
Last Friday, Tom took questions for an hour in his first Facebook Live broadcast. We took the audio of the show and uploaded it for those of you who may have missed it or who don’t have (gasp!) Facebook accounts. You may also want to listen to Tom’s answers during your commute, and watching Facebook videos on your phone while driving is not recommended. If you do want to watch, the video is below.
If you don’t see the “Play” button above, click here to listen.
I hope this becomes a regular part of the podcast routine!
Hello Tom,
I have listened to your podcast for several years now and it has answered many questions as well as inspired me to try many new fishing techniques and fly tying ideas. I live just north of New Orleans and I fly fish for redfish, largemouth bass and bream with poppers here but I also travel twice a year to Wyoming where I fly fish for browns, cuts, rainbows, and my personal favorite, the beautiful and willing wild brookies with flies I tie myself. I am fortunate enough to also hunt and bag wood ducks, teal, woodcock, and doves. I have skinned some of the birds and I treat the entire skin and wings with borax and a couple of separate freezer treatments after the drying process. So far this has done a good job and I should mention I had an interest in taxidermy as a teenager some 45 years ago which helps in this process. I could use some of your knowledge or advice. Are there feathers on these birds I could use in place of hen for upright wings on dry flies that require such. If so can you explain which and where to locate these. In my area I do not have ready access to fly shops that carry a myriad of capes to pick and choose from so I have mail ordered different types to get started but it isn’t the same as having the luxury of walking into a shop and handling and inspecting the capes other than when I travel to WY. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated Tom as I have so many useful feathers it would be a shame to buy more when these might suffice or even be better due to the beautiful natural coloring. I have recently read again your book on tying flies and particularly enjoyed the sections on feathers and fur from hides and also which deer or elk to use. I also have access to a great deal of Louisiana whitetail deer shot during late November and have thought of saving more that just the bucktails. Which portion of the deer would you expect to be most useful for comparadun hair and for caddis flies?
Thank You for your time Tom and also the entire Orvis team