The link to an article about the Black Magic fly given by Harry; the author lists another fly called the July Dun. I found it interesting that the author mentioned California quail as a fieldfare substitute. While different, the feather was close enough for the author who used an actual fieldfare fe...

Nicely tied flies! I checked out the link and I noticed a couple of things. First, the author of the fly spells his name Mold not Mould and second the original is slightly different; not to say that it is any more effective.

It's amazing to me how many people have taken Marvin Nolte's 721 wax formula and claimed it as their own. One fellow actually calls it cobbler's wax. Making wax like Leisenring did is a lot of work and somewhat dangerous. Melting the ingredients takes 15 or 30 minutes and pulling the wax takes anoth...

Skinning a bird.

My version of Leisenring's wax is nearly the same except I don't use lard. I imagine that this was the most available choice for him. Once, on my way back from the NJ fly tying show I made a rest stop in PA. For a mindless munch I bought a bag of chips. They tasted a bit different so l looked at the...

I don't know if Hank was referring to me but I do make several waxes including one very similar to the one Leisenring made.

A video version.

Several years ago I grew a natural dye garden. It even attracted a pair of praying mantis which kept the garden bug free. I wouldn't grow any plant that can be readily gathered from wild.

Renzetti makes a ruby tip midge bobbin that isn't terribly expensive. Ken Newton makes a very nice midge bobbin but it is more expensive. Most of the others that are available have already been mentioned previously.

A fellow fly tyer dyer lent me a copy of Burnett's book on dyeing. I hate to say it but it really is a huge disappointment. Most if not almost all of the so called dyes in the book are actually stains. The book is also disorganized and the methods cumbersome. I can't see any evidence that he even co...