Nice tie Stephen.   I guess now I will have to tie up some flies to add to the 3 flies to survive in the woods. I would love to tie up some buck bugs to give a try in the deep pools here in the Dakota's I am pretty sure the fish here havent seen nothing like it.

 Hi TBone

Thanks for the compliments...

My caddis is tied lightly as I rarely fish dries for trout. I fish my caddis in the surface film

of a a just under the surface wet..

A hair packer is often used by tiers that spin deer hair for Bass flies, salmon bugs and bombers.

I never use one...I use my fingers to push it back and at the same time Twist the hair in the direction

of the wind to take up the slack in the thread that occurs when you push the hair and winds toward the

rear of the hook.  The right amount of pressure to apply when twisting will grow with practice.Any self respecting

tackle shop that sells fly tying gear should have them...An old large mouthed ball point pen with the ball point

removed will do the same job as a packer in a pinch..

  If you do not have one already, I would suggest you purchase a hair stacker...

I find it invaluable for evening hair ends,  Especially squirrel tails.or bunches of deer hair used for tails.

  Not knowing what you use to cement your flies , may I be so bold as to suggest that you try Sally Hansen

Hard as Nails fingernail polish...I use clear, black and red....Available at Wallmart for about 2 bucks a bottle.

   Deer hair is a long story...But I will shorten it up..I use the wirey hair from just ahead of the tail of a buck deer.

This I use for tails as it does not spin well.  For spinning I use the hair from the sides of a deer. But one

has to be careful not to get hair after the weather turns cold.....With the onset of colder weather the deer grow

underhair which has to be patiently combed out or it will bugger up the spinning process...

Hope this bit of rambling helps a little bit.

If you need clarification...Just ask...

Stephen