COMPULSIVE MATERIAL ACQUISITION DISORDER
Ben says: "Turns out materials are a real bitch so this is a two-parter with an exciting cliff- hanger..."
The Fur Flies
Once upon a time in a far and distant land (Scotland) people used to use human hair within the tying of their flies. Yes, appar- ently the female pheromone is irresistible to salmon although it's plainly obvious this was just an ingenious pulling technique and in certain cases the principle incentive be- hind the ancient right of prima nocta. Being the kind of dedicated angler that I am, and for the benefit of the sexyloops community I have decided to undertake a little experi- ment in an attempt to ascertain whether this ancient pulling technique actually works. Stay tuned.
The lengths people go to in acquiring the perfect material are legendary, I remember how shocked I was to hear what Tup's In- dispensables were actually made of. Mr. GEM Skues, RS Austin, and CA Hassam ap- parently kept this a secret from the rest of the world believing it to be so good it should remain that way. What is a tup? I hesitantly muttered to the farmer who was explaining this to me. "Tups are the testi- cles of a ram", "bollocks" I said, "absolutely" he replied. Apparently the idea was based on the pheromone theory, which coming from a farmer worried me slightly. I will not be undertaking any ex- periments regarding this ancient tech- nique, I'm not that dedicated.
Obses- sive is not the word; in fact there is no word for this
kind of problem. 'Compulsive material ac- quisition disorder' lies at the base of practi- cally every fly fishing related domestic dis- pute throughout the world. "You are not putting that in my fridge", "yes I am", "no you're not", "yes I am!!" It is responsible for destroyed fleeces, cut up carpets, sliced curtains and empty pillows. Right now I see at least eight household items all of which can be cut up and tied to a hook. A good point I *must* make is that it's essential to have the owner's permission, especially if you have nowhere else to live.
The range of materials available is bewil- dering. Madonna said it best, we are living in a material word, and I am a material… NO wait, I take it back. I think you've got my point by now.
Fluff?
Most materials are relatively easy to deal with; if a set of tying instructions suggests hare's fur you look in a catalogue (or shop) and buy it, simple. For this reason I'm going to be as brief as possible with most of this section. Fly tying materials come in six forms, hair, fur, feather, synthetics, weight and ribs.
Fair and Hur
Deer, elk, bear, antelope, squirrel, calf, fox, goat and moose are just a few of the spe- cies that provide hair for fly ty- ing, not willingly of course.
I Shoot and Fish E-Zine December 2011
67
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76