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Post by trent on Dec 13, 2008 17:08:55 GMT -5
vise and scissors $20 tools $20 random thread, wire, hackle, chenille, beads, hooks, flashabou, rubber legs etc. $60
1 very odd looking wooly bugger on the wrong hook type with a messed up tail - priceless
Well, I finally did it. I have now tied my own fly. Somehow I managed to buy bent shank hooks and that isn't what I intended. I also clearly do not know the difference between marabou and hackle. I bought a few different colors of hackle. Not sure I ended up with any marabou. Is marabou sold separately from hackle or is part of the hackle supposed to be pulled apart and used as marabou. I also somehow ended up buying 4 stranded thread. Apparently not all thread is created equal. In the process I also broke my thread, so in my beautiful fly there is a square not hidden away. I did the whip finish thing and it actually worked which is truly an act of God.
So, I made about every rookie mistake in the book, but following along step by step on the web wasn't as easy as I thought. It didn't help that the computer was in one room and my vise in another. In retrospect, the steps were clear, but it would have been easier to watch someone making a fly sitting next to you. I got smart and watched a YouTube video on wooly buggers, but only after I was done with my first fly.
I will say that "palmering" the hackle is very cool and simple, that is of course after I figured out how to get the hackle tied in, etc.
For one fly, I also made a substantial mess. I need the Krebsinator in a bad way.
Thanks Rick for helping me buy the right tools to get started. I didn't use any of the cement stuff on my fly. Should I have?
Anyway, I have never tried to post photos on a message board. Maybe I'll get a photobucket membership and load a picture of my masterpiece. I actually think it has the potential to catch fish - a dumb one in toxic, muddy water near the end of its life when all other food supplies have been exhausted, but a fish none the less.
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Post by trent on Dec 13, 2008 21:09:32 GMT -5
Okay, I now have at least a half dozen different colors of marabou thanks to a trip to the warehouse. I also picked up some hackle pliers, single ply thread, a bunch more chenille, and some kind of pink hair looking stuff that my daughter had her heart set on??? So, add another $30 to the tally above.
I think I should have enough stuff to make wooly buggers for everyone in the county. They just can't be too picky what they look like.
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Post by reelteacher on Dec 13, 2008 21:13:02 GMT -5
GO TRENT! Yeah! You have officially started a never ending journey that will give you loads of fun, fascination, frustration, and free time... scratch that one... at any rate, CONGRATULATIONS! I'm sure it's ten times better than my first creation. I had the bright idea to use dad's workbench vise with 4" jaws for my first fly. I didn't have a bobbin for my thread, didn't know they made anything like that. I had a few old feathers that I lashed to a hook and it was really ugly! But I was persistent and kept trying and learning. Hang in there! I started tying my own flies to save money... What a joke that is! But now I can say that I can tie over 100 identical flies and never spend a dime. Too bad I can only tie three or four of the same fly before I need to switch because I get bored or I get an idea that requires materials I don't have and then I go buy more materials much of which will never be used because there are so many! Do you know I've been tying for over 12 years and I still have a few of the first hackles I ever purchased? Great job! If you keep it up, these first things you've bought will be the best investment you've ever made. I can't tell you how many problems I've solved on the water or in my life at the tying bench. It's a great place to relax and stop and to pray to God.
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Post by troutcharmer on Dec 13, 2008 21:25:13 GMT -5
Way to go Trent. This is great news, especially as I see myself as a future beneficiary and, of course, proponent of your soon to be exquisite flies!
I would like to see (and touch!) this fly you tied!
Monica
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Post by trent on Dec 13, 2008 22:32:37 GMT -5
Well, I have now tied flies number 2 and 3. They have all been wooly buggers and the third actually is starting to not look half bad. It's a bead head (smallish dark bead) on a size six 4x straight hook with a down turned eye. The tail and hackle are white and the body is red. I'm calling it the Husker Special.
Do I need to whip finish all these flies or not? The whip finisher is going to take a little getting used to.
I suspect that fly number one will never see the light of day, but Monica, I'll bring the Husker Special to church tomorrow to show you as long as you promise to ooh and ahh and not point out the copious and conspicuous flaws.
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Post by trent on Dec 13, 2008 22:33:29 GMT -5
Oh, and I've actually loaded pics to Photobucket, but my computer keeps freezing up on that page, so I don't know what's up with that.
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Post by flyfishingpastor on Dec 13, 2008 23:38:59 GMT -5
Trent;
That's pretty doggoned cool! You are practically a wooly bugger FACTORY man! Go, go, go! I can't wait to see the Husker Special!
