My First Flies and Problems

[brhitch 0]

First off, my name is Brian and I'm from Kentucky and recently became addicted to fly fishing. Tied my very first flies today. My dad gave me his fly tying vise a while back (he only used it a couple of times and then gave up on fly fishing) I tied a couple of Bully's Bluegill Spiders and a beetle looking fly from craft foam. I ran into a couple of problems. First my thread kept breaking. I have a Feather-Craft bobbin and it seems to hold too much tension and doesn't let the thread roll smoothly. My other issue is with the foam fly. The fly turns on the hook. I put a drop of glue on the fly after I finished tying it but it didn't seem to help much. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[oarfish 0]

This might help:

 

http://www.garyborger.com/2011/03/24/bobbins-wire-frame/

 

I would suggest 3/0 mono cord for foam.

[SilverCreek 0]

What brand, and size/denier of thread are you using? Threads come indifferent strengths for the type and size of flies that need to be tied.

 

The foam turns either because you have not laid a proper tight thread base and/or you have not using the "loose loop" method to tie down material. If you just roll the thread over the material, the thread tension will rol the material over to the far side of the hook.

 

Get a good basic fly tying book like Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tyingto teach you the techniques you need.

 

There are two techniques you need to master for putting material on the hook and to keep it from spinning.

 

The first is the pinch and Loose Loop Method. It is described below in the Orvis Fly-Tying Manual by Tom Rosenbauer.:

 

"Loosen your thumb and forefinger slightly, and bring a loose loop of thread over the top of the material and around the hook. No tension should be on the thread. When the bobbin is directly below the hook, pull straight down while pinching your forefinger tightly to the far side of the hook. Loosen the tension slightly and repeat the process three times, putting more tension on each successive wrap."

 

The other method is for tying and placing hair on the hook for a wing such as an elk hair caddis. It is called the Loose Noose Method.

 

Wrap a thread base at the tie in point. Pinch the elk hair with your index finger on the far side of the hook and your thumb on the near side of the hook. Position the elk hair above the tie in spot, but not on the tie in spot. Bring the thread up on the near side of the hook and make one full loose wrap of thread around the hair only, not the hook.

 

As you make the second loose wrap, bring the thread over the top of the hair and down the far side and catch the far side of the hook, then make the third complete wrap. Let the bobbin hang free. This will keep light tension on the elk hair and allow you to check to be sure the elk hair is centered on the top of the hook. Make a couple of tight thread wraps to secure and help flair the hair. Take two tight thread wraps through the hair butts to secure the elk hair in place.

 

See this for photos:

 

http://www.orvis.com/intro.aspx?subject=5051#noose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[brhitch 0]

I am using Uni 6/0 thread. It was what was with the fly recipe I found for the Bully Spider. I will look into getting a book. Right now I have just been watching videos and looking at photos online.

[rockworm 0]

You are experiencing the first and most important concepts of fly tying. You must learn how to apply enough tension to your thread to make it effective but not enough to break it. You can only learn this by breaking thread a few times! So far you are doing everything right. Next you must learn how to attach other materials to the hook and make them stay where you want. There are various techniques used to accomplish this. The soft loop is the first one to learn as it is quick and fairly easy to master. Another technique is to tye your material slightly counterclockwise to their intended position and let thread tension pull the material into place. Another is to make two loose turns of thread over your material and then to readjust the positioning of the material before adding more tighter turns. Although the soft loop is probably used more often by most tyers there are occasions when the others are handy.

[brhitch 0]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I will check into some heavier thread for the foam. I tied two of the Bully Spiders and the first one was better than the second. Hopefully I will get the chance to tie a few more tomorrow.

[switch10 0]

If you are having trouble with the foam rotating on the hook shank, try wrapping a few wraps around just the hook shank after you secured the foam to the hook. This will help hold the foam (or other materials) in place.

 

If your bobbin has too much tension, you can bend out the arms with some pliers...

 

Nice looking first flies, and welcome to the forum!

[SilverCreek 0]

I am using Uni 6/0 thread. It was what was with the fly recipe I found for the Bully Spider. I will look into getting a book. Right now I have just been watching videos and looking at photos online.

 

Uni 6/0 breaks at 33 oz.

 

I also recommend you go to a stronger thread for tying foam. It is OK for chennile but to hold foam firmly on the hook, the thread as to be thick enough not to cut through the foam as you crank down on it.

 

If you have a store nearby that sells material for "beading", they may carry nymo beading thread. We have a such a shop in Wausau. Gary clued me into buying nymo on mini spools that fit my Matarelli mini bobbins.

 

 

http://www.beadaholique.com/c-60433-nymo-beading-thread.aspx

 

http://www.eebeads.com/_thread.htm

 

 

[phg 0]

Uni 6/0 should be strong enough, if you're careful. It sounds like your biggest problem is the bobbin tension. Get that set correctly (as noted above, just bend the legs out a bit) and you won't have a problem breaking thread.

 

As for foam turning on the hook, that's pretty normal. When you tighten the thread, it tends to pull the foam around the hook. You need to counteract some of that by pressing back with your index finger as you tighten the thread. Unfortunately, thread doesn't slide well on foam, so sometimes you wind on once, to crease the foam, then unwind and re-wind, with more tension. Pinching the foam around the hook also helps.

 

Glue will never make up for sloppy tying. If you laid down a good foundation of thread, and centered the foam, under proper tension, then you can glue the foam to the underlay of thread. CA works well for this, but I have used normal head cement successfully. When fishing, though, it is not unusual for the body of a foam fly to twist, after being hit several times. You just straighten it back the correct way, and keep on fishing.