Question:

Dear Sir,  Do you realize they have Lithium and Prozac among many other medications that can help with this problem?  Please walk, err RUN to your closest Dr. of Psychiatry and get some help!  The twitch and voices in my head were removed, I’m sure your voices can be put down as well….:) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – We would like anyone in ROFF who does not wish to receive posts to their  private e-mail address to notify us who they may be so we may make a log.   Everyone  is considered operational unless we are notified otherwise in the next ten days.  This is a legal notice.

Response:

Legal notice to George Gehrke: Go fuck yourself for 10 days and get back on your meds. Any emails from you to my address will be considered harassment, and will result in a shitstorm of incredible magnitude raining down upon you. Yours truly, Bob Smith

Response:

Two years ago, many on roff gave us the challenge and after two years, we were able to come up with a fly rod for under the challenged price.

You lying old sack of puss. Two years ago the challenge was to produce a production bamboo fly rod for $300. Not a fly rod KIT, a fly rod, a fishable upon receipt fly rod for $300. You didn’t do it. You failed. So now you think you can change what the challenge was to this new twist of producing a "roll your own" kit rod for $300 or less. You are such a fucking moron George. Do you really thing everybody here who’s had to live with your crap for the last two years will buy this new story from you. God, you are a miserable excuse for a human being. KMA, Bob

Response:

Dear Sir,  Do you realize they have Lithium and Prozac among many other medications that can help with this problem?  Please walk, err RUN to your closest Dr. of Psychiatry and get some help!  The twitch and voices in my head were removed, I’m sure your voices can be put down as well….:)

What, you would deprive Mr. Gehrke of ALL human intercourse?  For shame sir! Wolfgang

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – <More lunacy snipped I would seriously advise anybody even considering posting an e-mail to this person, for whatever reason, to be extremely careful.  There is no telling where your address might end up. The person is obviously unbalanced, and in need of treatment. While this is unfortunate, it will not save anybody involved from the possibly unfortunate consequences, and probable misery involved. Yes, exactly.  Why anyone would feel obliged to respond to what is essentially a threat is beyond me.  Best to just let it be.  If you receive spam as a result of your participation on ROFF, simply deal with it as you would any other spam, by contacting the ISP of the offending party. JR

or check the law.  washington state has pretty strict laws on unsolicited e-mail… don’t know the specifics, but if he spammed me via e-mail i might just have to look into it. chris

Response:

You lousy son-of-a-bitch. Unsolicited commercial e-mail of any kind will result in a complaint(s) to your ISP(s). It’s bad enough that I have to wade through your SPAM on ROFF.  It’s illegal and against all of the Usenet rules I’m aware of, both formal and informal. Now you want to start sending me SPAM directly? As the high and mighty judge of all things ethical and moral, you should know better than to try and pull some stunt like this one. How about this: You make a one-time SPAM posting to alert all interested ROFFians (there might even be three or four of them) that if they would like to recieve e-mails from you that they can go to your website and subscribe to your mailing list.  I’m sure that the response would be overwhelming. Legal Notice.  Ha!  What you are contemplating is definitely illegal.  You should fire your attorney, George, and so should your ISP if they truly believe that an illegal post to a public newsgroup constitutes any sort of ‘legal notice’. George, you need help.  Mental help, legal help, and then some.  Perhaps an in-patient program might suit you better than the current out-patient one that continues to allow you to embarrass yourself in front of God and everybody. Here’s my legal notice, Mr. Gehrke, DO NOT EVER SEND ME ANY COMMERCIAL E-MAIL. Tom G constantly amazed

