Just received a hen melanistic pheasant skin from Steve Cooper at Cookshill fly tying. Man, is it a thing of beauty! Try as I might I can't get a decent photo that shows the colors in those feathers. Imagine the dark portions with the same sheen and color as a starling feather. Steve does such a won...

Those look killer, Wayne. That pearl tinsel, gas bubble? Wing? Great looking bug, especially for size 18.

My Golden Brown Hare's mask arrived today from Charlie's Fly Box. The pictures don't do it justice, at least as they look on my computer. What a great color! Thanks for mentioning it, Wayne. I also had some TMC 201R hooks in the order. Really nice hooks. Better shape, better finish than the old 200R...

I just came back from a day of driving around the woods checking the pond ice; it's still here. Madawaska Lake may have gone out this afternoon, it was close yesterday afternoon. Everything in the Fish River chain is still locked up. I like Nova's variant, too. I might stretch it out a bit... Mike,...

I managed to find Moc Morgan's book at a reasonable price, even with shipping from the UK. Orange Otter is a bit out of my price range at the present. Maybe next month.

Ron, nice fly! I like that a lot! Thanks. Just one I made up before I bought E.J. Malone's book, Tying Flies in the Irish Style. I used Hebert hen cape feathers for the body hackle. Using the softer feather helped reduce tippet twist. I probably could have achieved the same result by using a heavie...

Thanks guys. Ron, that definitely could be. I basically just too the recipe for this fly from Hans Weilenmann who did a video of it. I thought I may be able to use it effectively in some ponds I fish. I actually like your variant better than the original. I seem to get some tippet twist with those ...

Thanks guys. Ron, that definitely could be. I basically just too the recipe for this fly from Hans Weilenmann who did a video of it. I thought I may be able to use it effectively in some ponds I fish. I actually like your variant better than the original. I seem to get some tippet twist with those ...

Good looking fly. The Goslings I've seen have a light olive hackle palmered over the body, trapped down and reinforced by a gold wire rib. Not sure what size you're tying on, but then ones I've seen were on a size 8. I like your hook choice, the 206BL is a favorite of mine.

I'll soon be able to tie my own, though no where near as nice as those. Great flies, Wayne.