There is good information on dying with natural materials in Mallone's "Irish Trout and Salmon Flies"

Interesting. Maybe twice in 35 odd years fly fishing I have had 30+ fish days, and a few 20+. All those are on waters fairly well populated by fish. I'll have a few 10 + fish days a season but to be honest once I have now caught a few, I tend to play around a bit with different flies or techniques a...

The back country river that big one of mine came from would have an average size of about 5lb fish I'd guess. That particular trip, all the caught fish (all browns although there are a few 'bows in there) were over 5 lbs with that one of mine the biggest. Probably around 20 fish seen in two days. Fo...

Daringduffer.. It was either 6 or 7 lb test so - 4X ... That one took me around 200 metres downstream including through that rough stuff you see there. Somehow got it into the side where it was landed. If I didn't have companions I don't think I'd have got it. Below there was about 150 metres of ser...

yeh, pity he was a little thin skinned. His posts were often extremely informative.

another recent catch, from earlier this week... yes - synthetics again.. Around the 10 lb mark...

Thanks for the replies pples. I guess its traditional vs modern and where the line is drawn. I look at synthetics as being an opportunity to refine, enhance and progress those ideas, patterns and recipes handed down to us by those who have gone before. I think they'd have done it. So I hope y'all do...

I notice on here that by far and away the prevalent body and hackle material is natural. Fair enough. Many of you use and play around with synthetic furs and dubbings for your wingless wets? Call me a colonial heathen at the bottom of the earth but I'm using a fair bit of synthetic body materials li...

Alpaca = Very expensive mobile garden ornament. Furs quite nice. Used it fairly often in the past for nymphs. The fur is Browns, Tans and Whites mostly. No idea how well it takes dye.

It'll be a something Polish. I have seen a few SIlver Polish and they has black tips to the "poofy" head feathers. I'd assume that that thing is from the same sorta chicken...