater stuff like clousers and crawfish.

Also be cranking out the generic nymphs: copper johns, p.t., prince, h.e., s.j., and my go to blue ribbon/wild stream fly... the m-80 nymph.

[ness]

It's gonna be a little of everything. Leeches, pheasant tails, hare's ears, copper Johns, hoppers, stimulators, Adams, Thunder creeks, Clousers, and others. Fly boxes are pretty sparse right now.

I'm also farting around trying to develop an indicator system that's easy to make, easy to adjust, durable, cheap, etc. Or, maybe I'll just buy some.

[Danoinark]

Ness, I seldom if ever use an indicator, BUT, I did come up with something that I think is worth playing with.

I'll try to explain:

1. Cut the "bendable" setion out of a bendable soda straw, including at least 1/4 inch (or so) of the solid part of the straw both above and below the crinkly part.

2. Pull the bendable section out to the fully extended position.

3. Pinch and melt the ends closed with a bic lighter.

4. Push the ends back together closing the crinkly part, and compressing the air inside.

The end result is basically a cylinder shaped TMB

I made a few that were about 3/4 inch long, and a few that were about 1 1/2 inches long, and superglued a short loop of rubber band to one end. I played with it onstream ONCE, but the only time I have use for an indicator is when I'm dead-drifting thread midges in really slow water (which isn't one of my usual things to do) so I haven't refined it at all. But I think it would work really good with a little experimentation, and a better leader attachment system.

It floats horizontally, is totally weightless, and the 3/4 inch one will support a #1 split shot easily in the kitchen sink. Onstream it will pop up on it's end when the flys drift is interrupted even slightly, even if your fly gets caught in a seam of faster current.

Just thought you might want to pick up where I left off.

Interesting, but how is it attached to the tippet and how easily can you adjust it for depth?

[Flysmallie]

So anyone else care to share what is in or will be in the vise?

The same fly that has been in there for about a month.

I'm never ready to go. Hey Duane, can I borrow your fly box for a second???

[ness]

Wrench -- thanks for the description. That's certainly creative, and something I wouldn't have come up with.

I bought some balsa and foam. That's kinda where I wanted to start. I'm not gonna carve and perfectly-shaped indicators, but both materials float. That's about how far I've gotten. But I like the orthodontic rubber band idea for holding on an indicator.

Stay tuned