reinventing the Wheel

(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

Larry Medina wrote:


Reading this thread about Fly Fishing/Tying mags has been pretty
interesting.

A lot of what I'm hearing here was the reason I canceled all but one of
my subscriptions, and that's to a magazine I still read cover to cover,
including the Letters to the Editor, Book Reviews and the "Foraging
Angler" column.

If you've never read a copy of California Fly Fisher, I would strongly
recommend it to anyone who fishes in the Golden State or the Western US
for that matter.

Great articles by Ken Hanley, Ralph Cutter and a regular tying column by
Andy Burke, with a fly you usually can use!

I also like the freebie rag you get in the stores...

"Fly Fish America" Al and Gretchen Beatty do an excellent job with the
fly tying page which features regional specialties from average Joe
tyers, like me once =)


You're a bit too humble on that one Larry.

I like the Beatty's column in that magazine too, but what I don't like
is that the magazines product reviews are TOTALLY advertiser driven. All
magazines are influenced, but these guys have ads each month
specifically for the products they review.

Willi

Tom Littleton wrote:

Willi notes:

at least out
West, I can't remember ever seeing a Variant in any bin in any fly shop.


Not even House and Lots? Baileys had them in several sizes when I was in there
a few years back. I know Pat Barnes used to carry them years ago at his place.
I know times have changed, but variants were used out west. Further, AK was
from Michigan before moving to Colorado, so he has definitely seen variants.
Tom



I'm sure AK knows what Variants are, I was just commenting that they are
pretty much a "forgotten" pattern/style, at least out here. There are
definitely regional differences in popular patterns.

Willi

Tom Littleton wrote:

Willi notes:

at least out
West, I can't remember ever seeing a Variant in any bin in any fly shop.


Not even House and Lots?

All the H&L Variants I've ever seen (mostly tied by Jim Lafley and Jim
Turcotte my mentors) were standard fly dimensions, not using oversized
hackles. Did the House and Lot original use Catskill Variant dimensions?

Stan asks:
Did the House and Lot original use Catskill Variant dimensions?

a little less pronounced, but the ones I remember seeing had oversized hackle.
Tom

Tom Littleton wrote:
Stan asks:

Did the House and Lot original use Catskill Variant dimensions?


a little less pronounced, but the ones I remember seeing had oversized hackle.
Tom

I have a few favorite local patterns that I tie with various amounts and
size of hackles. As well as standard ties, I often tie them with both
undersized and oversized hackles as well as overly dense and sparse.
Depending on the type and amount of hackle used, the same fly will
provide a different profile and attitude as well as behave differently
on the water.

Willi

"Stan Gula" wrote in message .. .

All the H&L Variants I've ever seen (mostly tied by Jim Lafley and Jim
Turcotte my mentors) were standard fly dimensions, not using oversized
hackles. Did the House and Lot original use Catskill Variant dimensions?

The following is an H&L variant tied by Pat Barnes, who died in
1997, at the age of 88 or so. I'm not sure when he first offered
these in his West Yellowstone store (now Bob Jacklin's place)
but it was a long time ago.


http://montana-riverboats.com/static...e_and_lot.html

I have a few favorite local patterns that I tie with various amounts and
size of hackles. As well as standard ties, I often tie them with both
undersized and oversized hackles as well as overly dense and sparse.
Depending on the type and amount of hackle used, the same fly will
provide a different profile and attitude as well as behave differently
on the water.

Willi

I think this is true of almost all of us who tie... if you ask a
flyfisherman who is also a flytyer for a peek in his flybox, you'll
typically see patterns you NEVER see in books, and you'll see variations
on standard patterns using a bit of a different color, or more spare or
more dense hackles, depending on the water.

I fish primarily in the Sierras and mostly on tumble and plunge pool
streams where the water is pretty fast between the pockets. You need a
fly that can float a bit longer in this type of water when you're
fishing a dry, so you make accommodations in the patterns, like heavier
hackling, use of different body materials that are similar in color, and
sometimes tying smaller flies on larger hooks, a bit farther back on the
shank.

Larry