Peterjay

Bucktail certainly is hollow. Belly hair might be more buoyant, but it's strictly a matter of degree. There's more air in the butt ends than in the tips, but it's there, most tyers are well aware of it, and I don't care what Bob Clouser supposedly says on the subject. Cut a piece of bucktail and a piece of sheep's wool, wet them down, put them in a bowl of water, and see which one sinks. That's one of the reasons why bucktail works so well on bendbacks. The buoyancy of the wing helps keep the fly swimming correctly.

The dyes in Kool-Aid are as colorfast as any other acid dyes. Rinsing thoroughly will prevent running for the most part. ANY dye will eventually fade if it's exposed to a lot of light. Just a word on Rit dyes: Rit dyes are mixed dyes meant for fabric, and when used on animal products, won't get you the colors you see on the bottle - the material won't absorb 100% of the dye, and what you'll get is a muted version of the color. I use Rit when I'm looking for natural-looking earth tones and Kool-Aid when I want bright colors. You can buy acid dyes (Jacquard, etc.) but unless you need a specific color, Kool-Aid will work just as well and at $0.20 per pack, the price can't be beat.

Just to add my $.02 worth: you can put a nice bend in mono by carefully passing a cigarette lighter flame under the spot you want to bend. I've never done it for frog legs, but that's how I make my weed guards - no reason why it wouldn't work for your purposes.

Snob? Me, a snob? I've got half a mind to go up there and have my butler give you a thrashing. I didn't come here to be insulted. (I don't need to go anywhere to be insulted - I get plenty of that here)

I've poured a lot of tin - I'm not sure I'd mess around with pewter. The beauty of tin is that unlike lead, it holds its shine very well - the other metals in pewter might possibly cause you to lose that. I can't speak to durability or weight, since I've never used pewter. The best way to buy tin is to watch eBay like a hawk. There are occasional deals on there, but they don't last long. I bought up 50 pounds a while back for $8/pound shipped, which is less than half the going rate. If I see anything reasonable, (a lot of it isn't) I contact the seller, and sometimes they'll work with you just to unload it in bulk. You can also use tin solder, but it's usually very expensive. BTW - I usually make my own molds, but I've poured a lot of tin flutter jigs using a Do-It mold, and they came out terrific. Tin is about 2/3 the weight of lead, and the difference in lure action is considerable. The fact that it's non-toxic doesn't hurt either.

It'll most likely work if you use the right media and don't overdo it. Tumblers are capable of doing some really delicate work. If you're building in quantity, it may be well worth your while to do a little research before you decide. I'd talk to somebody at Lortone or Thumler about your needs and see what they say. Rio Grande, which specializes in jewelry components, tools, etc., has good descriptions of various types of media in their catalog. ($10 refundable last I knew) I suspect a tumbler would do the job for you, but I would avoid the cheap ones. Also, I wouldn't rule out the type of tumbler that turns on rods - that's what I use for metal lures, although with plastic media, there's no reason why it wouldn't work on plastic baits. You could probably build one, but you'd need a better motor than a rotisserie motor, (way too slow) and smooth-surfaced containers that are made out of something akin to semi-rigid rubber - by the time you added up the materials and labor involved, a homemade unit would probably cost more than a quality commercial unit. http://www.riogrande.com/

I've been looking without much success for sheets of holographic Mylar, particularly the kind with designs on both sides. All I've been able to come up with is the adhesive-backed type, which I can't use. I actually need it for making flash on offshore saltwater flies, but I was hoping that maybe you guys might have spotted some at your foil sources. I know the stuff exists, because I still have a few sheets that I bought at some long-forgotten craft shop, but of course, I threw the label away at some point, so even the manufacturer is a mystery. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You might want to give H2O from Fly Tyers Dungeon a try. I've only used the silver, but it's stiffer than Flashabou and less prone to tangling. The hanks are smaller than Flashabou, but they're only a buck apiece.

swimb8s took the words right out of my mouth. Almost anything that saltwater gamefish will eat should work on pike. Bob Veverka's "Innovative Saltwater Flies" and Lefty Kreh's saltwater fly pattern book have a lot of great ideas. BTW: if you really want to try something different, you might give circle hooks a shot. Any fish that turns when it strikes is made to order for circle hooks. I use them on bluefish, and at last count, I still had ten fingers.

I've noticed the same discoloration when melting tin, but it doesn't seem to show up in the finished product. My guess is that it's nothing worth losing any sleep over.

What's an Enrico fly?

Tom - this place swarms with gurus, but you might want to start by doing a Google search for Larry Dahlberg moldmaking videos - that should give you a basic idea of how the process works, and you'll know what questions to ask. Making a mold isn't difficult once you know what you're doing, (and have a prototype) but it would take several hours to explain the whole process. You could also check out Husky's TU thread on molds using cheap silicone from Walmart. - that would be a great way to get some practice without breaking the bank. One tip: pourable RTV silicone is a much better option for a beginner than silicone putty because of the longer working time. Dahlberg makes using the putty look easy, but there's no margin for error and the stuff is expensive. If you're going to be making clear big game trolling heads, you're gonna want to get it right the first time, since you can't paint over flaws and the plastic isn't reusable. I've thought about doing some big game heads for the fun of it, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Like Dave said, you're opening the mold too soon. Once the metal cools, it won't crumble. Give it 5 or 10 minutes and see if there's a difference. Work backwards from that and you should be able to figure out a demold time. There's a huge difference between a silicone mold and an aluminum mold as far as demold time goes. Also, a silicone mold will retain heat longer - you might want to let it cool down a bit after a few pours, otherwise, you'll be increasing your demold time even more.

