Tim A

http://vimeo.com/27202894#

If you still want to break it all the way down (after reading the good advice above about leaving it partially/wholly rigged), and your reel has a ported spool (holes in it), you can reel it all the way up and stick 4" of tippet, leader, or fly line (whatever's last) out of one of the holes on the spool. Also an elastic band with a hole in it (think--larger version of a tippet spool tamer). This assumes you have a quick-change spool system so you can apply the band with the spool removed after fishing (and remove it before you start next time). You can make this out of an old pair of boxer shorts if you're a penny-pincher or an environmentalist. No judgement

I would think if the fish are looking directly up at the fly, most parts (including midsection) are a shaded silhouette. They would have to be off to the side to see any light reflected from the flash. That doesn't mean it's not an important part of the fly. I'm just trying to imagine the fish's view. And I would add that you could go even sparser than in Tom's pic on the bucktail support. A few splayed fibers will do a lot to stop fouling, and they won't distract from the action or taper of the fly's tail. As Tom said, at least in saltwater tying, this is a common approach to using tails with a lot of flow like long soft hackles, marabou, craft fur/polar fiber, zonkers, & even long sections of EP/Congo. It's a better looking approach than the mono-loop tag if you are familiar with that.

Very nice! I have been tying mine with no marabou collar just marabou tail directly behind spun deer hair. I like that flashy midsection though. It's also good to note you can play with the density of the deer hair to get different buoyancy--heavier/more clumps to ride high, sparser/fewer to sink down. With a sink tip, you might want medium-to-high density head and with a floater something medium-to-light unless you are making a topwater slider version. Thanks for turning me on to this pattern, Tom.

Sweet tie! You could use that behind a weighted fly to get it deeper (a technique Tom L has convinced me of).

Nice going. Now you need to put that fly in a frame or hang in on your desk as a keepsake. And Bob G's words about drug addiction are spot-on

Or maybe the major difference between Tom's and Blanton's flies is the zonker/rabbit tail rather than bucktail. So maybe a "Hare-y Whistler..." Get it? Rabbit hair, plus rabbit=hare. Or just keep it simple with "Loo's Whistle"/"Loo's Whistler"

Awesome fly, Tom! It looks great. As far as names, hmmm.... "Deep Whistler" "Crayfish Hackler"--or abbreviate this one to "Crackler"---mix them all up and you get "Crack Whistler!" Okay, seriously though..."Barbed Whistle" or "Barbed Craw" (since hackle is made up of barbs), "Foxy Craw" or "Foxy Whistle" or "Foxy Whistler" (named for your home river, not the material). Just some thoughts, trying to help.

Sorry guys... I thought the nicer the stuff, the faster it would sell. I guess I was right--'cause I changed my mind faster about it than anything else I've put for sale.

Item no longer for sale. Keeping it. Thanks for looking.

Used on one outing, an excellent condition Scientific Anglers Sharkskin line, optic green color, Steelhead taper, WF8F. I will clean and dress (lube) the line for you before shipping out. Retails around $99, but I'm only asking $50 for this shipped to your door. Your choice of money order, check, or paypal.

Yes it's still available. Sorry I haven't been on here for a few days. Let me know if you're still interested.

Thanks for keeping the conversation alive fellas. I'm willing to admit my thesis is probably wrong here. I thought more about the fact that my thought experiments were using human hands/skin against a hard pipe, which turns out is not as analogous to the fly line situation as I'd previously thought. Patrick's comment made me think about this...although at first I was thinking about the burning/cutting effect on the finger. It didn't make sense to me how this textured fly line could be harsher on the finger than smooth fly lines, yet have less friction going through the guides. But then I realized that the pliability of our relatively soft skin and flesh is actually increasing the amount of surface area of the fly line we come into contact with. As I said before, a textured line has more absolute or total surface area becuase of all the bumps and valleys. When we squeeze the fly line with our fingers, we push our skin down a bit into these valleys, and when the line starts to move, we aren't just contacting the flat "peaks" of the line---the result is more friction. However, the line against the hard guide/eyelet/insert is a different story because the guide is hard, it isn't squeezing itself against the line, and those little valleys are so tiny. So the guide does only contact the flat or smooth "peaks" of the line's texture. I went back to thinking of analogies. I thought about two hollow pipes, one rotating inside the other at a perfect fit. In scenario (a), both pipes are perfectly smooth, which results in full surface area contact between the outer wall of the inside pipe and inner wall of the outer pipe. This requires more work against friction to rotate. Scenario (a) is high friction. But in scenario ( B ) the inner pipe has a cross-section like a cartoon flower (kind of like a boat prop). If this pipe rotates inside the smooth outer pipe, less surface area is in contact and less work is required to move it. So scenario ( B ) is lower friction, relative to (a), and is analogous to textured fly line. So I'm wrong! But this has been fun!

