Day 362 – Time to Clean
The office that my wife and I have set up in our house is crammed pack with books, desks, a spare day bed, and littered with papers, boxes, and bags. In a few short words, it is a couple different messes that have converged within one of our rooms and has happily made itself comfortable. Normally, I can look past all of this and continue to function and a semi-decent level. However, tomorrow evening (right about this time actually) my parents fly from Iowa to visit my wife and me for a week. I’d like to put my best foot forward.
That said, I attacked the room this evening with some vigor and managed to make a pretty decent dent within the mess. I managed to clean out a dresser, organize the drawers with office supplies, photographs, and Christmas presents, discover some old clothes that were too small and now almost fit, and consolidated some boxes. None of this is really remarkable, but what I didn’t tell you were some of the gems that I found during the cleaning.
To those who know me, I’m kind of an eclectic pack rat and have managed to squirrel away all sorts of fly fishing treasures. The problem is that in the past 10 years, I’ve moved five times. I hate moving, so when it comes to packing boxes I end up throwing the nearest crap into a box and taping it up. This makes for some fun trying to find things later, like when you open a box and find computer software, a fly reel, an economics book, and a box of thank you cards.
Tonight, I managed to find a poster of fly tying knots, a couple of misplaced fly tying books, and a few fly fishing DVDs, and a handful of fly fishing magazines. They were strewn about the room in piles, boxes, stacks, and hidden among various other non-fishing related treasures. I’m really excited about the poster. Because of my upcoming fly fishing lessons at the church, this will be a wonderful way to showcase some knots. The plan here is to bring my humongous shark hook and some parachute cord to demonstrate the various knots that we use in fly fishing. The poster will be extra gravy for the lesson.
I still have a ways to go to make the office clean. In fact, as I’m typing I’m looking to my left and realize that the fly tying desk is a mess and that I should really straighten up the boxes, cups, jars, feathers, trash, and tool bin. There is so much chaos going on there, that even if I wanted to tie a pattern I wouldn’t be able to do so without some herculean effort. Having the desk cleaned up will definitely help me out when inspiration strikes me. I still haven’t tied up a thread waisted wasp yet due to the mess.
I have my marching orders for tomorrow. I know that after I mow the grass in the morning, I’ll be heading in here and hoping to make sense out of chaos. In the end, I feel pretty good that I’ll persevere and win, but it will take some time to get everything to look right. But, the effort will pay off even if my parents were not coming tomorrow.
Day 361 – It Makes The World Go Round
Today was a very long day. It seems that I looked at spreadsheets filled with tiny little numbers all day long. Each spreadsheet cell filled with a dollar amount trying to prove or disprove the need for inventory. At 6 PM, I then head home… oh wait, there’s a finance meeting tonight at church, followed by a stewardship meeting and I’m both of those committees. Ugh! I finally get home around 10 PM.
No matter where I turn, the topic of money always seems to be right on the forefront of everybody’s mind. We need money to put gas in our cars to get to work. We work so that we can buy gas for our cars. It’s very circular sometimes. No matter how you slice it though, there always seems to be a deficit of income and a surplus of expenses.
When dealing with a church in terms of money, you are in fact dealing with a non-profit (for the most part, there are probably some exceptions to this generalization). This means that somehow you have to raise money to pay for the operations of the church. Being a member of both finance (understanding where the money is going) and the stewardship (trying to raise capital for the budget) committees I get to see all the angles of money within the church. And let me tell you, it can be pretty darn sticky sometimes.
I imagine that this is not a new problem for almost any non-profit organization. Money is the medium that allows us to pursue our passion sometimes. Money allows us to print brochures, hire guest speakers, and educate local people about the needs for stream conservation or better water management practices. All things that anglers need to at least understand and hopefully contribute to.
Having sat in conversations all evening about the moral, ethical, and spiritual points of asking for monetary contributions (or the limiting of support to certain areas) I have to say that it has to be tough to manage a non-profit. I mean with the economy in a recession, people living on fixed incomes, and the need to make ends meet in their own families how can you ask for more money? It is a hard question to ask. I think it comes down to perspective really.
I don’t know about you, but I know that despite the fact that bills are piling higher and higher in my life I still tend to splurge on stupid things. Whether I buy a pack of nice pens, or buy a magazine, or buy an extra soda during the day… the money is still being nickel and dimed from the bank account. But, with a little perspective, I could take that same amount of money and contribute it to a non-profit and help make the world a little better. Plus, you’ll feel a little better knowing that you helped a worthy cause.