Pat
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Post by krebsie on Dec 14, 2008 9:09:01 GMT -5
"OH NO" The addiction has begun! Congratulations Trent, make sure you save those first flies. There like watching your grand children/children grow. Put them in a drawer somewhere and get them out in a few weeks. You'll be amazed how much your skills in tying will change. It's really exciting for me to see your enthusiasm for our hobbie. Krebsie
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Post by rstaight on Dec 14, 2008 11:56:47 GMT -5
ALLRIGHT TRENT,
I have been tying less then 10 years. Not really sure how many. I was in the first class that Bill and Jay taught at Wildcat Creek Outfitters when it was down town.
I also started to save money. Thought I would only need a solid wood TV tray for a tying bench and minimal amount of materials because "I won't be tying that many different flies".
Now, I have a room in the house just for fly tying. My TV tray is now a 1920's era roll top desk.
My hackle storage is a 6 drawer lingerie chest that has a few drawers that are to full. "Time to re-orginize."
Now I need to figure out how I am going get another chest to put the deer hair in that I feel I am going to end up buying.
Hold on to those first flies. I still have my first wooly bugger in one of my boxes that I carry now and then. Just has a reminder of what this sport can become.
I have spent hours tying. It can be so relaxing that time just gets away from you.
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Post by troutcharmer on Dec 14, 2008 16:55:47 GMT -5
Trent,
The Husker Special is exquisite. I saw no flaws, its colors (red and white), its size and the soft, feathery materials you selected make it my first choice for the very next time I use woolly bugger!
And, if I so happen to actually catch a fish with it, I will honor you by giving you a framed picture of me with my fish and the fly still in its mouth. I can hardly wait . . .
Monica
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Post by flyfishingpastor on Dec 14, 2008 20:26:53 GMT -5
Lord knows I hate to brag on my son-in-law, BUT, fair's fair - his first efforts are very encouraging. Frankly, I'm a little intimidated by 6 flies for $130 - I KNOW he's going to find a way to pass the R & D expenses off to me somehow. Seriously, for having only tied a half-dozen EVER, they are very good. Keep at it man - but at that price, I can't afford any more! ;D Pat
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Post by trent on Dec 14, 2008 21:21:09 GMT -5
It's all wooly buggers, all the time. I think I have a new recipe I'm going to call the Smallie Slayer. Chartreuse and White Marabou tail with a little flashabou thrown in there. Orange body with white hackle. Small cone head of course all tied on the venerable 4x size 6. Can you tell I'm in a rut. Anybody have any suggestions or a first dry, nymph, and terrestrial I should try?
I would also maybe like to add some rubber legs on some of the buggers. How do I tie those in?
Another question on the marabou...I'm basically just using the tips of the marabou. Should I keep the rest of those feathers for something else? Can I peel off the side "fronds" (don't know a technical term) and use those for tails too or is that a bad idea?
Also, when I tie in my hackle feather, I have that small end that I'm not really sure what to do with???
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Post by reelteacher on Dec 14, 2008 23:30:05 GMT -5
Trent, You can modify your wooly buggers quite a bit. Adding rubber legs is easy, cut two pieces about 2X the size you want them to stick out, and after you've tied in your chenile wind your thread to the middle of the hook shank and tie in the legs in the middle. Use 3 or four wraps of thread, use a half hitch to secure and then advance the thread to the hook eye. Now slide the two rubber pieces on both sides of the hook, opposite each other and perpendicular to the hook bend. You should now have four rubber legs. Now, wind the feather hackle forward and in between the rubber legs and continue to the front and tie off. Bingo you're done!
I generally don't waste time with saving the back of the marabou. One trick I do sometimes to add bulk to the fly is after I tie in the marabou tail, I wind the remaining feather around the hook shank and tie it off near the front of the hook. Then, I wind the thread back and add the chenile and hackle over the feather base. It's an easy way to make a fat bugger. I don't keep the tips or tails of the hackle feathers either. I used to save everything, but I've found through experience, that this isn't really necessary. When I did save it, it wound up in a plastic bag that got bigger and bigger, and I never really found a need for all that stuff I saved, so I just finally threw all of that away anyway. Maybe someone else has a good use for those wasted ends???
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Post by trent on Dec 15, 2008 9:04:33 GMT -5
Dustin, you may have to give me a quick lesson the legs sometime. I think I understand what you were saying, but not sure. The tip on just tying that feather in is a good one. It does seem like my bugger bodies could use a little more "heft".
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Post by reelteacher on Dec 16, 2008 21:59:31 GMT -5
I can give you a quick tutorial at our next fly-tying meeting at the Sportsman's. Just remind me...
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