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – We would like anyone in ROFF who does not wish to receive posts to their  private e-mail address to notify us who they may be so we may make a log.   Everyone  is considered operational unless we are notified otherwise in the next ten days.  This is a legal notice. Our company and web site is available for any technical questions regarding fly fishing.  Our chat site will become active under a new provider who honors any commercial comments as long as they are posted in chat sites and/or talk groups like Roff.  This new change will prevent problems regarding fly fishing content and values that are posted in the best interests of the industry and individuals world wide who ARE interested in certain commercial aspects regarding FLYFISHING Finally, THIS COMPUTER is a business computer and every man, woman or child in the world may post to this E-Mail Address which may include questions, comments, orders, and requests.  This  open door policy for free speech includes everyone.  Anyone wishing to talk with us over an extended period of time may do so on http://www.gink.com/chat/index.html starting 7 PM evenings. Bad manners, name calling, or bad language will not tolerated at: http://www.gink.com/chat/index.html starting up again after a long absence for operations and plant construction and expansion. Anyone who has any questions should email us.  The new e-mail site is Please make a note of it. Thank you, COMMENTS TO GEORGE AT THIS EMAIL ADDRESS FROM NOW ON.

Response:

We would like anyone in ROFF who does not wish to receive posts to their  private e-mail address to notify us who they may be so we may make a log.   Everyone  is considered operational unless we are notified otherwise in the next ten days.  This is a legal notice.

I can’t f*&%#$% belive this bullshit. You want me to email you to tell you I’m not interested in your new line. I’ve got a better idea I’ll save this tread and send it to your ISP along with a couple of responces to other threads and let them deside. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Our company and web site is available for any technical questions regarding fly fishing.  Our chat site will become active under a new provider who honors any commercial comments as long as they are posted in chat sites and/or talk groups like Roff.  This new change will prevent problems regarding fly fishing content and values that are posted in the best interests of the industry and individuals world wide who ARE interested in certain commercial aspects regarding FLYFISHING Finally, THIS COMPUTER is a business computer and every man, woman or child in the world may post to this E-Mail Address which may include questions, comments, orders, and requests.  This  open door policy for free speech includes everyone.  Anyone wishing to talk with us over an extended period of time may do so on http://www.gink.com/chat/index.html starting 7 PM evenings. Bad manners, name calling, or bad language will not tolerated at: http://www.gink.com/chat/index.html starting up again after a long absence for operations and plant construction and expansion. Anyone who has any questions should email us.  The new e-mail site is Please make a note of it. Thank you, COMMENTS TO GEORGE AT THIS EMAIL ADDRESS FROM NOW ON.

Response:

You lousy son-of-a-bitch. …

Amazing how the Village Idiot manages to self-destruct every so often. Quite convenient really, it’ll be awhile before anyone has to explain to indignant newbies why the old fool is so despised on ROFF. Hey Zimbo, here’s another classic for ginkstinks.org. — Ken Fortenberry

Response:

Georgie,    Send nothing.  This is official notice.    Send nothing. Chas – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – George,    If I read this right, you’re claiming that you intend to SPAM us all in ten days if we don’t request that you not do that.  I believe that the insertion of "nospam" in my return address is sufficient notice that I don’t want any unsolicited email.  Others who use their address untampered are already accustomed to SPAM and probably want it.   If you do start a SPAM campaign, I’m sure you’ll incur further wrath here, and I suspect some might launch a SPAM campaign of their own.  I wouldn’t participate in that sort of thing. By no means will I be spamming you.  If I write you at your private e-mail address it will never have spam in it Charlie.  For you or anyone.  I don’t do that sort of thing.  I did it once by mistake and boy, never again.  What I’m saying is you’re welcome to always write me as long there is no spam involved either way, okay? No, I am not claiming that in ten days there will be spam from us.  Yet, what some regard as spam is not. Our new Provider says a special report as we posted which others think is spam in a news group, is NOT.  Neither do they consider commercial comments in normal conversation in chat sites spam.  Spam is when (as far as they are concerned) when one takes a mailing list and puts out a commercial message.   That IS spam and I don’t do that. Two years ago, many on roff gave us the challenge and after two years, we were able to come up with a fly rod for under the challenged price.  We have another surprise but I’m not going to post it here.  Roffians will  have to come to our chat site tommorow and ask about it. Anyhow Chuck, to get the kept promise to the thousands of people who have been waiting, our singular web site would not reach them all as once.  Since the problems and the huge sums spent by me are in part the responsibility and doings of ROFFIANS who egged and prodded and helped and who offered their undying support, the best way to communicate that singular report after two years of effort was to post it on ROFF where it belonged.  ROFF owes me at least THAT! So, what I’m asking you now is this.  We may write to each other e-mails but we agree not to spam.  I can handle that just fine.  I don’t spam on e-mails anyhow but then again, we answer a lot of questions regarding fly fishing and products with e-mail but only when requested. Fair enough Charlie? George Gehrke Get your FREE web-based e-mail and newsgroup access at:                http://MailAndNews.com Create a new mailbox, or access your existing IMAP4 or POP3 mailbox from anywhere with just a web browser.

