Post
by William Anderson » Wed Jun 08, 2011 9:41 pm
Hank, glad to hear you're giving those a go. I tie some SH's with them, but mostly duns and spinners, just because they work out so nice. For biots I usually just tear off the number that I'll need for the number of flies and line them up. (which in my opinion is something you should do with all your materials before tying a batch, just because it's better to focus on the techniques and proportions than getting frustrated putting together materials for each fly. If you're going to tie a dozen #14 partridge and yellows, select the hackles at one time, strip the base as necessary and line em up. I didn't do it for a bit after someone told me that when I first started, but it did help once I finally listened.) Okay, so you pick up two biots, put them both on the tip of your tongue and get your other materials ready. After securing your hook and tying in, take the first and tie it in, hold the other until you need it. Then as you take the second out to tie your second fly, put the third in your mouth, until needed.
For hackle quills I just select the number I need (plus a couple extra) and place them in a papertowl, wet it and pop it in the microwave for 7-8 seconds. No waiting required. It turns out that it works for the peacock quills too. I figured it out when I was dying quills and tying at the same time. I put the dye in a tupperware container, drop in the materials and nuke the thing for about 1.5 minutes. This works out if you're just dying a small amount of materials, like say, 12 hackle quills. They come out very pliable. You still have to be careful and you'll still break some, but at least you'll have a better chance of getting a few to work out.
I was looking for suggestions and here I am spewing unsolicited advise. Sorry.
w
"A man should not try to eliminate his complexes, but rather come into accord with them. They are ultimately what directs his conduct in the world." Sigmund Freud.
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