I've been thinking lately about the new(ish) textured lines on the market--Sci Anglers has the Sharkskin, which is very rough, the Mastery Series Textured (which is a bit smoother than the SS), and Orvis has the Hydros 3D series (which I believe is comparable to the "Mastery textured" from SA). These companies like to tout that the major benefit of these lines is increased casting distance due to lower line friction through the guides. Since the lines are not smooth, there is decreased surface area of fly line contacting the guides during the cast (we're only talking about the surface area relevant to touching the guides, since the overall surface area is increased by the many humps and valleys in the coating). The sudden increase in our casting distance simply by using these lines is supposedly enough to justify the loud buzzing of these lines through the guides. The only other marketed benefit to these lines, which run $30 more than their smooth counterparts, is a better grip of the line under fingers on the grip as well as in line-hand stripping fingers. In fact, users recommend using those stretchy lycra finger sleeves with these new lines to avoid "line burn" increase from these new lines. Okay... However, that buzzing sound is the sound of friction! That's what makes a buzzing sound. Now, is it more friction than a quiet, smooth fly line? Here's a set of thought experiments that you can make into hands-on experiments if you wish. (1)Say you have two rotating cylinders (rotating like simple axles, not martial arts bo staffs in action) in front of you--one smooth and one with slight ribbing along the length. These are spinning very quickly and you cannot stop them with your hand. Okay--which one would your hand last longer on if you had to grip them? The ribbed one would quickly feel like it is "burning" your hand, because the texture generates more friction and therefore more heat. (2) Say you are to descend from the roof of a very tall building via one of two perfectly vertical poles (like at a firehouse)--one is perfectly smooth and chromed like a firepole or stripper pole. The other has an exaggerated version of the pattern seen on the sharkskin fly line. Which would you rather descend? Well, I'd argue you might be able to grip the exaggerated sharkskin pole enough to control your descent, despite a little heat on the hands and legs due to higher friction. The firepole would be a very quick descent for which you better have good form--because there's no stopping once you start. And that's exactly the point I'm trying to make. A smooth surface (line) against a smooth surface (guides) generates LESS friction than a textured surface in motion against a smooth surface (guides). Think about the Lycra finger sleeves--why is your finger getting burned easier with a textured line? HIGHER FRICTION!!! In my view, based on these conclusions, if anyone using a textured line thinks they are generating faster line speeds, they are being duped by that nice buzzzzzzzzzing sound as the line leaves their hand and passes along and out the rod. It certainly SOUNDS fast. Put the extra $30 in your gas tank, or tip your guide. Just food for thought...

Items no longer available for sale. Thanks for looking.

I had fun even though I had to leave early. Thanks for putting it all together, guys!

Two bags for sale here, light use on each. Still excellent sturdy condition. I can bring these items to the picnic in Batavia tomorrow, but I have to leave at noon (I'll be fishing and cleaning up before that). Pay by cash then or by paypal between now and then. If we can't cross paths tomorrow, contact me and we'll figure something out. I can ship for a few more $$ but prefer not to. Or we can meet up to fish. Cabela's fishing backpack. Loaded with features--main bottom compartment fits 4 3600-size boxes, big upper compartment, front pocket for hooks, weights, tools, side pocket with water resistent zipper, external pliers sheath w/ velcro strap, adjustable double-strap rod tube holder (great for 3 piece spinning or 4-6 piece fly rods in tubes). Nice plastic-coated mesh side pockets for water bottles, trash bags, etc., heavy duty zippers on main compartments, and finally a super-solid molded handle up top. This thing can carry a lot of gear! NO BOXES included, just the bag. Asking $25 Berkley tackle bag...fits 4 size 3600 boxes, water resistent liner to most compartments, mesh outer pockets, adjustable shoulder strap, comfy yet sturdy handle with logo, elastic tool holders in front compartment, small hook, license pocket in front, rubber-dipped mesh pockets on each side. NO BOXES included, just the bag. Asking $10 -Tim

Didn't mean to sound like these are only for sale until tomorrow. Let me know if you're interested and we'll work something out. We can meet up to fish sometime or I can ship. I'll also take personal checks if you can wait until the check clears for me to deliver/ship the items.

