Forgotten pleasures

1. Even the strongest nylon thread weakens considerably after two years on
the shelf.

Geez, I hope not, Wolfgang. .....

Think of all the poor Skydivers, using chutes with nylon shroud lines
that are much more than two years old!

A Postscript: I had lunch today with a skydiving friend. He said
ultraviolet light does degrade nylon, and there have been cases of
partial failure (none fatal that he knew of) for that reason.

So keep your thread in a drawer, guys.

vince

Your post brought a smile to my face. I'm an older, gray haired fly fisher
who has been fly fishing for over 50 yrs. When in college, I tied flies
commercially for awhile...and for decades, tied my own flies....primarily to
save money. I now have so many boxes of flies that I doubt if I'll ever run
out...unless I get back into chasing technology and decide to tie some of
the newer patterns. However, about three months ago, I too decided to try
my hand at tying once again...after a number of years of abstaining. I can
identify with all of the comments you made. For some reason, tying flies is
something I'll have to "re-learn"...now that I can't see, lack normal
dexterity and am lacking a few brain cells (too many hours standing in cold
rivers).

As I type this, I am preparing for my first Fall fly fishing trip on the
Smith River (it literally runs through my back yard). The California State
record steelhead was caught right below our house (I'm told) in 1997. The
Smith is not noted for being an easy river to fish with a fly...but it can
be done...and with some success at times.

Barry




"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...
For the past two years, ever since we moved from the duplex into a house,
I didn't bother to unpack (let alone organize) my fly tying gear because I
still had enough bugs to get me through what little fishing I've managed
to squeeze in. Not so, this time around. With the promise of nine days
of intensive angling staring me in the face, it was time to do something.
I've never been exactly anal about neatness, but a quick search through
drawers, tubs, boxes, bags and various other containers left even me a bit
disconcerted. All my hooks (and a lot of other junk) were stored in one
of those upright metal cabinets with the clear plastic drawers.....the
ones that never slide properly in the first place and, given that they are
always over-filled, often won't open at all. The cabinet has been lying
on it's back for two years. Icky!

A couple of hours (and $50 at the fly shop buying things that, as I found
out later, after a more careful search, I didn't need anyway) I was ready
to rock. Hooks, thread, chenille, calf tail, mallard flank, brown hackle,
nail polish......yep, all there. Pinch down a barb, chuck the hook in the
vise and.......ACK!......some evil ******* has stolen all my fingers and
replaced them with poorly disguised thumbs!

Some observations:

1. Even the strongest nylon thread weakens considerably after two years
on the shelf.
2. Hooks shrink.
3. There is considerably less light in the world than there used to be.
4. The labels on containers lie.
5. Materials in general have become unruly and disrespectful.
6. Hook eyes (and hackles) have developed an extraordinary affinity for
head cement.
7. Having magically absorbed a vast quantity of head cement from a
distance, hook eyes disappear entirely when approached by a bodkin.
8. Fingers (or thumbs, as the case may be) do not.

Nevertheless, perseverance pays off. After a mere day and a half of
intense labor leavened liberally with blood, sweat, tears, and occasional
reference to foreign language dictionaries in search of new profanities
with which relieve the tedium of repetition, I am the proud owner of 30
new pass lakes and 18 equally virginal woolly buggers.

When all is said and done, it is good to know that I haven't lost any of
my blinding speed and that the detritus left on the floor still doesn't
outweigh the finished product by all that much.

Wolfgang

"Dabear" wrote in message
nk.net...
Your post brought a smile to my face. I'm an older, gray haired fly
fisher who has been fly fishing for over 50 yrs. When in college, I tied
flies commercially for awhile...and for decades, tied my own
flies....primarily to save money. I now have so many boxes of flies that
I doubt if I'll ever run out...unless I get back into chasing technology
and decide to tie some of the newer patterns. However, about three months
ago, I too decided to try my hand at tying once again...after a number of
years of abstaining. I can identify with all of the comments you made.
For some reason, tying flies is something I'll have to "re-learn"...now
that I can't see, lack normal dexterity and am lacking a few brain cells
(too many hours standing in cold rivers).

As I type this, I am preparing for my first Fall fly fishing trip on the
Smith River (it literally runs through my back yard). The California
State record steelhead was caught right below our house (I'm told) in
1997. The Smith is not noted for being an easy river to fish with a
fly...but it can be done...and with some success at times.

Barry




"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...
For the past two years, ever since we moved from the duplex into a house,
I didn't bother to unpack (let alone organize) my fly tying gear because
I still had enough bugs to get me through what little fishing I've
managed to squeeze in. Not so, this time around. With the promise of
nine days of intensive angling staring me in the face, it was time to do
something. I've never been exactly anal about neatness, but a quick
search through drawers, tubs, boxes, bags and various other containers
left even me a bit disconcerted. All my hooks (and a lot of other junk)
were stored in one of those upright metal cabinets with the clear plastic
drawers.....the ones that never slide properly in the first place and,
given that they are always over-filled, often won't open at all. The
cabinet has been lying on it's back for two years. Icky!

A couple of hours (and $50 at the fly shop buying things that, as I found
out later, after a more careful search, I didn't need anyway) I was ready
to rock. Hooks, thread, chenille, calf tail, mallard flank, brown
hackle, nail polish......yep, all there. Pinch down a barb, chuck the
hook in the vise and.......ACK!......some evil ******* has stolen all my
fingers and replaced them with poorly disguised thumbs!

Some observations:

1. Even the strongest nylon thread weakens considerably after two years
on the shelf.
2. Hooks shrink.
3. There is considerably less light in the world than there used to be.
4. The labels on containers lie.
5. Materials in general have become unruly and disrespectful.
6. Hook eyes (and hackles) have developed an extraordinary affinity for
head cement.
7. Having magically absorbed a vast quantity of head cement from a
distance, hook eyes disappear entirely when approached by a bodkin.
8. Fingers (or thumbs, as the case may be) do not.

Nevertheless, perseverance pays off. After a mere day and a half of
intense labor leavened liberally with blood, sweat, tears, and occasional
reference to foreign language dictionaries in search of new profanities
with which relieve the tedium of repetition, I am the proud owner of 30
new pass lakes and 18 equally virginal woolly buggers.

When all is said and done, it is good to know that I haven't lost any of
my blinding speed and that the detritus left on the floor still doesn't
outweigh the finished product by all that much.

Wolfgang

"Dabear" wrote in message
nk.net...
Your post brought a smile to my face. I'm an older, gray haired fly
fisher who has been fly fishing for over 50 yrs. When in college, I tied
flies commercially for awhile...and for decades, tied my own
flies....primarily to save money. I now have so many boxes of flies that
I doubt if I'll ever run out...unless I get back into chasing technology
and decide to tie some of the newer patterns. However, about three
months ago, I too decided to try my hand at tying once again...after a
number of years of abstaining. I can identify with all of the comments
you made. For some reason, tying flies is something I'll have to
"re-learn"...now that I can't see, lack normal dexterity and am lacking a
few brain cells (too many hours standing in cold rivers).

As I type this, I am preparing for my first Fall fly fishing trip on the
Smith River (it literally runs through my back yard). The California
State record steelhead was caught right below our house (I'm told) in
1997. The Smith is not noted for being an easy river to fish with a
fly...but it can be done...and with some success at times.

Barry

Kind of fun to revisit old friends, isn't it? Good luck on your return to
tying and fishing.

Wolfgang