Tim A

I have a Gold Cup III with spare spool I could part with. Nice drag, nice big drag knob, has performed well on inshore salt. PM or text me for more info.

I use CCG in a lot of my tying. I have been using it for several years now, since way before they brought out the "tack-free" series of products. I have used the flexible, thick, thin, brushable, and tack-free brushable. None of these have been completely tack free. In my discussions over this period with other CCG users and those who use Bug Bond, Tuffleye, and other light-cured acrylics (LCAs), there have only been 2 solutions: (a) coat with Hard as Nails, or ( b ) wipe with rubbing alcohol. The former will give a nice clear top coat, whereas the latter will result in some fogging. It should also be noted that there are different wavelengths within the UV part of the light spectrum. Mike, I am surprised the light you received was even UV, let alone functioned within the range to cure the product (were you using CCG or another product? Which type of CCG?). What I'm saying is, the same light will not cure all brands of LCAs equally--it may take unreasonably long, for instance. If you can find out the specific wavelength of the light recommended by the company whose product you're using, you could find a cheap alternative on eBay with the same wavelength. I started out with the CCG basic kit (light+thick+thin), and haven't switched lights yet.

Tim, Your fly looks sweet! A fish-catcher for sure. You could always clip the rabbit hide back a bit even in the field if you thought it was too long (I don't think it is, judging by pic). I'll defer to Tom on what weight he uses most often, but I'll say that you could/should have a few different weights of this fly in your box for variable conditions and fish's preference. In deeper water, you may need to get down faster with heavier lead eyes. In super shallow water with little potholes, you could go down to brass eyes, beadchain eyes, or a brass cone.

I love 'em! Really nice tandems.

Congrats on the purchase, Ryan. Those Silver Sonics look sweet. I am definitely considering them for my next pair. I hope you get to try them out soon!

Hard to believe it's already been a month, but it has. We Chicago guys are doing another "Chi-Tie" bar flies session on Monday, April 8th at 6:30pm. Same place as last time, Galway Bay, 500 W Diversey here in Chicago. It was a blast last month with a great turnout. Lots of good people to chat with, swap stories with, and learn from. I unfortunately will not be in attendance for this one as I'll be out of town. Hopefully I'll have a fish story or two when I return. To those who came out for last month's event, thank you. I hope you will continue to join us and enjoy the city. If you have any trouble finding the place, contact Dave Kuntzelman at (404) 909-1266. If you have other questions in the meantime, feel free to send me a PM. Come out and enjoy a brew while you spin up a new bug. Details of last month's event: http://illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10423

Nice tie. It's a great picture...of your vise. The picture quality (sharpness) is good, it's just not focused on the correct subject. It could be that the distance between the fly and your lens is too narrow. Not knowing anything else about your camera, and being new at this stuff myself, that's all I can say.

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up, Sam. Always good to see research being done.

Great creation, Ryan. Looks deadly. I tied a few patterns very similar to this using palmer chenille. They never looked as good as yours, though.

Lookin' good, Ryan.

Just want to say we had a great time and good crowd last night. Capt Austin Adduci, Kurt Kopala of A Tight Loop, PJ from the Driftless area, and Eric--the owner of DoubleGun Cigars were all there. I was glad to see some ISA faces in the form of John L and Eugene. Thanks for making it out to the city, fellas! I'm gonna try to make it to one of your garage meetings soon!

Just a reminder, this event is tomorrow! Roughly 6:30-9:30pm at Galway Bay 500 W Diversey (it's downstairs). Kurt Kopala of A Tight Loop magazine will be tying up something meaty, and we will be donating flies to charity. See you there! Give me a call on my cell if you have any questions or trouble finding the bar: (330) 309-3544. Arrive early to find street parking.

Thanks, Tom. Looking forward to seeing what you've come up with!

Hey all, Just saw that Groupon is offering the Pentax WG-2 waterproof camera for only $150 right now. This deal ends in about a day, so move quick! This would make a great camera for release shots or just a nice rugged no-worries camera on the river. http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-pentax-digital-camera-1?c=all&p=22 It also comes with a floating wrist-strap at no addition charge if you choose that option. I think they were thinking of us anglers on this one...

