Swaps

[gunrod]

I got a PM regarding some not knowing some of the basics of participating in a fly swap. Since some are new to the swaps and there's no need to try to embarass someone publicly I'll post these generic rules for swaps for reference. If anyone can think of any other points that might be necessary then feel free to post.

Quick overview of what a fly swap is.

Fly swaps are an opportunity for tiers to exchange flies, it's usually done on a 1 fly for 1 fly basis. A member will post a thread about a swap with general guidelines including number of tiers and a deadline for when flies need to be in, the original poster is usually called the swapmeister. Once the deadline is set, other members post about their desire to participate and the swapmeister will add them to the list.

Once you are part of a swap you need to tie your flies, then mail them to the swapmeister, include the same amount of postage in stamps inside your package, plus an added $1 for any added weight due to other peoples flies. Don't stiff the swapmeister. When the swapmesiter recieves all the flies, he splits them up so that everyone gets each others flies and then sends them off to the participants. As an example, you send in 12 of the same pattern, and if all goes right you should receive 12 different flies from the other swap participants.

When you mail your flies, try to use some sort of crush resistant packaging, a small box, altoids tin, or something along those lines will work great, your box should be re-used by the swapmeister to return your flies, so don't send them in just an envelope or a package was just small enough that held your flies. Remember, you don't know what size flies are coming back to you, so make sure your packaging is adequate enough to hold flies that may be bigger or different in size.

Flies should be toe-tagged with the name of your pattern and your MSF board screen name so we know who tied what. A toe tag is usually just a small strip of paper that you stick on to each fly over the barb so it wont fall off. If you tie with barbless hooks, then tie a small piece of mono on to your fly and tape it to the paper rather then having it slip off the barbless hook.

Anyone can be a swapmeister, but if you choose to run a swap, do it responsibly and keep all the members informed of the status of the swap, ie: post when you get flies, post a weekly reminder of when the deadline is, and post when you send flies out.