reinventing the Wheel

(Tom Littleton) wrote in
:

I have to rant for a moment!! I just got the current issue of Fly Tyer
in the mail yesterday, and one of the features is an AK Best design of
a "hovering cranefly".
Now, old A.K. claims he sweated over this one for a couple years, but
there is ABSOLUTELY no functional difference from a classic Catskill
Variant. See Flick's
instructions for the Grey Fox Variant, and the final fly. All A.K.
does is make use of, and liberally plug, Whiting's Coq de Leon
feathers. A similar type of article/
advertisement trend seems to be creeping into Fly Tyer as a
whole....The result is a lot of re-inventing the Wheel, wrapping it in
some tyer's ego and foisting on the public. Rant mode off......
Tom


I got ya, Tom. I've been feeling that way about the mag for a long time
(but of course I still buy it!).

When its your living to crank out articles on tying new flies, you come up
with some outrageous **** that simply won't help anyone fish. There's few
new flies in there that excite me. I did like their recent article on
realistic immitation, though, and the review of the Magic Tool talked me
into buying one (and I hope you'll soon see the results). Of course, you
can pretty much do the same stuff with a slit piece of closed cell foam and
a bulldog clamp, but I don't regret the purchase.

So, I guess I like the mag for the features and new product reviews, but
many of the new flies presented just miss with me.

I do like them Coq de Leon feathers. They make damn good tails. You need
to use more fibers than you would w/ fibbets, but I like the idea of losing
an artificial material for a natural that works better. Of course, if I
had a stash of spade feathers like yours, I wouldn't spend nine bucks a
pack for tail fibers

Scott

Scott states:
Of course, if I
had a stash of spade feathers like yours, I wouldn't spend nine bucks a
pack for tail fibers

step one: contact Charlie Collins
step two: ask for a few packs of spades
step three: pay him $5 for each large pack

Pardo is overpriced, overrated, and for most uses over-stiff.
Tom

(Tom Littleton) wrote in news:20040526170631.16651.00001973
@mb-m18.aol.com:

Scott states:
Of course, if I
had a stash of spade feathers like yours, I wouldn't spend nine bucks a
pack for tail fibers

step one: contact Charlie Collins
step two: ask for a few packs of spades
step three: pay him $5 for each large pack

Pardo is overpriced, overrated, and for most uses over-stiff.
Tom


This Coq de Leon stuff is pardo?? I've seen that name bandies about, but
haven't figured it out yet

Scott

Scott asks:
This Coq de Leon stuff is pardo?? I've seen that name bandies about, but
haven't figured it out ye

Pardo feathers are from, IIRC, the base of the neck of the Coq de Leon,
containing very stiff, long fibers. Nice feathers, for certain purposes, very
pricey. The usual Coq de Leon tailing comes from the saddle feathers, I
believe.
....off to the Beaverkill, are you? Enjoy!!!
Tom