Response:

<SNIP P.S.  Ordinarily, (until I know for sure) I would post this response to you via e-mail Charlie because it doesn’t belong here for public review.  To me, this should be a private conversation between two reasonable men.

No way you are ever going to have such a private conversation then?   What a pity. Perhaps you will be lucky and find a discussion partner as unreasonable as yourself?  A tall order of course, but doubtless you can do it. You can do everything, you said so yourself, so it must be true. ( Awed whispers from off) ( The Mighty and Unholy Gink bows low, seeming unsure of what he knows for sure, apparently hoping against hope that somebody will jump on his shoulders, and then slithers off on his own slime trail for another we). MC

Response:

Gehrke writes: Snipped redundant remarks:

(giant snip) George, you are insane.  You need help. Dave

Response:

Providers, such as the one we just hired, will allow a commercial post in news/talk groups …

Right up until the time they lose their first upstream feed. — Ken Fortenberry

Response:

George, in which legal jurisdiction is your rather dubious looking legal notice enforceable? Certainly not mine, that’s for bloody sure.   You do realise this is a world-wide forum don’t you? If I see spam from you in ROFF again, I will (again) complain to your ISP. If I see spam from you in my mail box, I will complain to your ISP. Nice sales pitch from your new provider BTW, either they are a bigger bullshit artist than you are or they are severely deluded. Steve

Response:

<silliness snipped… All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy. All work and no play makes George a dull boy…

Response:

Our new Provider says a special report as we posted which others think is spam in a news group, is NOT.  Neither do they consider commercial comments in normal conversation in chat sites spam.  Spam is when (as far as they are concerned) when one takes a mailing list and puts out a commercial message.   That IS spam and I don’t do that.

Ask them if they know what a UDP is. — Charlie…

Response:

<nonsense snipped I would never stand on your shoulders, I am quite careful at avoiding crap on my shoes. Providers can not "allow" commercial posts to newsgroups, it does not lie within their power to do so. Try sending a few, and see what happens. Strange as it may seem, and in spite of your congenital idiocy, I assumed that you would have grasped this relatively simple concept by now.  How many providers have thrown you out?   Forgotten? Oh well, ask the next couple what they think, assuming you are a customer long enough of course. The day I need an explanation of Usenet ( or anything else for that matter), from you, I will shoot myself as being no longer a viable proposition for normal existence. I don

Question:

Would appreciate info on traveling to and in Belize. We love Costa Rica, but would like to do something different. Thanks. G&G

Response:

Hi G&G, I know a lot about fishing the coast of Belize from our fly fishing travel service for the last 16 years, but for some of the best info on Belize if you are not into salt water fly fishing, email Margie Perez at the International Airport just out of Belize City. She has a travel agency right at the airport and can tell you everything about Belize and help arrange your trip. She use to work for one of the Belizean airlines and really knows the entire country well. Many companies like ours and the big Orvis Company use Margie for help with their groups going to Belize. — Bill Kiene Kiene’s Fly Fishing Travel & Fly Shop Sacramento, CA, USA www.kiene.com 800/4000FLY

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Would appreciate info on traveling to and in Belize. We love Costa Rica, but would like to do something different. Thanks. G&G

Response:

Question:

