Something I plan to use off the jetty. It took forever and I already know a bunch of things I probably should do differently. It's ugly as hell and my vise sucks but I'll try again tomorrow.
Congrats .
I would`nt fish it . Not because it won`t hook fish - it will . But rather because you only tie your first fly once , and the first is always the one worth keeping .
I wish I had .
Keep up the good work !!
Congrats, good advise from Brian and Big E, save that guy, in no time at all you'll have boxes and drawers full of flies but only one first one, wish I would have kept mine, so long ago....
Congratulations. May your flies be fruitful and multiply.
There is nothing wrong with your vise. All it has to do is hold the hook. I wore out the cross pin that holds the handle on my old Thompson A, by over tightening on 2/0 and larger steelhead irons. I replaced it with a piece of a 16 penny nail and probably got 10 more years out of it.
"It took forever and I already know a bunch of things I probably should do differently." This is the key to better fly tying. You are already on the right track.
There is nothing wrong with your vise. All it has to do is hold the hook. I wore out the cross pin that holds the handle on my old Thompson A, by over tightening on 2/0 and larger steelhead irons. I replaced it with a piece of a 16 penny nail and probably got 10 more years out of it.
The hook kept moving around in the vise, maybe I didn't have it placed in the proper position so I'll see if I can make it work better.
Thanks for the encouraging words everyone, I'll be sure to save this one, the hook shank got all chewed up as I struggled with the vise so it may have not held up well in the salt anyhow.
Unfortunately, it is true. I've never heard of anyone who stopped tying flies unless they physically could no longer do so. You'll start buying more and more materials and trying more and more patterns....
Congrats! You will soon have drawers overflowing with materials (some that you only use once in a year) and you'll make more trips to the fly shop than maybe you should.
Like others have said, do save the first one, I mounted mine on the wall above my tying desk so that I can look at it anytime I tie an especially ugly fly and remind myself that it's still better than the first one
Hope you have a good income with lots of discretionary cash, no kids to educate, a wife that doesn't mind bring left alone evenings and weekends, and your house paid off, cause you got it BAD. A nasty coke habit would be cheaper. Welcome to the "sick puppy" club.
Just a little advice... if your hook shank got chewed up, you may not have mounted it in the right spot. You want to grip the hook at the bend. BTW - nice fly!
If memory serves I think you can adjust the cam handle on your vise for a tighter grip. Maybe your cam is maxed out before getting a firm enough grip on the hook. Loosen the rear knurled barrel and rotate the handle and its shaft. That should bring the cam closer or further from the knurled barrel thus adjusting the grip. This description may not be quite right due to elapsed time but I'm pretty sure there is some adjustment available.
Just take the whole thing apart so you can see how it works, clean it with 0000 steel wool, lubricate it and put it back together. Its always a good idea to understand your tools.
Welcome to the club of fly tyers. You have obviously gotten bit and in a few years you, like the rest of us who have been bit, will have a few thousand dollars in materials, hooks, vise, and assorted other tools.
Looks like a Thompson A vise. Seems to me you have to tightern it by spinning the hold down to get to the correct size. I started with one and still have it in the original box. Read the directions with it. It may be a simple adjustment to hold your fly tight.
Well done & as stated . . . welcome to the addiction! And save that one; my Sainted Mother saw my first creation lying on the kitchen table, swatted it & flushed it down the toilet. I don't think she did that because it looked "buggy;" I think the ugly factor came into play.
So after fishing a couple of these flies (no love on my flies or otherwise) I think I probably used too much flashabou and a just a little too much material in general.
The good news was they generally looked like a fish might bite it and they were durable. I also picked up an Anvil Atlas for $60. I was able to make the other vise hold the hook well but I had commandeered a shelf as my c-clamp station for this little experiment and my wife wanted it back.
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