Just curious; did the "set of flies lost/severely delayed in the mail" have a tracking number?
First Place Swap
- Thread starter WWKimba1
- Start date
NOPE. I DID have a set misplaced on another sites swap (in fact it was the admin in charge of the swap program - AKA my boss!) and he had his flies delivered with 72 hours after we declared them lost! They showed that they left the main Syracuse, NY office and then disappeared. He worked his end and I worked mine with the USPS and his were delivered in OK 2+ days later. That's why I ALWAYS strongly suggest that a tracking numbeer is used when mailing!
Kim
Kim
TicTokCroc
Sunkist and Sudafed
The usps is running about a 60% successful delivery rate for me. Ordered a knife blade from eBay that tracking showed left Portland for delivery then disappeared for a month, was about to start the paperwork when it showed up, looks like it got stuck to a magnet at the facility because the packaging was thin. A $500 pop up tent got lost, they sent a replacement, then 2 months later the post office calls and says they have a big box for me at the local branch in town. It was all beat up, but I got a bogo on that one. Then there's the box of antique crystal glasses my wife ordered that look like it went through a trash compactor with a sorry note taped to it.
TicTokCroc
Sunkist and Sudafed
Gotta give credit when due, the usps successfully delivered this care package from Alaska today. Lynx, mink, ermine, squirrel, bags of grouse feathers, 2 bags of snowshoe hare feet in borax. I need to wash and lay the Hares feet out to dry for a while.
Any fly patterns use lynx or ermine?
Any fly patterns use lynx or ermine?
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FinLuver
Native Oregonian…1846
I’ve tied with bobcat, it was much like using rabbit…dubs nicely with some spikiness, in a dubbing loop. All that would be fun to experiment with.
First, I like your post office delivering double! Second, I'm sure there are patterns that could use ermine and such. I'm coming up with fly patterns using American Bison hair/wool (I'd just LOVE to get some of the sock yarn in bison to tie with!). Just look at the hair AND fur's characteristics in the water and tie from there.
Kim
Wooaaa....!!! Flies arrived in today's mail. Wow, what a nice assortment! Kim, I think you did the best job of hosting a swap that I've ever been involved with. So, BIG THANKS for a job really well (& thoughtfully) -done. Nice gesture on your part for sending your "five reds" .......... But (& pardon my ignorance) how are they intended to be used? - and what are they made from? I just hope I'm not the only one admitting to this ignorance.......
And, THANKS!! again.
And, THANKS!! again.
Wow - I'll echo the above.
You all are incredible tiers, the detail and execution on the patterns is next level on all of them really impressive!
Thanks for hosting this @Kimba, my first swap and good fun, looking forward to fishing these! Really cool to see that level of tying, scary good!
You all are incredible tiers, the detail and execution on the patterns is next level on all of them really impressive!
Thanks for hosting this @Kimba, my first swap and good fun, looking forward to fishing these! Really cool to see that level of tying, scary good!
Don't worry about ignorance - with me around you have good company! My Mom was a school teacher and she always said that the ONLY dumb question is the unasked one! (Besides I am loaded with dumb answers when needed!) My goof for not letting you know WHAT I sent. It's poly (polypropylene) cord. It can be used 3 different ways in fly tying - as the full cord (mainly used as the fly body with the back singed together), separate yarns (each cord has 8 yarns = ~16' of poly), and as dubbing (cut to no less than a 1/2" length and separate into fibers). Poly is lighter than water so it is a useful material for dry fly bodies, wings, and tail/shuck materials. A couple good patterns that use poly are Josephine Sedlecky-Borsom's Hot Mustard and Lee Clark's Stonefly series. Here's the Hot Mustard tied to imitate the Little Yellow Stonefly:
Mustad 94840, 16
Black thread
yellow poly
grizzly hackle
NOTE: Jo, as she was known in her Michigan Sports Goods Store, was known for three things: she ALWAYS used Mustad 94840 hooks for her fly patterns, she used all material from her hunts as well as other hunters in her area as well as having agreements with the chicken producers in her area. Lastly, she would tie with ANY color thread, as long as it BLACK! (With my condolences to the Model T!)