A few months ago I got my cats The Feathered Flyer in the deluxe package with 5 different attachments. It came with one already attached. It was 2 black-tipped chicken feathers and a pink downy feather. It wasn’t long before the delicate downy feather broke. But the 2 chicken feathers took an awful lot of abuse. Somehow it became a nightly ritual that before I was allowed to go to bed, I had to swing the fishing pole. Djoser would wait, bright-eyed, on his perch by the bed and Amber would eagerly walk beside me as I approached the bed. Then the bird would fly. The boys would perform the most amazing acrobatics (are there any Cat Olympics?) trying to snag the bird. The pole is bent trying to get the bird loose to fly again and the feathers quickly became bedraggled. But they love it. Sheba usually sits on her cardboard scratcher watching the action. Occasionally I would swing it her way and she would make a pass at it. But she has never shown the interest that the boys do. One morning I was waking up with my first cup of coffee when I heard a rather strangled mreow like Sheba does when she has her mouth full of prey. So I go to check on her and find her dragging the flyer with her mouth full of feathers! I have often come home to find the Flyer in the middle of the floor but assumed it was the boys playing with it. Now I know it is Sheba. Dragging it on the floor , it has a tail, and she loves anything with a tail like my necklaces or a drawstring, etc. A couple days ago one of the feathers broke off and today the other one broke. The shafts had a lot of teeth marks  and bends and the feathery parts were mangled. So I gave the poor things a decent burial. The new attachment is a violet section of boa and Sheba loves it. She got a death grip on it and was busy killing it. I finally managed to get it to try out on the boys. they played for awhile but weren’t as interested. It is too soft. The chicken feathers would make a swishing sound as they flew, like a real bird. Maybe I will have to get another flyer with chicken feathers just for the boys. CATherine

Response:

Sheba . . .has never shown the interest that the boys do.

Do you suppose this is a boy/girl thing? Max (RB) loved this toy deeply, as your boys do, and would always respond with aerobatics. Clementine, the current Queen of The Household, watches it fly by and says "Yes, Dear, that’s very nice, and I’m glad you enjoy it, but it’s really not my sort of thing". As a kitten, though, she’d wait for it to come within range and then snatch it from my hand and go tearing down the hall with the "tail" bouncing wildly. I quickly learned my part in this game was to follow, retrieve the bird, and repeat until my legs would no longer respond.

Response:

Question:

Certainly does sound as if you were snorting something or other! A most attractive Aardvark lives just across the way, and being polite I sometimes stop, to pass the time of day. she has some awkward habits though, she likes snorting ants, but when you find aardvarks attractive, this just tightens up your pants. One takes more care in ones appearance, sports dentures and toupee and a surgically lengthened nose of course, is a real hit right away. I really wanted to be an orca, but my paltry fishing skills will not suffice, its very difficult to cast with fins as well, and the operation has its price. And so I am stuck with aardvarks, and am sometimes moved to prose, when a large and  juicy termite is sucked loudly up my nose, this often makes my poor eyes water, and you need a lot of wipes, zebras have it better, but its just too hard to transplant stripes. I have been approached by possums too, invited to their lair, but I think this may be mainly due, to my artificial hair, Gummy bears have also been sniffing around of late, but I just take out my dentures then, and leave them on the plate. This discourages such advances, and is really quite a lark, but when I forget to put them in again, it upsets my aardvark. I am proud of my proboscis now, it cost a pretty penny too, the only disadvantage now, is that I live in the local zoo. TL MC — "If you have tried everything you know, and nothing works, then perhaps it is time to accept that you don

Question:

As with anything having to do with this sport, get the best you can afford. Metz, Spencer, and a half-dozen other growers often sell half capes for about the same price as the next grade down. Unless you are tying up to professional prodution a good #2 grade half will last through several seasons. Everyone resents the initial outlay of $$$ for a good cape, but the payoff is you don’t purchase them very often. Cabela’s and other supply houses also sell decent genetic necks that are quite useful, if limited in size and color.

Response:

how bout finding some fishin’ buddies to split some necks with….that how I started out. some times stores will sell you split necks, if you take classes from them…they can always use the other half in class or for production tying. i agree with the other respondent, however, buy the best you can..you’ll be disappointed with the #3’s for drys size 14 and smaller. happy tying,….and DON"T GIVE UP!! there aren’t enuff of us out there! #:)#  Larry Medina

Response:

Hoffman Super Saddle. Tons of real long feathers 10 down to 18 or so. Can tie two or three flies per feather.