Been wanting to tie up some meaty crayfish with zonker claws...finally got to it today. Here's some drafts of the "Kinky Kraw", so named again because the style of tying and material used for body (Congo hair here). I also tied one in all black with blue flash (using SF blend "midnight blitz" color), not shown here.

Nice ties, Ryan! Good idea to fish them on sink tips. Ditto.

I saw them for cheap at every show I went to this winter. $20-75 a rod.

Thanks for the kind words, fellas. I'm itching to drag it in front of some fish. I have a good feeling about this one.

Cool, Ryan. Thanks for the vid. Capt. Chard knows what he's talking about. And Sally's HAN is good for more uses than I could ever think.

Rob, Thanks for sharing your experience with whipped loops. I use them too on all my lines. I was just asking Ryan what he used in this particular case. I use monofilament to cut into line's coating and whip finish two knots. I've coated them with Goop, Aquaseal, and lately with a thin coat of CCG light-cure acrylic. I haven't had any fail on fish, but I do check them every so often and especially before big trips because I have had some of the older ones fail during testing. On floating lines, you can use use a small hair-straightening iron to "weld" your own loops. I haven't done it, but saw a video. I actually trust my whipped loops more for whatever reason.

Ryan, Nice job. Making your own tips is much more economical, and time-wise the looped connection is more economical too. I'm wondering if you tested the strength of your handmade whipped loops at all and what you used to seal the knots.

Chuckle-worthy, Terry! The head is a "Fish Skull" by Flymen Co., size medium, gold color. http://flymenfishingcompany.org/products/fish-skull-products/fish-skull/

I came up with this baitfish as a searching pattern for somewhat deeper waters (5'-10'+), thinking of multiple bass species and Great Lakes brown trout. Materials: Hook: Gama B10S #1 Tail: White Zonker, Rainbow Flashabou Body: Ice Dub, Palmered Marabou Wing: Peacock Herl Lateral Line: Silver Krystal Flash Collar: Ice Dub (purple and black) Head: Fish Skull Medium, Gold Eyes: 5mm Silver 3D Molded (1) Tie in rabbit strip tail (2) Tie in flashabou above tail, trim just longer than rabbit (3) Tie in a loop of 25-40# mono above tail, extending beyond hook bend (4) Pull tail materials through mono loop allowing them to rest on top (5) Dub with pearl ice dub over the thread wraps and onto the shank (6) Tie in 1 white marabou quill by the tip, move thread toward hook eye, and palmer marabou forward, stroking fibers back in spey style (7) Secure marabou and use bodkin to gently pick out any trapped marabou barbs (8) Tie in 6 peacock herl fibers extending just beyond marabou (9) Tie in 2 stands of silver Krystal Flash to each side of marabou (try to keep flash pointed up, parallel with peacock herl). (10) Place clump of purple Ice Dubbing on top of shank, wrap twice in the middle of clump to secure, then slightly spread the clump to the sides of the shank while leaving bulk on top, (11) Turn hook over and repeat step 8 on bottom of hook, then fold all ice dub backwards and move thread in front of dubbing. (12) Repeat steps 8/9 with black Ice dub, but a lesser amount (13) Wrap thread in front of all dubbing while holding dub fibers toward rear and build a small dam of thread. (14) Whip finish and cut thread. (15) Apply a bead of Goop or super glue gel to thread and any remaining hook shank behind hook eye (16) Slide Fish Skull head over hook eye and onto the dam of thread holding ice dub back. (17) Make a few thread wraps between hook eye and front of Fish Skull (this helps keep the Fish Skull from advancing over the eye). (18) Whip finish and cut thread. (19) Apply preferred eyes and drop of head cement to forward-most wraps.

Nice job!

Sam, Welcome. Your site looks great. I'll be checking it on the regular. Doesn't matter if you like the people of the ISA--your membership money will go to conservation, and you already said you're a fan of that. I'll be in touch this summer for a Fox fix.