If you haven't seen this video, you might want to check it out. This isn't something I've done myself, but I enjoy watching this guy work, and it might be of some use to you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjmefnZ13YQ

BP - I agree with you that mold putty can be a useful tool, especially if you want to get a mold done in a hurry, but my point was that it can be a nightmare for beginners - it's amazing how fast three minutes can go by when you're struggling with the stuff. I've seen Larry's videos - he's really good at making molds with putty, but I doubt that many beginners can work that quickly.

You might want to check with Rio Grande - it's a jewelry-making supply company, but a lot of their stuff can be useful in lure-making as well. I know they carry mold frames, etc. Whether or not you'd save any money is anybody's guess, but they have a gigantic line of products. Their catalog is something like 500 pages and costs $10, but it's refundable. Service is great. http://www.riogrande.com/

Jimmie - I've used both Alumilite and Smooth-on Mold Max RTV's and found that they all worked fine for my purposes. About the only issues you'd have to consider would be hardness and viscosity. The thicker the stuff pours, the more likely you are to have trouble with bubbles. (I've had good luck painting the master with a thin coat of RTV before pouring the rest, which minimizes the risk of bubbles on the master) I'd study the tech sheets and learn what the various terms and numbers mean. If you want to get some practice pouring molds, I'd highly recommend trying Smooth-on Oomoo 30 - it's very easy to work with and it's quite a bit cheaper than the others. Better to make beginner mistakes with the cheap stuff. I use Oomoo 30 to make my masters with Aluminite Super Plastic. The only disadvantage to Oomoo is that it's relatively soft once it cures and your lures might come out a little distorted if you aren't careful. The only thing I'd definitely avoid is the mold putty. It sets up so fast that there's no margin for error. I made the mistake of starting out with the putty, and all I ended up with were some expensive doorstops. I'm assuming you're new to mold making - the best advice I can offer is to follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter and don't rush any part of the process. And the more knowledge you can pick up beforehand, the few disappointments you're going to have. Hope this helps.

FWIW - I use GOOP to glue molded eyes on saltwater flies and it does a great job. GOOP will stick to virtually anything and it's very durable - the trick is using a tiny dab on a needle or a toothpick. To apply the eyes, I wrap the tip of a wooden skewer or coffee stirrer with double sided tape, use it to pick up the eye on the convex side, carefully apply the GOOP, then press the eye firmly into place, carefully rolling the applicator off the eye. Saltwater flies take a terrific pounding on rocks, etc., but the GOOP works better than anything I've ever tried. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work equally well on jigs.

Bluegills are pretty easy to fool, you don't need anything fancy. If you're new to tying, some simple black and white chenille nymphs will catch you a bunch. Just wrap half the body with black and half with white. You can add some rubber legs or some hackle for a little action, but it isn't necessary. They'll hit almost anything when they're hungry. Even the cheapo imported flies that you can buy just about anywhere. It's also a good way to make use of your rejects. If a fly doesn't come out so great, just toss it in your bluegill box, and the tying time isn't wasted. A slow retrieve usually works - let it crawl along the bottom. I often just wind the line slowly around my left hand and you can easily feel the fish pick up the fly. A lot of fun. They'll often grab a fly just to keep the other fish from getting it.

Don't know if it would work in your case, but I bought a bunch of fabric pencil cases for $1 apiece at Walmart. I use them to carry saltwater tin jigs. One side is clear plastic, and you can stuff a lot of them into a shoulder bag. Very handy to have.

I use RTV silicone to make molds for all kinds of metal lures. Oomoo 30 is easy to use if you don't have any experience with RTV. It's also relatively cheap. There's lots of stuff that's tougher and better, but it's more expensive if you screw up. (guaranteed to happen) You can make a lot of small molds with a two-pound kit. All you need are some Legos to make a mold frame, some non-hardening sulfur-free clay, and a jar of Vaseline. The Hilts Perfect Replica mold is a good idea, but the inserts go for (I think) about $15 apiece, and the frame goes for $60. A two-pound kit of Oomoo 30 goes for under $25. I use it all the time for casting plastic masters as well as tin.

I use both Hard as Hull and good old Sally Hansen Hard as Nails With Nylon, and I can't see an ounce of practical difference between the two. I like them both a lot. I leave the cap off a bottle of Sally Hansen for a while to let it thicken a bit and use it like epoxy for saltwater heads. If it'll stand up to salt water, it'll stand up to anything. I give the heads a nice thick coat and put the flies on a drying wheel until the cement sets. Regular head cement thinner works OK on the Sally Hansen, but I go through it so fast that it really isn't an issue. The advantage to the Sally Hansen is that you can buy it anywhere.

For what it's worth: I used to do a lot of diving back when I had a commercial shellfish license, and I was able to observe a lot of various species of baitfish up close in their natural environment. A couple of things struck me: their ability to blend in - their scales seemed to reflect the ambient light, making them very difficult to see. The only feature that really stood out was their eyes. Since then, I've nearly always put eyes on my flies, and whenever possible, on my lures. As has already been said, it can't hurt, and I believe it does make a difference. It certainly drew my attention.

Yep, that's the one. I'm surprised it isn't more popular, because it's one fine tool. I suspect mine's gonna outlast me.

I've been using a heavy-duty Superior vise for the last 11 years - not sure of the model number, but they go for a little over $100 on Amazon.com. Extremely sturdy, easy to use, and not adorned with a lot of useless bells and whistles. I tie up to 6/0 and 7/0 flies/tail hooks and occasionally, smaller freshwater flies. The trouble with the cheaper vises is that they just don't hold up. They'll work fine for a while, but you're gonna wind up replacing them relatively quickly. I've done thousands of flies, jigs, etc., on my Superior, and it's in the same condition as the day I bought it. Like anything else, you can pay a little more now or a lot more later.