Lay a thread base, anchor hackle at back of hook, tie in poly with spiral thread wraps, fold poly back on itself, spiral hackle following the thread wraps, tie off hackle and trim excess, whip finish.
Here's a couple of Lee Clark's familiar Stones:
Golden Stone
Salmonfly
To best use the poly cord. Take a dull (rounded) pointed object and while holding the cord upright in your hand count down about 2 yarn crosses from the end and stick the object in and pull straight up and out of that end. Poly is a hard and slippery material so the pointed object should move easily out the top and separate the yarns. If it sticks, pull the object back and out of the cord, turn the cord about 90 degrees and try again. Once the yarns are separated simply grab one and pull it straight out and use. I use either a crochet hook or the bottom end of my whip finish tool as the pointed object. Also, if you wish to work with a straight length of poly - simply take a piece of corrugated cardboard and cut a short slit into each end and slip one end of the poly in one slit (the poly should seat in the slit without slippage) and repeat on the other end using the cardboard as a stretcher. You can use the poly the next day. Leave the rest of the cord in place for ease of storage and pull out yarns as needed and if the ends start to become ragged you can simply repeat the separation process on the other end and pull from that end. Lastly, if both ends fray too much cut off a 1/2" or so from the ends for poly dubbing and repeat the separating process on the newly cut end.
I am happy to share poly with anyone and I have been going through my 25+ colors by giving them a s swap gifts - usually 3 colors at a swap. A few years ago I bought a lifetime supply (100 yard skeins of 8-ply cord for each color), well, it would have been a lifetime supply if I were 20 years old, NOT the ~65 I was when I ordered! I figure the $2.50 to $5 amounts I'm sending per color will help offset the higher postage rates AND, after a couple years, give me a room in my house!
One challenge I've found when introducing my swaps to a new site is keeping within a particular timing that I did NOT follow this time. I want to thank you all for your patience through this swap. I normally will get the flies out no later than 2 weeks after the flies-in-by date while I try to balance the special situations that some swappers run into during a swap with the need for me NOT to hold the rest of the swappers in limbo by not sending out the flies. I missed my usual 1 week notice and that was my oversight. I am human but I will say that this was NOT my normal way to run a swap and I will not let this over extension happen again.
I hope this info helps you out.
Kim
BTW, I loved seeing the ties as they came in, glad you feel the same and I hope we get to swap again! Next swap on the books in another week or so.
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Thanks for taking the time to offer such a thorough response. I thought dubbing might be at least a part of the puzzle. And, having grown up in Michigan, I'm just a bit curious about this "Jo" person. Where was her Sports Shop?
Josephine Sedlecky-Borsum was quite a lady! She was the proprietor of Ed's Sports Shop from 1945-1992. She ran the shop and her husband Ed was a hunting and fishing guide, a common set-up in the '30' and '40's. She was an accomplished fisher, hunter as well as shooting trap and skeet. She hosted the first all-women national trap and skeet tournament. She was also the first fly tyer (and still is the only, I believe) honored by the Smithsonian! Like I said, the very first PERSON ever to have that honor! Here are a couple articles on her and most of her fly designs from the old FAOL site - my original fly fishing/tying site I ever joined - https://www.flyanglersonline.com/articles/oldflies/2011/oldflies20110912.php and https://www.flyanglersonline.com/articles/oldflies/2011/oldflies20110815.php. There is also a fly pattern of hers, almost lost to history. Thanks to Tom Deschaine's hard work it was saved and found on his site - https://www.michigandryflies.net/fly-patterns (check out the Hair Wing Hopper).
You might tell, I'm a big fan of her work!
Kim
You might tell, I'm a big fan of her work!
Kim
A great thread, another fine example of what it is all about.
This is a family member posting on behalf of wwKimba. I regret to inform you that he passed away March 19th, 2024. I will be posting more information when it becomes available. If you have any questions/concerns please email flypantrybook@gmail.com
Very sorry to hear it. Warm thoughts to his friends and family.
Sorry for your loss. This "First Place Swap" hosted by Kim was indeed my very first swap. He made participating easy, fun and rewarding as I'm sure he did for countless others over the years.
