Translating 600 years of usage

[Ron Eagle Elk]

I've also been dealing with Mike for years. Material quality is really good and the prices are more than reasonable. Nice guy to do business with.

REE

[willowhead]

Yeah, when Mike does a show, at least the smaller shows.....he usuallt has more "Stuff", than anyone else as far as materials are cncerned. And very often he has some real good deals. And of course, the more you buy in volume, the better deal on some things. Kinna like the same way Bill Keogh does with his loose saddles at a show. They'll be like $25 for one.....5 for $15 each and like $10 bucks a piece if you go for 10 of 'em.....or something like that. Mike does that kinna thing as well. What i like though, is that you just never know when he'll have something special or different. Things you don't see every day in your average fly shop.

[DNicolson]

Roger Fogg in his book 'A Handbook of North Country Trout Flies' has quite a
few remarks about the Brown Owl Fly, pages 178,183-184.
He states in his book that a coarse fibred red/brown hen hackle is a good substitute.
A good source of coarse hen is the Indian hen neck bin in many tackle stores.

Another is a spoon shaped french partridge wing feather dyed or coloured with a
marker pen to the correct red/brown shade.

I have posted on my web-site the information of this fly, with the only picture I have
been able to find of a Brown Owl hackle. Not a great picture, but gives some idea.
http://donaldnicolson.webplus.net/page407.html

[letumgo]

Thanks guys for the comments on Mike Hogue's shop. I have never bought materials from him, but have had my eye on a few items he carries. I almost bought a copy of "Forgotten Flies" from him years ago, but when I called he had already sold his last copy. Fortunately I found a copy on E-bay later that year directly from one of the authors. Beautiful book...

[willowhead]

Ray, you must of got it from Ingrid..... .....when i first saw that book, at Somerset i think in '97, (first year it came out i believe.....could easily be wrong on that),
it was $90 if i remember right. i finally bought it from Don Bastian at the first annual Catskill Fly Tyers Guild Rondezvous in 2001 for $165......i think, mighta been more.
And he signed and personalized it.
Whenever anyone comes over and wants to handle that book or either of the Rare and Unusual volumes or the BIG Sawada book or some others.....i make 'em wash their hands first.
Can you imagine if someone were to smudge one up and get it dirty..........i dunno bout you, but i'd hit the roof. So i don't take no chances. When i bought volune 2. of Rare & Unusall,
i bought two of them. One to keep, one as an investment, for $225 each signed, directly from Paul & Ingrid at Somerset. A few years later, i swaped one for a bamboo rod custome made for
me.....sweet little rod, 5 footer. Purrfect for the little tribs. in the Catskills. i aint even gonna mention what i hadda pay to finally get volume 1. It was hard to find, but then
later on, there were quite a few floating around, and i even saw both volumes being sold together for quite resonable prices a few times. Both of mine are signed fortunately.
Misa says to tell you Thank You VERY much for the flies........she thinks they will be of good use in Italy in Aug. And she says you tye the Tenkara fly beautifully, as you do all of them. And she
wants to know what hackle that is on the Tenkara flies? (CDL hen?/Woody?) And thankx for the dubbing Bro. That stuff is gorgeous. i'm gonna be usin' it VERY soon. Watch your mail.....

[willowhead]

Jeeezzzeeeee..............spooookky..........i just got an email from Don Bastiam...........he has a HUGE display/exhibition goin' on at Fishing Creek Anglers in PA.
That's the fly shop where he always teaches his course. i always wanted to go do that.....take the weekend class.....it's a three day course. Just never did get the chance.
i was always on the road the first few times i knew about, and then thing just happen..........oh well. Good to know his health is holding up so he can continue to teach.
He kicked cancers ass a few years back.

[letumgo]

Thanks Mark, I am glad Misa liked the flies. Hopefully she puts them to good use someday. The hackle on the tenkara pattern is simple hungarian partridge. I have a nice skin that has both gray and tan colored feathers. If I remember correctly, I used the tan colored feathers. The tan color gives the fibers a look sort of like woodduck. (hmmm...woodduck would make a cool looking hackle)

[willowhead]

That was actually my first thought, but the fibers are SOO long, i figured it hadda be something else. Gotta be the longest fibered H.P. (Hewlett Packard ) feathers i've ever seen. Those flies are gonna have tremendous action (movement) in the water.