Mike G

I am glad you liked it. Next time I want to be a watcher. I was too busy to see what was going on. By the way here is my view of the setup.

I plan to attend.

Good one. Thanks for posting. About how long is it? Hook size?

Gavin, The note in this pic you posted a while back says the R/W bug on the left is a Gerbubble Bug. I think it is more original.

Ron, No question about the action being different. The Blockhead is an overachieving popper since the square face presents a lot more surface area than a similar round cork or foam popper. Being softer the deer hair would have a more subtle sound unless, as some tyers do, you use a coating like silicon or epoxy to stiffen it. But why do that? It destroys the purpose by turning the deer hair bug back into a cork popper. No matter what the body material, the thing that sets the Gerbubble family aside is the whiskers. Without adding a lot of weight they give the bug a bigger footprint on the water.. In addition marabou whiskers stay in action even when the bug is not moving. That is ideal for lakes or slow waters. Now the Blockhead Gerbubble is a bit of a hybrid that makes a big rukus when popped, or undulates and tantalizes when it is not moved at all. Best of both? Getting back to deer hair, one could probably get the untimate in subtle by putting marabou whiskers on a deer hair bug. I do not do a lot of deer hair, but someone may want to try it.

Ron, Whitlock's Gerbubblers are still around available from the site below and probably others. http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/100152695/Gerbubble_Bug_Fishing_Flies.html The Gerbubble Bug is in its third generation. Lovings Gerbubble Bug born about 100 years ago had a balsa body with hackle whiskers glued in gruves on each side. Around 1980 Whitlock reincarnated it in deer hair again with hackle whiskers on each side. It is an elaborate pattern though no problem for Cory, I am sure. In the 21st Century Barlett's Gerbubble Bug came to light with marabou whiskers. Lefty Kreh recommends it highly for slow or still water. A lot of tyers use foam bodies for the Bartlet version. I used a Blockhead body to make this one since it had the keystone shape needed for the pattern. Take your choice.

Something from our own Zen Master: " I fish not because it's so important but because everything else is so unimportant." -Ron K

http://namgnewsletter.com/FC/_eNews2012/email/images/FC_feature_021512large.jpg It says 19.7 pounds on on cast.

Ryan, If it were not for deer tails and body hair, the world would be a dark place indeed. Bucktails are the heart of so many streamers. Deer body hair is at the heart of so many floating and diving bugs. Your question is pretty broad. The answer is narrow. Pick the hair based on the bug or streamer you want to tie.

Fishing has its reasons which reason knows not of. -Blaise Pascal

I dig too. The average cost for one is $3.50. Materials to make your own: Ewg Hook ... 50 cents Two splir rings ... 20 cents Mojo Sinker ... 30 cents (at most) Total $1.00 I will make my own. Thanks for pointing it out. The concept is excellent.

Man is by nature a fishing animal. Aristotle

Terry, I was wondering if the Pro Version would apply to the ISA Chat or to the individual subscriber. Big difference. As for November, it may be a mark in the sand when the program becomes official. But our testing before that will be open to all, and I hope to see a lot of good sessions before that like my 2/25/02 9:00 AM session tying the Flap-doodle Finn.

Who you callin' "ole." At seventy an oak tree is just gettin' going

Another tip: The line where you type in your comments is at the bottom of the white chat space. You may have to scroll down to it depending on your display height. You can usually set it so that the whole chat space and the input line show at the same time. Old tip: Hit F11 once you are in the chat room. It will trim off some of the browser header lines on the top giving more useable space for the chat. To go back hit F11 again.

Let me untangle a few things. Hef said,"At night, white's right." That was Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy, father of Christie Hefner, 'splaining what color shirt to wear after dark. When Hef talked about flies. Well, let's say, it referred to a location on our pantaloons you got Lefty's dogma on surface bugs chapter and verse. Fishing surface in a river, one has to keep a bug active lest the current carry it past the fish without it being noticed. Since there is no current in a lake, motionless is a very productive presentation LMB or SMB. That is all I care to untangle for now.

