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Mickalo

Wool Yarn

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Hi,

 

hope everyone had a great Christmas :)

 

I was doing some browsing for some wool yarns and came across this type of yarn: 100% Peruvian Highland Wool and was wondering if anyone here has used this type of yarn and if it's good for fly tying ?? A recent tread on Frank Sawyer's killer bug got me looking for some good wool yarn material.

 

thx's

 

Mike

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Hi Mike,

 

I'm not familiar with the highland wool. If it's like regular sized yarn that you find in craft shops for knitting etc. It's way too big a yarn for killer bugs. Chadwicks is a darning yarn or thread. Even though it has three plys, even one ply of regular yarn is larger if you compare them side to side. I'll post a link to the right size even though it's just to steer you in the direction that you may want to go as an example of what I'm referring to. If it's just for tying regular nymph or hellgrammite patterns, any type of wool yarn works just great. Just reduce the ply as the size goes down.

 

http://store.valueweb.com/servlet/jeangood/Detail?no=12

 

Regards,

Mark

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Mark,

 

thanks for the link, I'll check it out. I was thinking the yarn I could break down into smaller plies and see how it works. Done that before with other types of yarns. I really don't tie smaller then 10 or 12's in most cases for the type of flies I tie.

 

Mike

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Any kind of yarn should have some sort of application in fly tying. Traditionally, wool yarn was used in making the bodies on spey flies and other salmon flies. Definitely give it a try. Report back as to how you like it.

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I have a bin full of various types of yarns, except wools, so I wanted to give it try. Yarns also make a good dubbing mix with other materials.

 

Mike

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My wife works in a craft shop, so she will surprise me with some samples of different types... She brought some wool home not long ago, and it was huge, so I was trying to figure some type of method to use it when I remembered an old book of Helen Shaws that I have where she just scrapes the wool with a knife to make dubbing out of it. I did the same and I really like the effect it gives. You can straight out dub it and pick it out, or for a large effect put it in a loop and spin it ... ( Sort of like with Angora, only regular wool is stiffer). I really like all the differences in color too... I believe it would be good for stonefly nymph patterns, and sculpin/chub patterns that require big displacements from the material.

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I did find some nice 100% wool yarn online and ordered a few colors for about $2 for about 150yrds. I had some small pieces that I used a while back, not a 100% wool, but liked the results I got with it.

 

Mike

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Charlie Brooks used wool yarn for all his stonefly nymphs. He felt that if you weren't hanging up a lot, then your nymph wasn't deep enought. Wool was cheap, and easy to wrap quickly. On a big stonefly nymph in fast water, the fish has little time to inspect a fly, so a tail, a yarn body, and three turns of hackle through the thorax and you have a stonefly nymph. Of course these were weighted with lead, and fished in fast runs right on the bottom so they get lost fairly often, but I know they work.

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A recent tread on Frank Sawyer's killer bug got me looking for some good wool yarn material.

Mike,

 

Sawyer's killer bug was my best subsurface fly, by far, this past year. I've tried several different yarns, and in my opinion, the pinkish/tan color that the fly shows when wet is critical to it's tremendous productivity. The original Chadwicks 477 Sawyer used had red fibers along with the basic fawn color of the yarn. I haven't found any readily available yarn that has that color combination, including Veniard's killer bug yarn substitute. I have read that one of the substitutes available in the UK but not the US is better, but I haven't tried it. However, there is a way to easily create a pinkish/tan yarn that works very well. I use Jamieson's Simply Shetland Spindrift yarn in the Sand color #183. You can get it here: http://www.yarnbarn.com/yarn/colorcard.asp...tNo=KY-JAM-SSSP. It has red fibers running through an off-white yarn. To get the tan color, after tying the fly and while it is still in the vise, I color it with a Prismacolor marker, which by pure coincidence, is also the Sand color #070. You can get it at a good art supply store or here: http://www.dickblick.com/products/prismaco...ed-art-markers/ Some people (notably Oliver Edwards) say that the reddish color of the varnished copper wire Sawyer used in place of tying thread is also important, but I don't believe the color of the wire shows through two or three layers of yarn. I've tried plain copper wire and red Ultra-wire (which is a bright red, not the reddish brown color of the varnished copper wire that used to be available) and if anything, have done a little better with plain copper wire.

 

I don't have a good photo of the finished fly when wet, but it's color is almost exactly the same as these live gammarus (scuds):

. Note also that they swim - fast. The fly works fished dead drift, but works better if you give it some life.

 

Two videos on tying the killer bug:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-caF_s6C5Q

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Here's an idea I find good for wool:

 

Most of mine is thin embroidery wool yarn and has several plies. Pull off one ply and wrap over a nymph hook. Follow up with your favorite dubbing. This speeds up the fly tying process when you want a thickly dubbed nymph or wet fly.

 

In other words, use the wool as an underbody.

 

Peter F.

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I've used wool in some various streamer and nymph patterns. Wool yarn from a craft type store can be a really good deal and it does come in various sizes and thickness and you can find material other than wool as well. I've even picked some up that has some sparkle in it. It's a little odd for a guy to be in the craft store rooting through the yarn, floss, and trim materials.... especially when I have on my motorcylce gear!

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Hey Mike, There is a lot of wool out there that can be used and it is all good. But there is one kind that I believe stands out and that is mohair wool. It has a softness, strength and gloss to it that is unmatched. It is, however, on the spendy side compared to getting wool yarns craft stores. I use it for all kinds of purposes from mohair leaches to tiny soft hackles. Here is a site that I like to order from for quality and color purposes. I usually purchase the wrapped kid mohair. This is a 3 strand yarn and can carefully be separated or used whole. You can twist it into a tight rope or unwrap it into a flat smooth body. A lot of fly shops sell a Canadian series mohair yarn for tying mohair leaches that is brushed and very "wooly". I have ordered the mixed grey-brown before and think it would be a great yarn for the killer bug. In fact you've inspired me to go tie some up.

 

Topper Tackle

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