All About Thread Control!

WOW! This is an excellent read! I really don't do well on this subject. At all. I kinda just tie and go with it. This is really a great article explaining why thread gets tangled, how you can prevent it, and the pros and cons of brands of threads! Very insightful for a beginner, intermediate, and especially advanced or commercial tiers!

Click here to view because you will learn something even if you just read a bit! Enjoy!

Hackle and Wet Flies Explained

Wow! Another extremely invaluable article on when and what part of the hackle to use! This was brand new to me and really made me think before I tie!

Check it out here! Great stuff!

I hope you guys are enjoying these posts. They're short and sweet but seriously invaluable!

The Infamous Whip Finishing Tool

It took me a long time to use this tool....correctly. I thought I was doing it right and my flies turned out rather junky when I first used this tool so I quit using it. Then, I decided to give it another go. Boy, am I glad I did!

The whip finishing tool is one of the best tools to use. Granted, you can do the same thing without the tool but nevertheless, it's fantastic!

Above is how you whip finish with the tool itself. Great video!

Watch the video above to view how to use whip finish properly without the tool. Seriously invaluable technique which, personally, I think, is underrated.

DIY Hackle/Dubbing Combs

Ah, yes. Hackle...It gets annoying when you want it to go one way and it won't! So, you buy an expensive tool for one job, eh? Well, this DIY project can really save you a buck or more!

I personally have made the velcro brush and am working on making the toothbrush and comb tool.

Find the article here.

Fly Tying Tips and Tricks at the Bench

Yet another great article about how you can save time when tying flies. I have used some of these tricks and am bound to use more as my fly tying skills increase.

Be sure to check it out here whether or not you are an avid tier! Seriously cheap yet effective and invaluable tips for any tier!

Steaming Flies Back to Life!

This article follows up with the last article on washing fly tying material before use. This shows how to breathe new life into well worked flies!

Check it out here. This really has given me great tips and tricks on what to do with my flies that I use quite often. I'm so glad I found this!

Treating Your Fly Tying Material with Care!

Here's a magnificent article on how to treat your fly tying material such as feathers and buck tail. I know it's short and sweet but the facts and tips you'll learn are invaluable!

Go here to see the advantage of washing your material before tying your flies.

I'll be putting more of this info up every couple of days. I hope auto-posting will behave this time.

Fly Tying Business!

So, I have started a small hobby/business on Facebook called Stone's Flies. It's really taken off with the amount of people who like my page as well as people interested in my flies. My plan is to find a site that can host my flies as well as a shopping cart. I am very excited! It's keeping me busy but it's fun! I started to have giveaways at how many likes I have so it's great to bring in more people. My page launched on January 9 of this year so we'll see how well it takes off. Who knows? I may be the newest fly tyer in town! It has definitely made me learn more about tying as well as tips and tricks and more importantly, made me get better at my craft.

My parents and fiancée are very proud that I am taking steps to utilize not only my major but also my hobby into a business. I will keep you all posted on the happenings of my online business. Here's hoping someone buys my flies soon! : )

Here's the link to the page on Facebook. If you are interested in buying flies, I guess e-mail me @ serioussam1215@gmail.com with "Fly Order" in the subject line. I'll update this post in due time when I get a site up and running....That way it will make things a whole lot easier to order!

Tight lines!

Hunting for Steelies on the Ottawa

So, there was an article in our local paper (found here for those who are interested. Great article!) regarding steelhead being in a local river, the Ottawa. This, mind you, is totally unheard of. Why? Because the Ottawa is nasty, cloudy, and full of trash. So, what did I do? I went to find out if there were any way I could catch something!

I packed all my gear and left my house around 10 AM on the 10th, which was a lot later than I wanted to. The guy who caught the steelhead in the article was on the University of Toledo's campus when he caught it. The Ottawa river runs through UT which provides, apparently, excellent fishing for bass and pike even. I drove everywhere. It was crazy. I found some area that was close to UT and parked on the side of the road out in the open, got my gear packed up, put my waders on, and started to hike to the river. It took me 5 minutes to get to the river itself but to my dismay, it was super shallow. Of course. I then thought that I could hike all the way to UT but after attempting to walk through the woods in my gear, I decided against it.

I found yet another park that was a lot closer to UT, about 1/4 of a mile yet it was quite a ways off. This particular section of the river was on a public golf course. Giant parking lot with no one save a man sitting smoking in his car, I quickly got my gear on and started to walk towards the river. I saw an even worse site: the river was so stagnant the water was frozen. I found an open spot under the bridge and started towards it. I saw a raccoon along my travels. Cute little thing. Maybe getting a drink, I don't know.

Racoon!

What most of the river looked like.

Small patch of water through the ice.

So, I finally got under the bridge where I wanted to be. I felt that this was a good time for me to test my new waders out! I took my backpack off and got into the water. To my surprise, it got very deep very fast! I was almost up to my waste in a matter of 4 steps! I was moving around testing them for a few minutes but that was the probably the extent of my excitement for the trip....so far. I got my stuff and got back to my car. As I was about to leave, a lady stopped with her husband and was asking if I caught any steelhead. I told her no and we chatted for a bit. I showed her some places where she could do a bit of spincast fishing for bass possibly.

I found out as I was talking to her and her husband that her husband fly fishes or ties flies or something. We started to chat about that and I gave them some of my egg-sucking leeches along with some egg patterns telling them to fish it with some lighter line. They were very grateful for that. We exchanged numbers and then parted ways.

Yes, it was a bad day for fishing especially since I couldn't get into UT but I got to test out my waders and I got to network with a local fisherman on top of doing a kind deed. Made me feel good. I guess that was better than nothing, right? As the summer draws near, so does my graduation and wedding. I guess I have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. HURRY UP SUMMER!