To help get you started on thinking about where to help send money, time, or other resources to that help anglers, I suggest you give the following sites a look at:
- Trout Unlimited
- Federation of Fly Fishers
- Project Healing Waters
- Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska
- The American Museum of Fly Fishing
I’m sure that if you do a quick Google search that you can find dozens more non-profits that may be more tailored to your needs and locale. But no matter what you do, please really consider donating some sort of funding. Heaven knows that they need all the help that they can get.
Day 360 – On Top Of The World
Jamie Clarke
So, today at work I got to do something a little different than I normally do, I ended up talking to a guy who has literally been to the top of the world. His name is Jamie Clarke, and you may have heard about him on the Today Show back last spring. He climbed Mt. Everest this last spring and managed to test out some pretty cool and nifty gear that Hanes is working on.
Anyway, he came this morning and spoke at the corporate office of Hanes today. He talked about his preparations, his trials, tribulations, and general hard work that took him from a dream to reality. On a number of instances, he mentioned that this trip was the culmination of over 20 years worth of experience and training. And this got me thinking about what it takes to continually pursue your passion over the long haul.
Jamie was on the summit for only 80 minutes, but it took him 3 years of continual work, planning, and effort to get to that point. Add to this that he had been climbing mountains for over 20 years and you have to realize that you have to love what you’re doing if you hope to overcome the physical, mental, and emotional hurdles to achieve success.
In fly fishing, we hear stories about men and women who give up their day job to pursue fly fishing with all their heart, souls, and minds. We hear about the dirty trout bum sleeping in the dirt, bushwhacking through thick forests, and tying flies with dryer lint and dog hair to reach the “mountaintop experience”. Yet, we often glamorize over the monotonous facts, the trials, and heartaches to accomplish those dreams. If we do hear of the trials they are often romanticized to the point of showing how herculean the effort had truly been.
So today, when I heard Jamie list out the physical suffering that he had endure, the harsh conditions that were faced, and the pure stress of the journey, I paid attention to what he said. I asked myself if that would be worth the effort to experience 80 minutes of joy. And I think if you love what you do, you’re passionate about your venture, then I think the answer has to be yes.
Day 359 – The Code
Piggy-backing onto the last couple of day’s worth of posts, I’ve been thinking about the extra stuff that needs to be included into a good fly fishing lesson. After having read the merit badge requirements that the Boy Scouts mandate, there were a couple of things that weren’t really about fly fishing.
The big one that comes to my mind is The Outdoor Code. So that you know what I’m talking about, I’ve included The Outdoor Code from the Boy Scouts below:
As an American, I will do my best to:
Be clean in my outdoor manners.
I will treat the outdoors as a heritage.
I will take care of it for myself and others.
I will keep my trash and garbage out of lakes, streams, fields, woods, and roadways.
Be careful with fire.
I will prevent wildfire.
I will build my fires only where they are appropriate.
When I have finished using a fire, I will make sure it is cold out.
I will leave a clean fire ring, or remove all evidence of my fire.
Be considerate in the outdoors.
I will treat public and private property with respect.
I will use low-impact methods of hiking and camping.
and
Be conservation minded
I will learn how to practice good conservation of soil, waters, forests, minerals, grasslands, wildlife, and energy.
I will urge others to do the same.
I think many of our fly fishing classes teach the necessary skills to be a competent angler, but I wonder how many of them take the time to teach the moral and ethical values that underline what it takes to be a “good” angler. I mean what good is it if an angler practices safe handling of a trout only if through their carelessness or neglect damage angling privileges on private land?
Out of all the above, which I severely hope would be common sense for most folks, I think the last statement of being conservation minded is probably the capstone of that we need to teach to other anglers. From this one statement all the other statements hang from. If we teach what it means to be conservation minded, all the other things about packing out your trash, looking after the cleanliness of fisheries, and respecting property (both private and public) will become second nature.
Therefore, when I plan my lessons for the upcoming Wonderful Wednesdays at my church, I will include a part on what it means to embody the spirit of a good angler and include discussion on conservation. I think it is only right that if we hope to continue our fishing adventures, we should do everything in our power to to make sure that the locations will still be there in the future.