Response:

I need some new hackle, I’m getting better at tieing, and the hackle from the kit sucks.  I would like to hear some opinions on which Hackle to buy.   I am leaning towards Metz grade #3 in Grizzly from Orvis (29 bucks), anyone know of a better deal let me know.  Thanks. Scott

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I thought that a grade three hackle would be better for tying wet flies than dry, but I just read an article that said that they rate the hackle by the count of usable feathers, the main size, and length. I thought that a grade 3 hackle would be softer hackle than a grade 1 or 2 is this true or are there just more usable feathers on a grade 1. Can you tye as good a dry with a grade 3 hackle as you could with grade 1.  I am simply a begginer I dont know grade 3 hackles are softer by expierience I just thought that was how it was THANKS! The factors that determine a hackle grade are numerous.  A neck or saddle are graded on the number of usable hackles, length of hackle, color, webbiness, stem diameter and uniformity of barbule lengtht. Now the problem arises when you compare hackles from two different companies.  A #2 Hoffman  may be better than a #1Metz metz.  Will a #3 be "softer"?  Well yes it may have a little, or a lot, more web depending on the company.  A #3 Hoffman will tie a good dry fly, but some of the other companies it may not.   The best thing to do is to inspect it carefully before you buy it.  Generally it can be said that you will get what you pay for. About 7 years ago I bought my first Hoffman saddle and now I am hooked.  I have currently 5 Hoffman saddles and 3 necks.  They are the only ones I use for my dries.  I know they are kinda expensive and I have a tight budget, but they are worth it.  There is nothing more frustrating to me than trying to tie a good fly with a shitty feather.   Good Luck, Marty

Hi Marty, I agree. Hoffman is only company that has saddle hackle that is small and stiff for trout dries. In the old days, we always used rooster saddles for wets and rooster necks for dries. Henry Hoffman changed that. Metz saddles are better for wet flies as they don’t seem to be stiff enough for dries. Bill Kiene Kiene’s Fly Shop Sacramento,CA,USA 800/4000FLY

Response:

  <big snip   Then Metz started to become available and Henry started to bring over some of his first "super grizzly".  This is one area where materials have only gotten better.

  Amen to that. Several months ago a guy came into the local shop carrying grampa’s tying kit. Grampa must have been a serious tyer, the kit had a lot of really nice stuff (jungle cock cape, etc), the tools and thread were all top quality from that era. The dry fly hackles were a different story altogether; the individual feathers were all tapered, the stems were thick (compared to modern hackle), and none of the feathers would tie smaller than about sz 10. Charlie

Response:

writes: Amen to that. Several months ago a guy came into the local shop carrying grampa’s tying kit. Grampa must have been a serious tyer, the kit had a lot of really nice stuff (jungle cock cape, etc), the tools and thread were all top quality from that era. The dry fly hackles were a different story altogether; the individual feathers were all tapered, the stems were thick (compared to modern hackle), and none of the feathers would tie smaller than about sz 10.

I’m not yet as old as grandpa, but a size 16 would be the smallest you could find on a neck, they would be less than an inch long, and you would need to use at 3 or 4 feathers to tie one fly.  Thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I got my first Metz #2 brown neck.  I still have it but there are no feathers left smaller than #10.                                                         Dan Dan Gracia Orvis West Coast Fly Fishing Schools

Response:

writes:    Hi! I thought that a grade three hackle would be better for tying wet flies than dry, but I just read an article that said that they rate the hackle by the count of usable feathers, the main size, and length. I thought that a grade 3 hackle would be softer hackle than a grade 1 or 2 is this true or are there just more usable feathers on a grade 1. Can you tye as good a dry with a grade 3 hackle as you could with grade 1.  I am simply a begginer I dont know grade 3 hackles are softer by expierience I just thought that was how it was THANKS!

