Mike G

Just when you thought this thread was dead, here comes another one. It is inspired by Ehlers' Grim Reaper. I am beginning to think that horizontal tails are better. The large tail is sandwiched between two shorter tails. I made a similar fly with a faux suede tail so I can compare. It is hard to see the details in black. Here's a pro shot of the original.

Rich, These I would rather buy since they are easy to find at Wally's. Kevin, I have that same concern. I was hoping someone who has used them would tell us. When I look at them, they look a bit like a snap that many of us have used for years on jig spinners. See the family resemblance. Anyway I hope to try them out soon. Retie often anyway.

It seems like a while since we have seen a neat gadget like the Parasite that we saw a while ago. This came to mind when I noticed that the manufacturer of the Chatterbait had replaced the crosslock snap on the bait with this connector. Mustad KVD Fastach Clips. It comes in many sizes. I picked up some size ones at Wally's. It is about right for regular lures and large #4 and up flies where the extra weight is no object. This is great for switching a bait quickly to go back after a follow or short strike. $2 for 12.

I have one of those purchase a few years ago. The manual says that you should send it in each year to have the seal replaced. Do the newer models still have that requirement?

BUMP The show is March 28 at 10:00 AM in Rockford.

First, don't ever put your phone in a microwave. The radiation will wipe out programming and then go on to overheat metal parts and melt plastic parts. But here is something you can do at home, (though getting professional service like Ken talks about sounds better for more expensive equipment). The following is a true story. About a month ago someone in our household left her Samsung "Penny " phone in her sweat pant's pocket and proceeded to wash the pants in our Whirlpool Cabrio, with Tide Fresh HE, regular cycle, warm wash, cool rinse, spin dry. When we found the phone, I removes the decorative case, dried the phone and popped open the battery compartment and wiped off the battery and compartment. Since a lot of moisture was visible inside the display window, I refrained from attempting to turn it on. But I did remember that years ago we dropped a hand calculator in a sink full of water. After a few days drying on the kitchen window sill, it functioned like new. So I thought I would try it. I set the disassembled phone on a towel on the dinning room table hoping that the dry winter indoor air would do the trick. After a day there was still moisture visible in the display windows. I moved the phone to a sunny spot to see if low heat would help. It did, but there was still moisture in the windows two days later. Next I used a heating pad set on low to provide controlled low heat. My indoor thermometer read 100 F on the surface of the heating pad cover. After a day on the pad, there was no moisture visible in the windows. I gave it another day just to be sure. Then I reassembled the phone and battery and turned it on. Nothing happened. I resigned myself to buying a new phone. In a dream that night, a thought came to me. "Maybe the battery is dead." Next day I plugged the charger into the phone and plugged in the charger. The dead phone came to life telling me it was charging. About 6 hours later it played a tune and told me that it was charged. To shorten the story, we tested all the functions and everything was fine. Lists were in tact, photos were still in memory, etc. etc. etc... Faith and patience are important here. Faith, believe that electronic devices can be dried out and used again. Patience, resist the temptation to pass live current through the device until you are really really really sure it is really really really dry.

At least it is everywhere.

Rob, The sparkle fur tufts that I mixed had 1-2 inch metallic strands mixed in. The brushes had no trouble blending them in. So I think they would handle shorter strand as well. I see Gartside sells a .75 oz bag of GSS for $6. The .6 oz assortment shown can be had for $8 on Amazon. You get a little less for your dollar, but you get more colors. GS only offers 5 colors.

Part Deux Angelina Fibers When I googled using pet slicker brushes to mix dubbing I came across a discussion on the topic. One of the participants recommended adding Angelina fibers to give the mix some sparkle. Then someone suggested that Gartside sold the same fibers as "magic stuff" with the usual GS markup. Are any of you using the stuff? It looks like a good idea.

Apparently I will never be able to get over the 33 years I spent as an Industrial Engineer. Retired for six years, I still cannot look at anything without asking myself if I can do the same thing just as well or better with less cost. My Engineer surfaced earlier this year with the use of inexpensive drape hooks to replace a Hands Free Fishing hooks.. Here we go again. Feather-Craft recently promoted a dubbing blending board priced at $100. https://www.feather-craft.com/wecs.php?store=feacraft&action=display&target=DB100 Its advantage over a coffee grinder is that it handles long fibers up to five inches while the grinder maxes out when fibers exceed one inch or so. When I saw the Feather Craft promo and read the accompanying instructions, I realized that I could do the same with two slick pet hair brushes that I already had. Since the brushes sell for about seven dollars each, buying two of them beats the $100 outfit from Feather Craft. If your spouse is into carding and spinning wool, you already have the tools you need in the house. The dubbing board and slick pet brushes are both based on wool carding paddles. I have two brushes. The larger is 3 X 5. I used the underfur from craft fur in this test run. I mixed two samples, RGB and CMY. According to the Feather Craft instructions. See the results.