Day 358 – Lesson Planning
With the forthcoming fly fishing classes in September, I’ve been giving the fly fishing lessons a lot of thought today. I’ve been trying to go over all the necessary components of fly fishing (gear, line explanations, knots, safety, waders, invasive species,…) and lay them out into a cohesive learning experience.
My problem is that I’m kind of a perfectionist when I’m really excited about a project. I tend to think about all the various aspects, the expected arguments or questions, and areas that may seem confusing. I want to have that “wow” factor that leaves people feeling like they actually learned something. I want to share my passion for the sport so that they can stay with it when they leave the stream skunked. And let’s face it, everybody and sometime or another will leave the stream skunked.
So, I internally agonize about the process wanting to make sure that the entire lesson will run smoothly and without a hitch. I’m always afraid that I’m going to miss some vital piece of information, and let’s face it that’s pretty possible with the amount of instruction that needs to be done.
I think the best way to start is to have an outline of what all needs to be covered. I’m big into mind-mapping and I probably should sit down with pen to paper and see what ideas I come up with. I mean as I was writing this post, I realized how important it was to mention the need to help prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species, such as didymo.
I think to help jump start my brain into thinking in the right manner, I might review some books that I have. I think it would be good to see how they start out their lessons. Additionally, I think I’d like to review what FFF (Federation of Fly Fishers) has to say. I think they may have some material that would be beneficial. Additionally, the Boy Scout merit badge book for Fly Fishing would be another great resource.
In fact, I was so motivated by that last idea, here are the requirements for the badge:
- Do the following:
- Discuss the prevention of and treatment for the following health concerns that could occur while fly-fishing, including cuts, scratches, puncture wounds, insect bites, hypothermia, dehydration, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and sunburn.
- Explain how to remove a hook that has lodged in your arm.
- Name and explain five safety practices you should always follow while fly-fishing.
- Demonstrate how to match a fly rod, line and leader to achieve a balanced system. Discuss several types of fly lines, and explain how and when each would be used. Review with your counselor how to care for this equipment.
- Demonstrate how to tie proper knots to prepare a fly rod for fishing:
- Tie a backing to a fly reel spool using the arbor knot
- Attach backing to fly line using the nail knot
- Attach a leader to fly line using the needle knot, nail knot or a loop-to-loop connection
- Add a tippet to a leader using a loop-to-loop connection or blood knot
- Tie a fly onto the terminal end of the leader using the improved clinch knot
- Explain how and when each of the following types of flies is used: dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, streamers, bass bugs, poppers , and saltwater flies. Tell what each one imitates. Tie at least two types of the flies mentioned in this requirement.
- Demonstrate the ability to cast a fly 30 feet consistently and accurately using both overhead and roll cast techniques.
- Go to a suitable fishing location and what fish may be eating both above and beneath the water’s surface. Look for flying insects and some that may be on or beneath the water’s surface. Explain the importance of matching the hatch.
- Do the following:
- Explain the importance of practicing Leave No Trace techniques. Discuss the positive effects of Leave No Trace on fishing resources.
- Discuss the meaning and importance of catch and release. Describe how to properly release a fish safely to the water.
- Obtain and review a copy of the regulations affecting game fishing where you live or where you pan to fish. Explain why they were adopted and what is accomplished by following them.
- Discuss what good outdoor sportsmanlike behavior is and how it relates to anglers. Tell how the Outdoor Code of the Boy Scouts of America relates to a fishing enthusiast, including the aspects of littering, trespassing, courteous behavior, and obeying fishing regulations.
- Catch at least one fish. If regulations and health concerns permit, clean and cook a fish you have caught. Otherwise, acquire a fish and cook it.
When I review this list, I see that much of the basic stuff such as explaining demonstrating how to cast, understanding fly patterns, how to tie on knots… are illustrated within the requirements. However, I knew I was forgetting some “vital” information about fly fishing.
I never thought about discussing how to properly handle and release a fish. I hadn’t thought about Leave No Trace techniques or trespassing ethics, or even understanding the physical hazards of fly fishing. As a younger man (I am only 35) I tend to overlook these things thinking that most people know them. I think I’ll have to add them to the lesson plan.
Day 357 – Crossing Point
This morning was an odd moment in my life. I was actually at a point in my life where my passion for fly fishing crossed paths with my passion for God. I know that I continually beat the drum about how spiritual fly fishing is, how there are many famous people who are quoted about how fishing is religion, and that wonderful sense of connecting with the Creator through fly fishing. However, today was a little different.
