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Anyone Else use Zelon (not antron, not poly) for wings??

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If you watch Craig Mathews on you tube or visit his shop he will tell you that the shuck material he uses on the fly he invented (sparkle dun) is zelon which they sell and are one of the two major suppliers of - other being Umpqua - which probably distributes to other companies under various names.

If you want to be sure just order some from blue ribbon flies and compare to what you have

 

i think the better word would be "developed" vs "invented" as the "sparkledun" was developed from the "comparadun" which was developed from the "haystack"

 

changing out hackle fibers for zlon is not an "invention"

 

http://stevenojai.tripod.com/spardun.htm

 

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I would use either term. Would you say Hans Weilenmann's CDC/Elk (actually deer hair) was "developed" v "invented"?

If so, I would use that term for the Mathews/Juracheck Sparkle Dun fly pattern.

 

Perhaps we should use the term "Modification"? We certainly can't give Fran Betters the credit for the "Haystack" as the idea, I believe came from Ray Bergman or a friend of his who just tied a clump of deer hair on a hook with no body and no tail. The "Haystack" was a "Modifcation" and, yet, it then had the forward deer hair leaning forward over the hook eye. Caucci "Modified" it to add hackle tail instead of deer hair and a smoother body as well as tying the deer hair upright. Then came Mathews/jurachek with their addition of a shuck instead of a tail. Hard to tell who is most responsible for what is now one of the most popular western (and perhaps nation-wide) mayfly pattern. I can tell you that I never see the first few evolutions on the fly in shops out west. I do see many, many sparkle duns.

 

Maybe the term should be "evolutionized"? LOL

Now Craig has an "improved Sparkle Dun!!! He ties the zelon with (behind) the deer hair. Sort of like Davie McPhale who ties CDC in behind the deer hair.

 

Here's one I tied with the golden zelon material for the shuck. Supposed to represent a Small Western Green Drake - Flav.

 

IMG_0709.jpg

 

IMG_0712.jpg

 

IMG_0716.jpg

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Both of those flies are Craig Matthews' patterns, tied on TMC 2488 hooks. # 22 is about as far as I go...I suppose my bud , Andy Baird, over at SMALL FLY FUNK could tie 'em a lot smaller...Me, not so much...

 

PT/TB

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If you watch Craig Mathews on you tube or visit his shop he will tell you that the shuck material he uses on the fly he invented (sparkle dun) is zelon which they sell and are one of the two major suppliers of - other being Umpqua - which probably distributes to other companies under various names.

If you want to be sure just order some from blue ribbon flies and compare to what you have

 

i think the better word would be "developed" vs "invented" as the "sparkledun" was developed from the "comparadun" which was developed from the "haystack"

 

changing out hackle fibers for zlon is not an "invention"

 

http://stevenojai.tripod.com/spardun.htm

 

 

Just happened to look at my fly fisherman iPad app on flies. They show Hans Weilenmann's CDC/Elk and say he is the "creator" of the fly...................

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Antron is a nylon material developed by duPont. I believe Zlon is also nylon. Nylon has a specific gravity of about 1.1 whereas water has a specific gravity of 1.0. Since its specific gravity is greater than that of water, by nature it sinks. If you had a solid ball of nylon, it would sink. The surface area of Zlon and Antron aid in helping it float, but make no mistake, when it works through the water's surface tension, it will sink.

 

Polypropylene, on the other hand has a specific gravity of approx. 0.9. Since this is lower than water's specific gravity, it floats. If you had a solid ball of polypropylene, it would float. If you can find fibers made of polypropylene, you will have better success getting it to float.

 

Of course, the weight of the hook can overwhelm the tying materials and is often the dictating factor in sinking a fly. But using materials that will float with lots of surface area is you best bet .

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This product, from Tiemco, is on my list of new stuff to try out this year for winging material...some have had good results with it some others have not:

 

http://english.tiemco.co.jp/project/fishing_catalog/info_fly?brand=29&category=6&kind=63&commodity_code=649

 

 

PT/TB

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Craig Matthews of Blue Ribbon flies owns the world's supply of Zelon. He bought it all when the fiber manufacturer discontinued it as a rug yarn.

Are you saying that BRF is the only place to buy Zelon?

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I have almost every color of crinkled zelon from Blue Ribbon and find it outstanding to work with. Just last week I fished to rising trout with size 24 zelon midge (wing like a spinner) and it floated like a cork with minimal greasing. It is also a great material for shucks.

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Crinkled Zelon is only available at Blue Ribbon. As someone else mentioned, Craig Mathews bought a container of the stuff in the 90's, I believe at a time it was also available thru Umpqua. I know from speaking to the folks up in West Yellowstone that there supply is running low and they have mentioned they are looking at some other materials as a replacement. They are very nice people and always helpful so if anyone has questions, I wouldn't hesitate to call. As far as I know, there are other brands of Z yarn and spinoffs available elsewhere. I don't find a great selection of colors of these other products but I'm sure they work fine.

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