You may have something there. I always ask, "What would Norm do?" What if this is as good as it gets?

I apologize for citing Bob's rules from memory and not giving his exact words. To set the record right, this is from an article he wrote as a companion to the presentation he gave about 8 years ago: My Three Main Principles for Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass in Rivers, Creeks and Streams. Fish more Slowly (and Closer) Find and fish the Magic Zones Cast & Fish facing Downstream (95% of the time) I have the article in a Word Document. Though it is over 5000 words, it is worth the read. If Bob would give his permission, it might make a great article or series in the bulletin. It would be especially nice for those who were not able to get to a presentation back then.

Some of you may do business with them of get their catalog for fly tying and rod building. I thought I would pass on the information that they are currently running a promo 10% discount on your first order. Use promo code 2015Catalog10 . www.anglersworkshop.com Interesting Product Line

I think that is a fair representation of Bob Long's reasoning. It is true no matter what kind of tackle you use. In his presentation MR Long put heavy emphasis on how fast a Smallmouth can spit out a bait about 50% faster than a trout. But it is odd that we are keying on this rule. In the video Mr Galloup really says nothing about upstream or downstream. He tells us why shallow (3 FOW) holds more fish and debunks long heave casting that lacks any specific target. So here Kelley is talking about rules 1 and 3.

7 or 8 years ago Bob Long was on the stump delivering a great talk on fly fishing rivers for Smallmouths. I memorized the three rules: 1. Fish the magic waters. 2. Fish downstream 90% of the time. 3. Make short casts (30 feet or less) In this video I hear a lot of echoes of Bob's description of the magic waters which Bob described as 18- 34 inches deep. #8 is not just for trout only.

I will let the pictures tell the story. Before After: In action Materials 2 drap hooks 6" shrink sleeving 4 #3 safety pins (2") Size D nylon rod wrapping thread or your choice of fly tying thread, fishing line, etc. Head cement or nail polish

Jonn' post a while back ( http://illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=12308) suckered me into trying to tie one. Having sone 6-7" saddle helped. The half and half design was a natural. Version 1.0 uses Lefty's bunching method for the hackles. Version 2.0 uses the standard matched curved inward method for a more buttoned down look. I am thinking that 1.0 would be more attractive to fish; and 2.0 might attract more fishermen. Hasta deshielo de la primavera!

Too many to comment on. All look great.

Nope! I did not expect even you to come up with that. But, if you have come up with a fly equivalent, please share.

Here are two more for the gallery. The Half and half is inspired by Lefty and Bob's collaboration. The silicon material may be a way to build a really long fly. I also think that the tail mounted horizontally might be easy with the silicon. It would give a nice outline seen from below like that old Berkley leech. The PJ Popper adapts the Pond Jumper legs to a popper. I seldom wrap the transition from body to tail with hackle. When was the last time you saw a frog wearing a tutu? I used the templates above with modification. I usually trim a paddle shape tab instead of leaving the nose pointed. With the PJ I leave out everything but the legs and have a tab on the front and between the legs for tying it down.

Welcome. I used to live in LaGrange and can appreciate how hard it is to find fish nearby. ISA is the right place to learn where.

This is one of those ideas where I thought, " Why didn't I thinka that?" Then I thought some more. It costs about $7 per hook at $10 plus S&H; maybe it is a tad over engineered. More thought. In my life of Honey Dos, I have enough experience with hanging drapes to remember slip on drapery hooks. they are about 3" long and cost about 35 cents each. The loops on the top and bottom would let you pin or sew them at the right height on your shirt, jacket, or vest. If you have qualms about the wire scuffing your rod, you can slip some plastic tubing over the hook. Now if one were to take a set off the drapes in the family room would anyone notice?

Rich and John, You got your wish. Kelly must have designed the Broke Back Craw just for you. Nice looking Craw, huh?

John, (Sorry, Jonn,) If you have not done so, it would be a good idea to Google up the whole QA series (1-7). Kelly explained what he is doing very well. He has a comprehensive system for big trout. He designs his flies to work with that run and gun approach. Besides the meaty action packed flies, one needs the right rod, line, leader, and presentation to make it a success. That said, his system does look like it would trigger Muskies and Bass to strike. I will certainly be using my full sink line more even though the pickup is a pain.

Thanks for the link.