Starting up in September at my church is a program called Wonderful Wednesdays. It is a fellowship opportunity that the church sponsors and it usually includes a meal and then some kind of speaker or drama or performer… The ones that I was able to attend last year were pretty good. However, this season’s lineup is a little different. This season there will be a couple of people doing multiple classes that surround their passion.
I think if I can recall the agenda correctly, there will also be lessons on campfire guitar, knitting, a revolutionary soldier, using Microsoft Office, and a few other ones that I can’t remember off the top of my head. Oh yeah, there will also be a four week course on fly fishing, taught by yours truly.
What made this morning truly unique was that during the announcements, I actually was able to cast my fly rod in the church sanctuary. I pondered for a moment and wondered how many other anglers are able to say that they did a steeple cast within a church. Pretty cool in my books.
But this leaves me with a little bit of a quandary. OK, maybe not so much a quandary, but more of a pondering. I have to come up with four lessons that will culminate with a possibility of a stream outing in October. Each course is about an hour in length and equipment will probably be scarce. I have a few pieces that can be used, but I don’t quite have the selection that I used to (I ended up giving most of my excess cheaper equipment away to friends and family members who were interested in the sport).
I think week one I’ll just go over the basics of fly fishing. I think if I can comandeer a DVD player and a TV I might even show some fly fishing videos just to whet their appetite into the sport. I’m thinking about maybe showing Trout Bum Diaries: Volume I Patagonia. Probably not the whole thing, but maybe a few clips. I’ll then go over the basic equipment needs and that will probably be that for lesson 1.
Lesson 2 will be along the lines of basic knots. I’ll also go over the different types of aquatic life. I’ll talk about the differences between nymphs, dry flies, wet flies, and terrestrials. I’ll include some patterns for them to see. I’ll include possibly a video or whiteboard demonstration of trout lies and how to generally read a stream. End of lesson 2.
Lesson 3, might include some of the above depending on how far I was able to get into explaining things. I figure by this time most people will have been able to buy a fly rod and basic setup and we’ll get started with casting instruction. I’ll explain the different casts and how they are used. I’ll also include a section on proper care of the equipment.
Lesson 4 will be a continuation casting lessons and review of any material missed or able to answer questions. Hopefully by this time we’ll be able to setup a time to go out and actually put lessons to work by a trip to the stream. If the stream is too far, I’ll put them on a nearby lake and we can catch panfish until our hearts our content.
Yeah, I think this will be a good class turnout. I’ve been told I already have a handful of people who are signed up. In fact while I was at the park this evening listening to some live big band music, a guy stopped me and said that he was looking forward to the experience. Should be a fun time.
Day 356 – Sailing, Sailing, Over the Ocean Blue
Guess what I did today that I haven’t done in about 20 years. If you said sailing then you’d be right!
I met a guy at church who is pretty active in the sailing community. It is his passion. He eats, sleeps, and breathes sailing. Much like I had my start in fly fishing in college, he had his at grad school. Anyway, he invited me to go sailing with him and I took him up on the offer today.
I met him at his house, we loaded up the van, hitched the trailer to said van and made our way out to the lake. When we made our way to the lake, he took great care to explain to me all the different rigging components, what they did, and why they were important. After about a half hour of threading ropes through pulleys, tying knots, and basically assembling the boat, we were ready to set sail.
Personally, I was amazed at how much stuff I remembered from my week at Scout Camp all those many years ago. I do remember getting my merit badge, and actually having a pretty fun time sailing on the Mississippi River. Those same feelings of excitement surfaced today while out on the water.
Throughout the day, my friend was explaining to me why he loved to sail. Peace of my mind, letting go of the worries of the world, a sense of spirit renewal, a calm joy, these are all words he used to describe why. In essence, it is why we choose to fly fish.
As we were talking, we noticed that we both had similar experiences with how other people viewed our fanaticism for our sport. First, we noticed that we love our sport so much that we want to share that experience with other people. We tell people about what we love and then say that we’d love to take them out. We’re assured that they will get right on that and neither one of us have ever received a call to go participate in the sport.