Hi Dolph, As others have said here, none of the growers grade on the same standards.  But within a particular brand, there is a big difference between a #1 and a #3. Historically (this is all subject to change), the #1 necks had higher feather counts, smaller sizes, less webbing, longer length feathers (more useable feather), more flexible stems,  rounder stems, and denser barb counts on the feather (more barbs per inch).  Usually the biggest difference between 1 and 2’s is the quantity of small sizes – more of the 20 through 24 sizes on the #1’s.  Often the #1’s don’t have useable size 10 or 12 feathers because the stems are too thick.  #3 necks often have more webbing than 1’s or 2’s but not always.  Most often the biggest difference between 2’s and 3’s is that the stems on the 3’s are stiffer, and sometimes oblong instead of round.  This makes them very tough to wind. The grading system is hardly perfect and you can often look through a batch of #2’s and find some that are as good as the #1’s and #’3s that are as good as 2’s.   Nothing compares to the Hoffman’s necks.  Their #2’s are comparable to just about anyone elses #1’s.  The saddles make great dry fly tying feathers but primarily have only 2 sizes on them.  The necks have a wide assortment of sizes.  Haven’t seen any saddles that will compare with the Hoffman’s for dry flys. For wet flies I still use hen neck feathers.  They are shorter and have more rounded tips.  These are always webby and fold easily for that swept back look on wets.  Used to be able to find them easily and they were cheap.  Haven’t seen many in recent years.  Get them if you can find them, they are a far better choice for wet flies than rooster necks. We are spoiled today with the necks available.  I remember when indian capes were all that you could get.  I would take a trip over to Tigard, OR once in a while just to paw through Kaufmann’s capes.  Lance and Randall would go over to India each year, select their own stock, and bring it back.  Then Metz started to become available and Henry started to bring over some of his first "super grizzly".  This is one area where materials have only gotten better.                          Good Tying,                               Dan Dan Gracia Orvis West Coast Fly Fishing Schools

Response:

When you use TWO on a dry fly, you need to take a size 16 (for example) feather from the right side of a cape and the left side.   Mr. G.

Good post.   I’m curious about your left/right suggestion.  I never make any effort to use feathers from opposite sides of the cape when double wrapping. Could you elaborate more on why this is useful? Regards, Joe.  

Response:

        Hi! I thought that a grade three hackle would be better for tying wet flies than dry, but I just read an article that said that they rate the hackle by the count of usable feathers, the main size, and length. I thought that a grade 3 hackle would be softer hackle than a grade 1 or 2 is this true or are there just more usable feathers on a grade 1. Can you tye as good a dry with a grade 3 hackle as you could with grade 1.  I am simply a begginer I dont know grade 3 hackles are softer by expierience I just thought that was how it was THANKS!                                         Dolph

Response:

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit DEAR BUZZARD:  You happen to ask a question that I must rise too.  It is an excellent question.  May I add a few thoughts to get this discussion going? The observation is keen that different hackle manufacturers are indeed grading their hackles differently.  In fact, I doubt the lot of them ever got together and came up with a standard that rates necks from different companies to the same matching-game.  Everyone should give this some thought. Frankly Buzzard, you’re going to have to become a good judge of hackle/necks yourself.  There are certain things you must always pay attention too and I’m not about to cover them all here and now.  But each tier has certain patterns that require different advantages from feathers.  They can be softness, hardness, webbing, lack of webbing, short feathers, long feathers, narrow and wide, the combinations are endless and all feathers have a use in fly tying in one fly or another. Remembe this.  Never throw them away. Besides colors (any color) A feather for DRY FLY FISHING is different in desired aspects than hen feathers for wet flies, nymphs, streamers, etc. BUT!  A hen feather doesn’t necessarily mean it is a feather of less worth. I (personally) won’t settle for a number two neck when for a few dollars more I will be happier with a number one (1)!  The difference between a two and a one can be miles apart even though the numbers are next to each other.  Numbers mean different values to different people.  In grading feathers (Cock necks) throw the number system out the window. Waste it.  It means nothing between manufacturers, BUT with a specific manufacturer such as Hoffman necks, it can be a very reliable numbering system because of one factor.  Hoffman Products (now raised in Grand Junction Colorado) are CONSISTANT and TIGHT in quality.  Whereas; Metz Necks vary with the wind and each chicken season.  Quality always suffers when production increases beyond supervisory abilities.  Hate to say it, but its true. A DRY FLY FEATHER must have certain factors for each tier.  Length, evenly wide hackles, very little webbing, barbel stiffness, sharp tips (not curled on the ends, etc.) flexiable (not brittle) stems, maturity, (in look and feel)  and when you inspect a neck, make sure the skin isn’t brittle so it will crack when bent a little.  (Use some gink on the skin back to keep it from drying out.  Excellent for this, incidently.  And please everyone, don’t slam me for offering a friendly fact) So, basically, today . . .  because of neck retail prices, the trend is splitting a Hoffman neck.  When you buy a split, you are getting only right handed or left  handed bends in feathers.  When you use TWO on a dry fly, you need to take a size 16 (for example) feather from the right side of a cape and the left side.  So, what I’m saying, is . . . if at all possible, always buy the complete neck if its financially comfortable or possible. I’ll let everyone take it from here. Mr. G.         Hi! I thought that a grade three hackle would be better for tying wet flies than dry, but I just read an article that said that they rate the hackle by the count of usable feathers, the main size, and length. I thought that a grade 3 hackle would be softer hackle than a grade 1 or 2 is this true or are there just more usable feathers on a grade 1. Can you tye as good a dry with a grade 3 hackle as you could with grade 1.  I am simply a begginer I dont know grade 3 hackles are softer by expierience I just thought that was how it was THANKS!                                         Dolph

Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="vcard.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: Card for Mr. G. Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="vcard.vcf" begin:          vcard fn:             Mr. G. n:              ;Mr. G. org:            Gehrke’s Fly Fishing Products title:          President note:           Do something, even if it’s right x-mozilla-cpt:  ;0 x-mozilla-html: FALSE end:            vcard

Response:

Question:

Great responses from all

Question:

I am looking for a telephone number (or adress) of a company called Float Tube Unlimited. Thanks in advance                      Thomas — Sender:  Thomas Urbig          Harvard University          Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology          16 Divinity Ave.          Cambridge, MA 02138          Tel: (USA) 617 495 3716;   Fax:  (USA)  617 496 8726

Response:

Quoting Thomas from a message in rec.outdoors.fishing.fly    <I am looking for a telephone number (or adress) of a company called    <Float Tube Unlimited. Jim Carlisle

Response:

I tried to get a catalog off thier 1-800 #, 3 freak’n times.   NO LUCK. Whats with that company??? I went with Cabela’s. John

Response:

Question:

I will be in the Norway area of wester Maine in August and would like to do some flyfishing for trout.  Does anyone have any information? I would prefer streams, but lake information would be good also. Thanks. Wes Autio Pelham, Massachusetts

Response:

I will be in the Norway area of wester Maine in August and would like to do some flyfishing for trout.  Does anyone have any information? I would prefer streams, but lake information would be good also. Thanks. Wes Autio Pelham, Massachusetts

August is not the best time to be in Norway, ME, looking for trout. Depending on how much time you have, your best bet would be the Rapid River, below Lake Richardson. This would be about an hour and a half drive, and a little hike, but easily the best bet in the area. The trout ponds in that area won’t be worth much in August, but you may find some trout in the upper reaches of the Crooked and Little Androscoggin Rivers. Both areas would be about a half hour drive from Norway. Good Luck. Joel Anderson

Response:

Question:

These references to the periodic cicada have me excited for the next time I stumble on the emergence of a cicada "brood".  There are two types of periodic cicadas (as opposed to the few annual cicadas that emerge each year), the 17 year and the 13 year cicadas.  I encountered one of them in 1991 in central PA.  An extraordinary number of cicadas filled the stream valley in late may.  The zip zip sound of the few annual cicadas in the back yard was replaced by a constant whirrring sound as literally millions emerged.  Those that fell onto the water dissapeared in a swirl as the largest of the trout (those only brought to the surface by the Green Drakes) sucked them under with no problem.  Our hearts pounded as we tried our largest floating flies to attract them.  In the end our imitations were not good enough, but my new spun deer hair bodied flies with red squirrel tail wings will always be somewhere in my fly box – just in case….   As for emergence throughout the Eastern U.S., I believe that each individual brood (covering some limited geography) has its own cycle.  My fishing buddy and I are in the process of writing to Penn State University to learn whether a brood chart is available for PA. Jeff Shafer – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –   An article in today’s paper discusses the imminent hatch in the Eastern   U.S. of billions of cicadas in their 17 year cycle. They are huge, winged   insects and I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what it   was like during the last hatch in ‘79 ? Any suggested strategies or fly   patterns we can use ? Do the trout readily take them ?  They do have a tendency to fall in the water.  I’ve seen trout take them on  the Gunpowder but you could probably count on catfish, bass, and just about  anything big enough to eat them taking one.  A large unweighted muddler should  have a passable contour and when properly presented should make the necessary  ’plopping’ sound to initiate a strike.  It make take a few days for the fish  to realize that the cicadas are food since they are big enough to scare off the  less aggressive fish.    –      David J. Ebinger                     330-453-5180      Ebinger Equipment Co.                Fax 453-7113      http://www.bright.net/~ebco/