I've got too many rods (for the moment ) and have to make room for more fishing junk on the way. Some excellent deals here. If you want the items immediately, I can bring them to the Picnic in Batavia tomorrow. Pay cash on the spot or Paypal between now and then. First I have a TFO Jim Teeny series 10' 7wt rod, which breaks down to a convenient 5 pieces. Lawn cast once and fished once. Cork is perfect with the exception of some discoloration at both ends of the grip due to using with the plastic still on. Plastic no longer on. Beautiful green rod with gold accents, salt-safe black aluminum reel seat, and color coded alignment dots. Comes with a rod sock but no tube. Mod-Fast progressive action that roll casts and mends nicely. Lifetime no-fault warranty. PERFECT rod for the upcoming steelhead season... Asking $150. (MSRP was $250) Also up for grabs is a lightly used Pflueger Summit 7/8 machined aluminum fly reel with disc drag. I mainly used this for reel for smallmouth and carp. They discontinued these a few years ago when Plueger got out of the fly fishing business, but I bought a few of these. I've used these (not this particular one though) in the salt for spanish mackerel, small bluefish, and schoolie stripers. A quick rinse and no harm done. Still working great. This particular reel has a few tiny dings but otherwise a fine reel that looks great and will get most any job done with flying colors. The champaign color looks great with most earth-tone rods and especially with the TFO Teeny rod for sale above Asking $65 Fly line pictured is not included, but backing is (125 yds 30# gelspun w/ top shot of dacron) Buy both the TFO rod and the Pflueger reel (w/ backing) for $200. This is a nice setup for the upcoming steelhead run or for smallmouth wading. -Tim

I'm hoping to make it out for some fishing or cleanup, but have to leave around noon.

Thanks for the positive feedback guys. I'm also curious about the fly tying show details. I'd be glad to demonstrate these flies there and/or in a video. Joseph--the weight of the hook alone is perfect to both keel the fly as well as allow it to perfectly suspend a little below the surface in slight current, or slowly sink when given slack or in stillwater. The material is soft & these are tied sparse. Of course, it helps to dip the fly in the water first like one would with a marabou fly to waterlog it so it doesn't float. But it does dry out after a few false casts (a nice feature on larger sizes). Tom L has also influenced me lately to fish double rigs, so I'm fishing these behind a weighted craw pattern or clouser whih pulls it down easily. But they are also nice on an intermediate or sink tip since they "behave" nicely. To help with keeling, I like to tie & trim the fly up at an angle (tail not perfectly parallel w/ hook shank), which puts more material above the shank. The SC15 hook has a deep bend which makes it great for keeling. How one trims/shapes the head can also affect keel & sink rate. Went to Kankakee today for a little bit & tossed one of these around behind a brown craw pattern. Got 7 small fish in 3 hours, but only 1 took the minnow. Seems they wanted crayfish.

I've been having some fun lately tying up some minnow patterns with Congo Hair / EP 3D fibers. They're a simple tie, but I put a twist on the EP high tie (hi-tie) style. I do the tail normal and begin a few hi-ties on the shank, then I switch to Jonny King's V-style (a la Kinky Muddler) for the remainder of the head. This makes a more 3-dimensional head that adds realism and pushes more water. I also like to blend the fibers to make custom colors. Angel hair and flashabou for flash. Eyes attached with Goop and coated with HAN. These are on Gami SC15 hooks, mostly size 1 with one pictured on a 1/0. All are roughly 3" in length. Hopefully I can post some pics with these hanging from some smallies' lips soon... -Tim A

Cool! Thanks for posting this.

Cabela's footwear is guaranteed for life, so they should replace the pair you wore out or offer you a partial- or full store credit. I went with Cabelas for my recent boot purchase for this reason. The price is one of the lowest around, too. LL Bean also offers a lifetime warranty, boasts the best customer service, and offers free shipping. Too bad you just missed a 15% off sale. You can always get a few bucks off (11%) electronic gift cards for L.L. Bean here: https://www.plasticjungle.com/gift-card/LL-Bean-gift-cards Bass Pro does not guarantee their merch. I buy things from them occasionally, but not items that I know will eventually need replacement, like waders and boots. Glad you got some fish!

Congrats Tom! Thanks for never keeping your expertise, nor your tournament winnings, to yourself. We all benefit from such a good sportsman