beadhead2
Active member
He doesn't shower!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!lol
sandfly
Active member
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- Sep 13, 2006
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- 6,275
That's right henry, I just scoop up the stuff in certain areas and apply it to the materials, no more bugs...lol...
Osprey, i first dry all materials with borax, then store with moth balls.
Osprey, i first dry all materials with borax, then store with moth balls.
gfen
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- Apr 8, 2007
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- 6,639
Hell no, this isn't hijacking, I love you guys with some time under your belt talking about this stuff.
I only have a few years into FF'ing, but I'm amazed how far much things have changed only in the last few years, without even taking decades into account.
I regret not being a part of this years ago when I was a kid chucking worms for bluegills.
franklin
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- Feb 10, 2009
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- 4,660
I think the "Catskill" would do well this time of year but a #6 hook?
gfen
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- Apr 8, 2007
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It was a simpler time; a time of giant gaudy wet flies on giant hooks.
I've never noticed that one before, I think I'm going to have to bring some of this up in size 14, I think.
osprey
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- Apr 1, 2009
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gfen...........that's belly there under my belt and it took only a few years and a couple thousand beers to get it , takes a lot longer to lose it but i appreciate your consideration for us old farts......thanks
J
JeffK
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- Sep 11, 2006
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I started fly fishing in the mid 1960's and the standard fly was a simple bucktail - bucktails were sort of like the wooly bugger today. Generally two color critters like black and white, black and yellow, red and white plus the Mickey Finn. The Mickey Finn is still pretty deadly and not enough people fish it IMHO.
Wet flies were big too. For the early season the standard wets were colorful ones sizes 6 and 8. My mentor repeated over and over again 6's and 8s, 6s and 8s. As the season progressed and the water got lower and clearer the smaller, more natural guys came out like gold-ribbed hairs ear (often w/o hackle), gray hackle peacock, brown hackle peacock, lead wing coachman, etc. (all these still work well BTW). Everybody I looked up to had a row of cream and yellow wets because then as now sulphur season was the highlight of the fly season. In fact that's how I judged if a guy was the real deal or not - if it was late May to Early June and he didn't have some yellow wets I didn't think he was a regular fisherman. But I don't remember a super match-the-hatch mindest - just everyone figured out you use yellow patterns in late spring. Everyone had a favorite gaudy pattern or two just because. My favorite was the Silver Doctor. Recently I reread something by Bergman who thought the gaudy wets were probably really tiny streamers - sounds good to me.
Nobody I knew had much money and everybody hunted and trapped so muskrat was a pretty common dubbing and all sorts of mallard, wood duck, pheasant, and grouse feathers made it into flies. I don't remember people generally being as anal with wet fly patterns as they are now. Sort of follow the general idea and use what you had that looked right. These days I think you are drummed out of the wet fly corps if your flies don't exactly follow the plates in Bergman, TE Pritt, Edmond & Lee etc.
This spring I tied a small box of the old 6s and 8s for nostalgia's sake and did quite well with them. I don't think today's trout see those big wets any more and respond well.
Wet flies were big too. For the early season the standard wets were colorful ones sizes 6 and 8. My mentor repeated over and over again 6's and 8s, 6s and 8s. As the season progressed and the water got lower and clearer the smaller, more natural guys came out like gold-ribbed hairs ear (often w/o hackle), gray hackle peacock, brown hackle peacock, lead wing coachman, etc. (all these still work well BTW). Everybody I looked up to had a row of cream and yellow wets because then as now sulphur season was the highlight of the fly season. In fact that's how I judged if a guy was the real deal or not - if it was late May to Early June and he didn't have some yellow wets I didn't think he was a regular fisherman. But I don't remember a super match-the-hatch mindest - just everyone figured out you use yellow patterns in late spring. Everyone had a favorite gaudy pattern or two just because. My favorite was the Silver Doctor. Recently I reread something by Bergman who thought the gaudy wets were probably really tiny streamers - sounds good to me.
Nobody I knew had much money and everybody hunted and trapped so muskrat was a pretty common dubbing and all sorts of mallard, wood duck, pheasant, and grouse feathers made it into flies. I don't remember people generally being as anal with wet fly patterns as they are now. Sort of follow the general idea and use what you had that looked right. These days I think you are drummed out of the wet fly corps if your flies don't exactly follow the plates in Bergman, TE Pritt, Edmond & Lee etc.
This spring I tied a small box of the old 6s and 8s for nostalgia's sake and did quite well with them. I don't think today's trout see those big wets any more and respond well.
sandfly
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Up here Jeffk, its wet fly fishing for sure, I remember and still use a lot of those along with some from here now. Most locals use wets here. Pine is not really dry fly water per say.
Tups
Active member
I dry all of my skins in a 50/50 mix of borax and salt, letting them sit for a month or so. Everything then goes into the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds to kill any eggs or larvae which might be on the feathers. Then into labelled ziplocs.
