Hunting buddies;
Buck tail
Deer /Elk hair
Pheasant – duck –turkey - etc feathers.
Road kill squirrel tails

Craft Stores - (Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart etc):
Closed cell foam in various colors and thickness.
Fake fur.
Bead chain necklaces

Home improvement stores (Lowes – Home Depot, etc):
Bead chains for ceiling fans/light fixtures (Elec. dept.)
½ inch black closed cell foam for window insulation ( popper bodies).

Fabric stores (Jo Anne’s craft and fabric):
Mylar tubing.
Ultra suede (crawdaddies and lizards)

Dollar Stores:
Halloween hair wigs
Foam toys, etc.

Probably more that I’ve forgotten about…

How ‘bout your favorites?

One of my favorite places is the grocery store. You know those pretty mylar bags that frozen veggies come in ? Silver on the inside and all sorts of colors on the outside ! I cut strips from them for flashback nymphs, wing cases, ribs and such. The colors are endless. The candy section is limitless in flashy stuff and don't forget the Easter basket grass. LOL we didn't even get to the flowers yet.

Coates & Clarke quilting mono, .005 diameter, is good for tying smaller flies with mono or for furling leaders for 2 weight and under rods. Most of the rest has already been covered. Well, Christmas tree tinsel.

Check out this stuff I got at Michales a couple nights ago its called craft lace
and it looks pretty cool on flies
[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3046/2831784714_af8ca8bb49.jpg
It comes in a wide spectrum of colors too

Excellent thread George. I am afraid I don't have much to add to it. I bought a cheap kid's wig at the Dollar Store, or Dollar General...something or another. I have not used it yet, but it was very cheap, and should make some decent purple (light) flies...hehehe. Don't forget that dollar foam at the craft store can make foam flies, fly box material, and crease flies!!

Pencil Boxes are probably on clearance now, great for fly boxes with the cheap foam from the hobby store.

Craft lace ? Whodathunkit ? Segmented bodies are easy with this stuff.



Notice the bead on the top fly is a 12 gauge shotgun BB size four that I drill with a little Dremel bit. I also carry a few of these in my vest to add weight to a fly when needed by sliding it on the tippet in front of the fly. It's surprising what an Royal Coachman will catch 6 feet deep. LOL

What pray tell?

Those flies are awesome! Keep posting those pics, it is getting me fired up again...lol.

one more time Robin....

thats it right there

Oh yeah how could i forget,save your wine corks. I caught a two pound bass on lake lady bird tonight on a wine cork popper.

red or white ?

Another tip.....
Tube of GOOP thinned with toluene - never have to buy another bottle of cement or thinner again - EVER.
Always use in well ventilated area as you would any other toluene based cement.

Good idea...Also popper bodies punched out of cheap foam "flip-flps" with small section of thin wall brass tubing or short sectin of old/busted graphite fishing rod,
Sharpen end by rotating against course samdpaper...

oh Mike, I was wondering what the Coachman caught six feet down.

18 " spotted whisker kitty near the ampitheater at Kerrville Park on the Guadalupe River. I dipped it in Big Game attractant before sending it down there. Sometimes you do what you gotta do to put fish on the table. LOL Snooty ol Geezers sometimes frown upon these methods so don't tell them.

Have a good grip on your rod when drifting that minnow derik ! Good job.

Thanks Mike and mum's the word. Fortunately "snoots" don't hang out here; not for very long. It's all good!

He is not kidding Toluene is a pretty tough chemical folks, don't ignore safety precautions on this type of chemical, ever.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toluene

Denatured Alcohol, have you ever tried that to thin Goop? Just curious. I have some of that somewhere, but now I can't find it of course.

Merlot

Thanks mike I will tell the fish you said hi

good choice, i like pinot noir (i only buy it for the corks)

Just thinking about that, I bet any half decent Italian place would have a ton of corks to give someone. I am going to keep getting mine the good old fashioned way though.

a lot of wineries quit using real cork & have that "pseudo" cork stuff jammed in bottles, and of course some (such as the famous Thunderbird & NightTrain winery) never had cork to begin with.

Dude I like the synthetic corks even more than the real ones.

Although I haven't attempted to tie flies yet, some things come to mind. Dental offices should have lots of 1" by 2" thin lead foil (backing of bitewing dental x-rays film).

My hound dog sheds plenty of course white fur.

Now I have more to think about. I have two cats, and four dogs. The dogs are all short hair though, so that isn't much help. The cats might be easier to get some fur off of though...lol. They don't shed much but I could brush them and see what I get. One cat is a calico, and the other is a blue or lilac point siamese. I wonder if the fish would mind going after a fly with cat hair...lol. I saw a fly show where a guy cut hair off a dog like a poodle that had it's hair died. No kidding. He made a great fly out of it. :-)

i am presently not shaving my beard in a effort to make some "home grown" flies.

gnarly

Now that is radical!

A few brush strokes should collect some nice dubbing.

My first fly was tied with a cat whisker tail (found, not plucked) and dubbed cat fur.

The whiskers don't have much action, but the gray dubbing looks good.

What'a you know finally a reason to have one of those hair ball hacking critters around. Harvesting the hair may be a trick while it is still alive.

I could either brush the cat, or better yet get a sharp pair of scissors and just trim a bit off the belly hair of my calico. It is about the same as artic fox hair. (great for cat's whiskers fly) The siamese hair isn't long enough to just cut....so I could only brush her hair to get enough for a fly or two. It isn't as soft as the calico cat's hair, or long. My mastiff has a nice brindle that would make a good fly, but she does not really shed. The other dogs hair is not worth the effort...very short, black hairs mainly. I will let ya know if I can make an adequate fly out of my pets hair...hehehe. If I get hair off of either cat, it must be fast, as they tend to get persnickity if you hold them down. (they are afraid that means flea medicine, which they hate with a passion)