Welcome and thanks for posting the pictures, I love muskrat for body material, makes for a nice buggy look. What is the materials for the second fly with the golden body?

I will give everyone a detailed overview from this old tier. Looking forward to a new toy. Unfortunately it's a 6 to 9 months waiting period. I have patience.

I love the look of the grip hook on this fly. Must try to pick up a few. By the way is that a Law vice holding it? got one on order.

I've been using a large magnifier on a goose-neck. Works great really helps these 60 year old eyes.

I tried out the Hardy Marksman Drifter, an excellent.wet fly rod. It's 11 foot with a soft tip. Down side is the price of around $700 which of course is higher here in Canada. Wish I could just buy a blank.

This pattern really appeals to me Hans. I love the Idea of the simplicity of the tie as far as materials go. Have a Muskrat skin that was taken by me in the sixties, when not many materials where available in shops. It has some very nice tips as the skin was from the fall and the guard hairs have ni...

Lets talk braces of flies (where legal of course). Up here in Alberta we can fish up to 3 flies. growing up in a fly fishing family and Grandpa was of the classic dropper school. After wets where tied you then added on a Snell with loop exactly 6" long. The leader had 3 loops about a foot apart...

Thanks for re-posting these interesting finds.

I've been using Minwax Polycrylic for most applications as it has no smell, is water based and not much shine, more of a natural look. For heads with more gloss I use salleys.

For commercial ties I use salleys. For most of my wets I’ve taken to using Minwax Polycrylic. It’s water soluble seals nicely with no smell and non flamable. I quite like it. Not a high gloss finish but rather a nice sealant that penetrates well.