Fruit Cocktail Popper size 8

This is my take on Dave Whitlock's Fruit Cocktail deer hair popper. I am actually really excited and pleased with this one. Each band of colors was really four coats of paint. The tail is yellow calf with some rainbow krystal flash. The hackle is dyed chartreuse grizzly saddle hackle. For the legs, I chose chartreuse and orange medium rubber legs. It took me quite a while to paint. They have been finished for the past week but I was waiting to "unveil" it until I got the entire thing put together. Let me know what you think.

More Foam Ants

Well I finished the night off with some tying of red and black foam ants.  I combined what the wife liked, the small discs, and what others said on flytyingforum.com which was a bigger back end and a smaller head.  This I did.  I tied up 16 or so for a brook trout swap on flytyingforum.com.  I dont know how good they are.  I might be a little hard on myself.  The wife tells me they are good.  Not pleased with the bottom of a few of them.  The CA glue turned a little white.  Oh well.  Maybe the wife is happy since I listened to her somewhat.  Five bucks says she pops by and comments. 

This Morning's Tying Session

While I waited for my home made biscuits and gravey, I preped another 40 popper bodies.  All I have to do is wait for them to dry and then check my zap-a-gap.  I am hoping by tonight to start sealing them.  Each popper gets four coats of all purpose sealer and then four coats of base color.  After these I will do another batch of size 8s and then I will move on to some balsa wood poppers.  I will be ready for the Summer soon!. 

New Batch of Poppers Ready for Action

I have been tying up a lot of poppers lately.  I really do enjoy both tying and fishing them.  There is something so wonderful about watching a fish rise and smash that popper.  It is especially exciting knowing that fly is yours and you tied it.  I have been working on perfecting my stippled popper method.  This method was created and perfected by a friend of mine.  He ties the most wonderful looking popper.  His stippled dots are amazing.  One other thing I would like to mention here:  my wife really needs to get back to tying her own flies.  She is starting to critique every fly I tie now.  She never likes my color combos.  I told her tonight that she is more than welcome to pick the colors when she ties her own poppers.  Well here they are.  Let me know what you all think.  I am sure my wife will!