Rob, Good research, though p. 146 is in a chapter on saltwater flies. It is a bit of a push to apply that to Smallmouths though they might be in the "1/3 of the species" he has caught. Then again, on p. 146, Lefty sez,"Indeed, some professional guides say,/b]'If it aint chartreuse, it aint no use.'" (emphasis mine) It tells us which way Lefty is leaning without closing the loop. My main concern is not putting words in anyone's mouth whether it be Kreh's, Holschlag's, Brad Miller's, or anyone else's. Besides, it deflects us from picking our own one color which was the original question.

Rob, Now I have to ask you where the idea that Lefty favored charteuse came from. Fair is fair. But Lefty is not in the survey as far as I know. Others, Rules of the survey say that you have to pick one color. You can't have two. Give it your best shot.

Thanks Rob, I just added that site to mu favorites. I have a Medalist 1500 series that will fill tie bill.

Ron, Respectfully, where did Lefty say that? I have got a few of his books and cannot recall anywhere he gave a blanket endorsement for black much less any other color. Hef said,"At night white's right." But he was not talking about flies. Respectfully,

I want to take one more crack at the topic now that I have a better understanding of Neo Glass rods. Neo rods seem to combine features of Classic Glass rods and Graphite rods. They have the action of classic Glass though describing them as slow is somewhat prejudicial. “Slow” comes with negative baggage as in slow learner and slow track. In the days of Classic Glass, terms like progressive and parabolic were used, never slow. This meant that when loaded the blank bent from grip to tip forming a parabolic curve. Very au courant. On the down side Neo Glass Rods come with the price tags of high end graphite. This is probably justified by better materials and workmanship. In spite of that I do miss the Herter’s Browntone Fiberglass rod building kits that included everything you needed to build a fly rod for $10-12. Their blanks were not perfect by any means. After several years of use the blanks became softer due to checkering – partial breakdown of the lamination. This was not a problem because one could always build another rod for less than $15. But then Herter’s went out of business around 1978 After considering all the trade offs in materials, action, durability, and cost, I have determined that my ideal rod is an 8’9”, 8/9 wt Ugly Stick. Does anyone know where I can get one?

I refuse to humor. You should have said,"Next to chartreuse, what is your favorite color for a smallmouth fly?" BTW, I said "other." But my color is silver.

Thesis: Virtue Antithesis: Pleasure Synthesis: Fishing George F. Hegel Comment: The old saw says, "Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening." Meanwhile the preachers want us to lead a good life. Maybe fishing is the solution.

There are fiberglass rods and there are fiberglass rods. The age of fiberglass was from about 1950 to 1975 when the graphite rod first appeared. Let's call this first group Classic Fiberglass. Since graphites appeared they have become the standard. Gierach points out that recently Orvis claimed one of its top bamboo rods performed similarly to one of its delux graphite models. Now there is a new generation of glass out there. Call them Neo Fiberglass. I can't speak about the neo Fiberglass rods, though I have a lot of experience with Classic Fiberglass. Classic Fiberglass rods were modeled after the bamboo rods that preceeded them. They weighed about the same and had similar actions. They were much more durable. Like the bamboo rod, the weight of the fiberglass rod meant that the blank contributed to loading the rod. There was a little tug on the backcast that told you, "We're loaded." Since it really helped with timing, I still miss that on my graphite rods. We have to ask if Neo Fiberglass rods are designed to emulate Graphite Rods and their action or the boo rods from the 50s. I can't answer that though it is important to know. One thing I know is that a lot of Classic Fiberglass rods are out there on eBay at reasonable prices. But they may not have the action you are looking for. So there are fiberglass rods and there are fiberglass rods. Try before you buy.

Personally I have the list covered though I might not have the exact brand. For instance, I do not have The Culprit Tassel Lizard though I have enough lizards to fill a tropical island. I missed some oldies like the Bass Oreno, Lucky 13, Lazy Ike, and River Runt though these might be thought of as collector baits. Where's the Spoonplug?