As others have noted both Cabelas @ http://www.cabelas.com/ and LLBean @
http://www.llbean.com/ are two options for mail order. One other to also
look at would be Bass Pro Shops @ http://www.basspro.com/ . Cabelas and Bass
Pro are both general fishing supply stores with some fly fishing equipment.
LLBean is a general outdoors shop and fly fishing supplier.

One other website to look at would be Orvis @ http://www.orvis.com , they
include general outdoor gear these days, but they still focus on their roots
which is fly fishing. Unfortunately, this morning I could not access their
site. I do not have any idea what is going on there.

As an example, Bass Pro has Cortland Dry Fly Spray 2oz for $4.99 plus $3.95
shipping. From Cabelas, Bass Pro, and LLBean, most fly dressings seem to be
around $4.50 to $6.50 with shipping charges from $3.95 to $4.50.

So your idea that shipping charges will double the price is pretty accurate,
but if there is no other choice then you just may have to accept this
pricing. I would think that shipping charges would be less than the gas to
drive that one hour to your nearest shop. Remember that the minimum shipping
charges will apply even if you order more items at one time. This would help
spread out the shipping charges over several items. Just add some new leader
material, handful of flies, or a new line to help out. And we can all use
some new "toys" most of the time, right :-)

I do not know the "olden days" history of fly fishing, but do know that far
enough back the only answer was to thoroughly dry the fly whenever it was
wet. You might try a cooking oil "dip" to see if this would work. Stay away
from any petroleum products. The fish would find this "stink" to be enough
to keep them away, and these products also degrade any leader material they
came in contact with. This includes some types of thread that is used to tie
the flies themselves.

Hope this helps you.
Bob

"Goat" wrote in message
.. .


The area I live in does not have a flyshop within an hour drive. After
gas or shipping charges floatant ends up costing twice as much, but
more than that it is just becoming a pain in the butt.
This leads me to my question.
Does anybody know how I can make my own floatant? Something I can
pick-up at the hardware store or grocery store prehaps?
What did the "old timers" use as floatant in the days before LL Bean?

(new to group, so if this is a beaten horse..... Sorry)