I was reminded last night that I hadn’t been completely forthcoming. The fly shops call it “holographic tinsel” – typically charging between $1.50 and $2 for a small spool.
Joanne’s Craft’s calls it “Sulky Holoshimmer” and rather than the traditional size spool, sells it in the elongated bindle for $3.95 for 250 yards. It’s only available [...]

Singlebarbed reader “TwoRod” has pointed us all towards saving a few bucks. His comment about 1/4” clear elastic as a substitute for the commercial “Super Shrimp Foil / Scud Back” products is the best replacement I’ve seen yet.
I went to eBay to see whether it can be purchased cheaper than the retail link Tworod [...]

Most of you swore next season would see you with fly boxes bulging – and absolutely nothing has been accomplished despite the mighty oaths to the contrary.
I’ve always used the Exorcist model of offseason restock – wherein book or article induced “possessions” fight over my immortal soul, and the result is one less agonizing chore.
The [...]

It’s unfamiliar ground for a fellow that shops with coupons, but after suffering another glue-based indignity, it was time to plow some dollars into the problem.
Head cement. Thinned to penetrate, odiferous, and requiring equally caustic thinners to remove  from things it wasn’t meant to glue …
… because eventually you’ll get cocky. Coaxing a feather to [...]

Hot Orange isn’t high on the list of trout colors, so it’s only natural you suspect I’m up to something gaudy. Not the case, us Impressionists are freed of the narrow confines of caddis larvae and Giant Stone dry flies and recognize Orange isn’t really Orange if you don’t want it to be …
I’m still [...]

Her icy gaze punctuated by the bony digit pointed in my direction …
Naturally, I tried the First Law of Backpedalling, innocence.
“ … What?”
I gazed around studiously avoiding That Which She Held, but I guess my look of innocence wasn’t quite up to par – or I’d gone to that well too many times …
I was Flat [...]

In Part 1 we covered most of the dyeing process – and the difficulty associated with matching a known color.  The steps are the same for dyeing anything; first a cleanse and prep of the original material, followed by immersion in hot water so the shock of the dye bath doesn’t induce physical change.
Feathers are [...]

As a follow up to this morning’s post, here is the final feather coloration after it’s been dried completely.

That’s a superb match. The real lesson is compensating for water’s darkening effect, the extra shades you allow knowing how much lighter the color will be the morning.
There’s only one real way to learn how to avoid a three-shade mistake and it involves destroying [...]

The next time the wife complains of gray hair or dark roots you can leap to your feet and assist. Fiddling with Madam’s hair being a case of “come back with your shield, or on it” –  so you may want to practice a wee bit before restoring her lost youth …
Dyeing materials can be the [...]

In last Monday’s post we described the distribution wrap, a method to make feathers that were oversized act as hackle on smaller hooks. That post described how a single segment of even flank feather could be spun around the shank as hackle.
One of the more popular flies that Cal originated was the Bird’s Nest, where [...]