Second, when new people try our sport, a bad day usually puts them off from ever trying the sport again. He noted that when he takes someone sailing and the wind isn’t cooperating, they get discouraged and never trying it again. They go home, and scratch another thing off their bucket list without ever really experiencing the true joy of the sport. The same can be said with people who try fly fishing. They get all excited to go and the fish don’t cooperate. They end up going home skunked all the while stating that fly fishing is stupid and not for them.
I think we all end up meeting those people who haven’t found their niche. Those who are seeking to find something to rally behind. Whether it be sailing, golf, or fly fishing; people want to be a part of something. And for me, I will continue to sing the praises of fly fishing. My friend will sing the praises of sailing.
And just for the record, my friend is also very interested in learning fly fishing (if he can get past the idea of touching the fish).
Day 355 – A Matter of Perspective
Seriously, I continually am amazed by the ingenuity of people in this world (as opposed to say Jupiter). When it comes to seeing something from a different perspective to gain further understanding, we anglers who happen to tie flies have an uncanny ability to look at the world with fresh eyes.
Take Dave Ames who discussed in his book “A Good Life Wasted” how he would sit drinking beer at the bar and take a magnifying glass and peer at the mayfly swarm on the bar window to scrutinize the behavior, color, and size of the local bug population. I mean it’s pretty cool from a geeky “I need this knowledge to help put food on the table” sort of way. I mean, I honestly haven’t peered into a swarm of mayflies and examined all the details of the going on (I’ve been told it has to do with a lot of procreation), but I imagine that some sort of insight could be gleamed from this experience.
At a fly fishing expo in Minnesota, a local guy brings in quite the setup to discuss the local bug life. He setups tables filled with trays of caddis nymphs, mayfly nymphs, scuds, crawfish, and other trout feasts. His display is meant to be “hands on” and the angler is encouraged to look in detail at the gills protruding from the back end of a nymph, or to explore the colors of a dragonfly nymph. His display is quite legendary in the area, and he never ceases to provide a fount of information to anybody who asks.
And even today as I flip through the Autumn 2010 issue of Fly Tyer magazine, I find on page 33 a new product that is a unique tool for the fly tyer. It is called the Trout’s Eye View Fly Tying Mirror and retails for $39.99 (www.troutseyeview.com). Basically, it is a petri dish set over a 5x mirror. You add water to the dish above and place either your fly or a real fly on the surface. The resulting image below is what the fish sees. I guess that beats having to dig a pool in your backyard and using a snorkel to see the same thing.
I expect that as time continues to go on, that we will see an influx of fly patterns that will continue to push the envelope for fly imitation. I mean fly fishing used to have patterns that were designed to attract with bright colors, and slowly through the course of time, our patterns have evolved to near perfection. I look forward to having a full box of those patterns, that is until the pendulum starts to swing back towards our fly fishing roots of attractor patterns.
Day 354 – Fisherman
Tonight my wife, thinking of me, rented “Clash of the Titans” for us to watch. This is the new updated telling of the story, versus the cool cheesy one that came out years ago. Overall, I prefer the classic version and was glad that I didn’t pay movie ticket prices to see this one. The acting was a little cheesy, the dialog never seemed to be believable, and Perseus’s voice was always so grating. It was clearly a movie that was made to dazzle with the cool 3D special effects.
With that being said, I did find the fact that Perseus was a fisherman intriguing. Beside the fact that Perseus is the son of Zeus and he’s treading into Poseidon’s territory (something probably best not done), the idea is amusing because the idea that our hero is a fisherman makes him seem real and believable.
It seems that being a fisherman is about as humble as a person can be, at least through the eyes of literary authors (and maybe even theologians). I mean why would you make a hero a fisherman? Why would you include among your core followers fisherman? Is it because they are simple? Do they somehow represent an iconic symbolism to poverty, hard work, and reliance on nature?
I really don’t know what the answer to these questions are. But it does start make my mind wonder about things. It makes me wonder if there is something of value of being a fisherman (or woman for that matter). If they say that true beauty is below the surface, maybe there’s something hidden below the outward nature of a fisherman. Maybe they have some kind of intrinsic well-being hidden within their traits.
Now, to be honest, I am pretty partial to the idea of being a fisherman. I love the outdoors. I love the time spent on the stream. I find the silence and solitude of the sport refreshing to my soul. I enjoy the natural beauty of the landscape where fishing adventures take place. And I usually leave with a sense of becoming firmly rooted in my faith with God.
