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flyfisher117

EGG flys

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so i bought some of Wapsi's egg yarn to tie up some eggs....and i have watched numerous youtube videos on how to tie them but all the videos there use mcfly foam and my eggs dont turn out like the ones tied with mcfly...so my question is....is there a big difference between the two brands or should both brands work equally the same?

 

thanks :wallbash:

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hey,

 

The main diffirence between the two products is that mcflyfoam has a spongy feeling. This seems to help in tying up eggs. I use both products. When i tie with regular egg yarn i use heavy thread and tie in material on the top and bottom of the hook shank. Hope this helps.

Chris

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so i bought some of Wapsi's egg yarn to tie up some eggs....and i have watched numerous youtube videos on how to tie them but all the videos there use mcfly foam and my eggs dont turn out like the ones tied with mcfly...so my question is....is there a big difference between the two brands or should both brands work equally the same?

 

thanks :wallbash:

hey. i never thought their was much of a diference. but if your having trouble rounding your egg very litley burn it with a litter its should round it more.

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I can't get the egg yarn patterns to turn out nice either. They are usually very loose and roll on the hook shank. I've tried the yarn and the mcfly foam. I tied crappie ones that look horrible, but they have caught plenty of fish for me. I don't waste alot of time making them look pretty, since they seem to work for me.

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Hey Flyfisher 117, PM Brian Brown75 and Bruce Derrington, It is time Brian taught an Egg class. Just last year he came to the forum wanting to learn egg flies, now he is a master. It is all in the thread tension.

 

Cheers, Futzer.

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Hey, a qiuck tip, roll the "hank"between your hands(back and forth) to compress the yarn, making it skinnier. I find people have crap scissors. In order to get uniform eggs you must make it a single snip. Most guys starting out make pom-pom size eggs that stay suspended in the water column. There are different size yarns , if they are too big don't be afraid of splitting it up. Whether you use yarn or mcfly, the principle is the same. Some guys only tie a piece on top of shank, figure eight then wrap behind and in front, then cut ad thats it. I have looked at many u-tube videos and some people posting those clips don't know what they are doing. We could meet in the virtual room and I can show you how I do them, both yarn and mcFly. pm me

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I find people have crap scissors. In order to get uniform eggs you must make it a single snip.

 

I agree. That's why 10 years ago I "borrowed" my moms good sewing scissors....I should probably return them someday. They are full size, not tiny fly tying scissors, I think that helps make the single snip easier.

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so i bought some of Wapsi's egg yarn to tie up some eggs....and i have watched numerous youtube videos on how to tie them but all the videos there use mcfly foam and my eggs dont turn out like the ones tied with mcfly...so my question is....is there a big difference between the two brands or should both brands work equally the same?

 

thanks :wallbash:

 

I have made thousands of these little devils and can tell you that mcfly foam is the only way to go. the way to make them round is how you layer the foam on the hook, i use about three strands only for hooks sizes 6-8 and a little less for smaller ones.

click on photo to bring up slide show, i hope this helps

th_IMG_2930.jpg

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yarn isn't as compressible as mcfly foam - usually a little harder to work with but it can be done... you may need to actually catch in a strand on the bottom of the fly to get them to fill out with yarn... mcfly is very springy and will fill the gaps on its own better..

 

use some strong thread - i use flat waxed nylon but you could use kevlar to really crank it.. if you learn to whip finish with your fingers you can guide the thread under the yarn so its unseen at the knot....

 

one cool tip is to use a straw... half of a McDonald's straw works good because theyre pretty wide. you need to make a little wire hook that is a little longer than your piece of straw so you can hook the strand(s) of yarn you want to tie and pull them thru the straw... this allows you to do two things - 1st is you don't waste near as much foam/yarn as you would if you were tying it in by hand, in clumps or in stacked strands...

- 2nd is if you only pull thru half of the yarn you're using for the fly at first you can tie in the yarn right at the straw and the straw will help to compress the yarn for you right at the tie in point... then a little tug on the straw to reveal the other half of the yarn you want and snip it

 

i have like three or four straws sitting in a glass of tying tools with different foam color combos in each one

 

use 3 or 4 snug wraps at the middle of the yarn/foam... after the first two go on give the thread a "tug, tug, tug" down on the hook to tighten it up before adding one or two more on the midsection of the yarn before lifting the straw and getting 2 or 3 wraps to lock it off... i'll whip finish it by hand with the straw still attached, and then give the straw the little tug and snip the yarn/foam off at the straw, then pull it all upright and make the "half-circle" cut to the yarn... i usually don't even bother with head cement with these cause they're so easy and the way we fish em they'll be snagged up and broke off before they unravel...

 

 

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Pacific coast steelheadr has it down pat. I use the straw method with mcfly foam and get some real beauties! only thing I can add is using some gelspun thread, like you use to spin deer hair. I use red gelspun and make quite a "hump" with the thread. I want to mimic that spot you see in fertilized eggs. Pull out a 16th of an inch tye it down tight!!! snug tug, tight wrap. snug tug, tight wrap. If the foam is still spinning on the shank toss a little dab of zap a gap on the tye in point. pull out a 16th more and using big sharp scissors get one good snip. Now you can come back with a pair of curve blade scissors and preen it up but I have found the less you trim the better they look. i swear if you try the straw deal you'll be a much happier person. You want to really pack as much as you can in the straw. I am not sayin to pack it so full you can barely pull it, but you definatley want a decent amount of friction between the foam and the straw. good luck. If you really want some practice watch for my egg swap later this year. I'll be shooting for 25-50 swappers!

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