[Neal Osborn]

My interested are fly fishing, fly tying, rod building, woodworking and pen making. 

Welcome Jim.

[Neal Osborn]

Thanks for kind words guys.

Actually, it’s not a big deal; really more of a nuisance.  I keep up with the schedules exams, etc and catch this stuff early.  

I just wanted to remind everyone to protect your skin on the water.  Especially the younger guys – it’s the damage in your 20’s that catches up to you later.  

Here’s the scary fact – when I shaved my hair off tonight the sink was littered with GREY hairs!!!

[Neal Osborn]

I had the opportunity to fish the 10′ 4wt Helios today.

ZG Helios 104-4 Tip 9.5 Fly Rod

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Wow, this is an amazing rod – seriously.  

The stick weighs only 2.5 oz!  The 10′ length is as expected a mending machine.  Very easy to mend over two separate currents simultaneously to keep a drag-free-drift.  For the wet fly swing it is simply perfect since the near weightless mass allows you to lift, kick, and swing for long periods of time without your shoulder getting tired.  Catching and landing fish was no different than a 9′ rod and the tip protects tippets well.  Compared to the 10′ 5wt Helios this is a dream rod whereas the 5wt feels much too stiff to me.  The 4wt is considered a tip flex but it feels much (much) more like a mid flex when fishing.  

IMHO this is the perfect fly rod for wet fly and Czech nymph techniques on big rivers.  

Any chance Orvis will announce an amazing New Year’s sale on Helios rods, LOL, yah right.

[Neal Osborn]

ANY pattern that starts with a 10/0 hook deserves respect.

[Neal Osborn]

Put a 10/0 Gamakatsu SL12 in the vice

You had me at hello!!! ;D

[Neal Osborn]

My login name on this site was JGALT before I changed it to my real name – true story.

[Neal Osborn]

Michael, the D80 is a good choice.

[Neal Osborn]

Matt, how well does the D300 fit in the middle?

[Neal Osborn]

Guilty as charged but I won’t tell my patients.  I quit trying to analyze it long ago and no longer try to hide it from my wife.

[Neal Osborn]

Nice pattern Clark.

[Neal Osborn]

Nice Camera Keith!

[Neal Osborn]

Keith,

Please PM me the exact model of your camera.  I need to look at the owner’s manual in order to answer your question.  

Basically, you are experiencing the “Most Common” problem with fly pictures taken with a point and shoot camera.  It is the brown/yellow dark shadow shot – very often seen with your setup.  This is caused by the auto metering in your camera in the ambient light setting (your camera is basically metering your room light and bench hot light).  

However, you mentioned that your camera was an advanced point/shoot at 9.1 mgpix.  Let me know if this picture below is your camera because that could change everything and we might be able to help you override your auto metering settings.  I see a little adjustable knob at the top of that camera and that usually translates to the ability to tweak the internal settings.

[Neal Osborn]

Welcome to the site Craig!  I will send you a package of the micro rings tomorrow.

I agree with your comments about the various weighting systems that could be employed for smaller patterns as you mention above.

[Neal Osborn]

Zach, I am expecting a long list of rants on this one so here it is . . .

Back by popular demand

The Nihilists

[Neal Osborn]

Damn dude!

[Neal Osborn]

I agree, that is not a great shot and these contests do tend to be skewed.

[Neal Osborn]

Wow, had no idea there were so many.

[Neal Osborn]

Dusty –

Tell your wife to keep working it and be sure to go the distance!

Show that doodle who’s boss.

[Neal Osborn]

Great detailed comments guys, thanks.

[Neal Osborn]

Keith,

The advantages of the rubber band eye system include the ability to quick change your weight while on the stream and also to quick change colors or texture.

[Author]

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