Maybe the secret has to do with idea of a silent sport. My wife jokes about the first time I took her fishing with me and my friend Mike. She kept chatting away with Mike the whole time trying to gain the friend vote on our relationship. Finally after some length of time, my wife realizes that Mike and I haven’t really said much of a word to each other. She makes this observation known to Mike, and without missing a beat he says that’s because we’re fishing, not having a tea party. (OK, that last part I made up, but he did tell her that is was normal that when we go fishing we barely say a word to each other.)
I think the idea of being a fisherman is OK with me, although I have a hard time vocalizing why that may be. Besides the epic imagery of a thoughtful scholar and gentleman, I think I like being a fisherman because it just feels right with my soul. Don’t ask questions, but I won’t be able to give you a straight answer. Not because I don’t want to, but because the feeling is so much more than words can describe.
Day 353 – True MacGyver Fashion
Quick, what can you make with a broken pencil, a paperclip, and some duct tape? If you’re MacGyver a nuclear bomb, but if you’re a poor fly tyer who has either misplaced, broken, or can’t afford a whip finisher, then the answer would be the Paperclip Whipfinisher Hack.
Paperclip Whipfinisher
OK, to be honest I didn’t come up with this idea myself. I actually got the idea from a keyword search that one of you guys (or gals) used to find my site. I use a program called Google Analytics that reports basic information on who reads this blog. It includes what city a person accessed my site in, how they accessed it (via a search engine, Twitter link, Facebook link…), and whether or not they are a first time visitor to my site. It’s pretty mundane stuff, but it gives me a general sense of how many people enjoy my site.
Anyway, yesterday while I was reviewing the data, I noticed that someone accessed my site through a search engine with the keywords of “Paperclip Whipfinisher”. I thought the idea was pretty funny, but then started thinking about how it could actually be pretty pratical. Plus, it has that edgy dirtbag fly angler appeal that has a certain allure. With heavy influence from reading the Make Magazine blog, and how people “hack” different things to suit their needs or purposes, I thought that I could make a pretty good substitute whip finisher from a paper clip.
Using the real thing as a reference (I could have easily have used a picture), I armed myself with a pair of needle nose pliers and got to work straightening the paperclip. After a rough approximation of being straight, I started with the little hook on the end. Gripping the wire, I bent it around the round nose of the pliers.
I continued in this fashion for about five minutes, bending, adjusting, flattening, more bending until I had a pretty good representation of a whip finisher. When I was done, I noticed that my paperclip wasn’t nearly big enough to provide me with an adequate handle. I looked on my desk and there was sitting a broken pencil. Aha!! Grabbing my knife, I cut the pencil to an appropriate handle size and the reached for the duct tape. A couple of wraps around the pencil and paperclip and I had a reasonable facsimile of a whipfinisher.
Now for the fun part, does my labor pay off? With a little excitement I put a hook in the vise jaws. I grabbed my thread and wrapped some thread on. I gave the hook shanks enough thread wraps to ensure that the thread wouldn’t slip off the hook. I then reached for the whipfinisher that I made and with only a slight tremble from my hands (from excitement) I was able to make a pretty good knot.
If I were to do this exercise again, here’s what I would do differently (read: what things you can learn from my mistakes).
- I would spend a little more time on making sure the paperclip is straight and absent of bumps.
- When the paperclip is manufactured it is stamped with a press. This gives the ends of the paperclip a very small, but noticeable burr. I would find some fine grit sandpaper and smooth the edge.
- I would wrap the jaws of the needle nose pliers with some duct tape before I started my bending process. The teeth of the pliers marred the paperclip in some places.
- The paperclip isn’t exactly circular. It is more oval shaped. If I would have paid more attention to this detail from the beginning I would have made my bends on the longer side (which would have prevented the paperclip from rolling in the jaws of the pliers).
- A really big paperclip could have been used, and then maybe a coffee stirrer straw could have been used to create the barrel of the handle. This would allow the paperclip to move freely when rotating the whipfinisher around the hook. A few bends of the paperclip could be used to secure the coffee stirrer to the handle.
That’s about all I have for today’s post. I found the exercise really intriguing and I’m already trying to figure out what other fly tying tools I could make from a paperclip (or other household items). Looking at my tool caddy, I see that maybe a dubbing tool could be made. With a little ingenuity, I bet you could even make a bobbin.
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