caddis emergers

I don't do fly swaps often anymore

just one or two a year

usually something a friend is hosting

and I've gotta be able to get the flies tied lickety chicken

cranked out these fourteen IRIS caddis in < one hour

not bad for someone who rarely even ties flies anymore

maybe I should change that...

some flies

caddis emergers



sodden mayfly

more boxes

seems I've got at least a dozen working boxes

that's not really counting streamer boxes, bass boxes, salt boxes

I feel like rene harrop or something

this one was set up specifically for lee's ferry

ferry box incomplete w/out ridiculous thingamabobbers
(which I do not use - they just perfectly complete the picture)
spaghetti and meatballs and scuds
it's really rather gross

is there anything more lovely that is not a woman
than a box full of well tied soft hackles?

taking a close look we see that they're not so neat and orderly after all

midges and shit

boxes like this mean one thing to me

tailwaters

new school scuds?

old school pt nimp - allwire edition

quite cool pic to boot

cooper's hopper

flymphs

once in a great while I tie some flies for a swap

midge jaws

finally got smart and had my midge jaws replaced

plus this is a kinda cool disorienting shot

fly pictured is my interpretation of chief's ndn ant

beautiful and buggy as hay-ull

purty innit?

playing again w/ the tubes

if these big fat things work 

it may change everything I think I know about fly tying

they are interesting

entomology or bugfuckin'

look like a wasp fucked a spider

a fly tying project

this book...

well don't try clicking the link it won't work

I'm gonna tie up several of every fly shown in the book

first four I can knock out in no time

quill gordon check pt check grhe check

baetis nimp

anyways it'll be some pretty good practice 

resulting in a very nice set of flies

plus it'll prolly take me all year to finish

(assuming I do)

I've long admired harrop as a fly designer

and I had read and given away his earlier book trout hunter

I find reading the above pictured book neary insufferable

though there are a metric shitload of lovely flies

a look inside

my midge boxes

don't be tricked there are plenty of teeny weeny dries in there as well

y'all remember the f-150?

new tying toy

saturday afternoon I visited bass pro shop for the first time

a couple guys from a local ff board were there demonstrating fly tying

a couple rod builders were also there

 anyways, stoo-pit me had to buy a $40 book

by rene harrop, a guru of mine of sorts

I hadn't ever even seen it before

then I was talking to the guy who makes these...

well, I'm a bit of a sucker for craftsmanship

so I had to have it

best of all it comes in a laptop case

which makes for a perfect travel setup

we love this shit

at the vise - some recent flies...

more puttering...

I just call this winged wet an emergent olive

this one is a soft hackled peacock flash

chartreuse and blue midge

crazy good in it's debut

 a soft hackled peacock stuck this lovely rainbow

the tubes

I'd really like to get silly with this title

remember the tubes?

white punks on dope

don't touch me there

I'll talk to you later

su-su-sushi

and "totally tubular"

wtf is that?

anyways, I'm just getting started w/ the tubes

starting simple

p-adams

I don't like tying parachute flies at all

love to fish them though

so I deconstructed it

and approached it like building a house perhaps

the result is simple to tie and tidy

my very first attempt ever at a step by step photo tutorial...

pinch down hook barb
start thread eye width back from eye
trim tag end after a dozen abutting turns
tie in post w/ half dozen figure eight wraps
wrap post up and down eight turns
tie in prepped hackle feather
advance thread to tie in

dub a thin noodle and wrap a thorax to just behind wingpost

wrap thread back to bend of hook make thread bump
tie in stiff hackle fiber tail nicely slayed
dub a nicely tapered abdomen
add to the thorax if necessary

turn fly in vise as shown above

make four turns of hackle
ti down w/ four wraps
four turn whip finish
trim wing post

finished fly

isn't that nice?

ballyhoo

so that hoodie shown below is the first one I had since I was a kid

my father gave it to me as a Christmas present one year

his client was involved somehow w/ eminem's management 

this sweatshirt is remarkably well executed and designed

the tag reads...

shady limited

future classic

8

anyways the cut is generous and comfortable

fabric is very warm and soft

love the kangaroo pocket (the primary reason I give the nod to pullovers)

this one's gotta stash pocket inside the joey pouch

here's another one...

but before we get to that here's a shot and a story

that right there is a 1975 edition of that classic album

I hung it on the wall in the tying den the other day

there's honest too goodness pot dust from back in the day

in the crease of the backside of that gatefold cover

nice detail in this macro shot

unfortunately revealing a bit of sloppiness in technique...oh well

still a pretty damn nice and damned effective fly

look at that flimsy rinky dink drawstring on the hood!

the only flaw in a fine garment

very warm durable piece of outerwear

this one's by carhartt
and is the only gift I requested....

at the bench

so yesterday I spent a goodly number of hours cleaning the tying den

I'm not quite finished but getting there

I really couldn't even walk across the room in any direction

now I can even sit in my papasan chair and relax

the stool is open and the vise available

this really is rather unusual

I may take some pics of the recently cleaned room

I should finish cleaning it though before I do that

just to see how long it lasts...

anyways, today I enjoyed a few hours tying flies

it was pleasant

I opened the blinds for some lovely natural light and noticed a striking shadow...

that's a #16 bwo btw
I was trying to rejuvenate my juju

latest

tied this up after seeing something similar by the beatties in fly tyer mag...

really it's an excuse to check out the macro function

on yet another new camera

I was just puttering around - nothing serious

I just rarely manage to get around to tying flies anymore these daze...