Response:

writes: Spent the summer on Cape Cod in 79 and the Circadia hatch was wild. Dark brown beetle looking creatures if I remember. But hey it’s been a while. The hatch is incredible as it matures in about three days. They don’t stay around too long. About a week was the total duration. I’m sure the trout take them but for the short period ot time the hatch is around it’s not worth tying for.

No way! I was in Mashpee in 79 and the browns on Mashpee-Wakeby killed the Cicadas during the entire hatch and could be fooled long afterward. I ran the 4-H camp there and fished nearly every day. Smallmouth were especially suseptable to any large bodied fly during that hatch. Bill — Bill Fling                     Tel. (315) 298-3044 SALMON RIVER ANGLERS LODGE     FAX  (315) 298-2619 P.O. Box 353                   Rt. 13, Rome Road Pulaski, NY 13142-0353   ‘SALMON RIVER/LAKE ONTARIO SPORTFISHING REPORTS’             ‘http://www.salmon-river.com’

Response:

An article in today’s paper discusses the imminent hatch in the Eastern U.S. of billions of cicadas in their 17 year cycle. They are huge, winged insects and I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what it was like during the last hatch in ‘79 ? Any suggested strategies or fly patterns we can use ? Do the trout readily take them ?

They do have a tendency to fall in the water.  I’ve seen trout take them on the Gunpowder but you could probably count on catfish, bass, and just about anything big enough to eat them taking one.  A large unweighted muddler should have a passable contour and when properly presented should make the necessary ‘plopping’ sound to initiate a strike.  It make take a few days for the fish to realize that the cicadas are food since they are big enough to scare off the less aggressive fish.   —     David J. Ebinger                     330-453-5180     Ebinger Equipment Co.                Fax 453-7113     http://www.bright.net/~ebco/

Response:

Spent the summer on Cape Cod in 79 and the Circadia hatch was wild. Dark brown beetle looking creatures if I remember. But hey it’s been a while. The hatch is incredible as it matures in about three days. They don’t stay around too long. About a week was the total duration. I’m sure the trout take them but for the short period ot time the hatch is around it’s not worth tying for.

Response:

An article in today’s paper discusses the imminent hatch in the Eastern   U.S. of billions of cicadas in their 17 year cycle. They are huge, winged insects and I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what it was like during the last hatch in ‘79 ? Any suggested strategies or fly patterns we can use ? Do the trout readily take them ?

Response:

Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Due to the assumption that most people reading this news group are quite versed in FF and their needs in regard to the sport, please entertain me with answering these questions in regard to what would you want to see in a FF Shop?   Listed below are some areas that I have found to be lacking in some stores I have visited.  Please tell me if you think this would be of interest to fly fishers.  If not elaborate on what should be done to make it more useful to a FF customer. Thanks. *Sales staff-knowledgable, yet friendly. *A comfortable seating area with reading materials (i.e. books that are for sale in the shop and current FF magazines publications.  Also a t.v. for viewing videos being sold in the shop.) *Early hours on the weekends (i.e. opening at 5am) *Late hours on the weekdays (i.e. closing at 8pm) *Customers can view FF on the internet with a terminal set up in the shop and can get print outs from BBS and newsgroups. *An outdoor area to have a chance to cast a rod before purchasing. *Loaner equipment, in order to try out a rod to make sure it