Wet Flies: Silk or Antron Yarn for Bodies?

[Randyflycaster 0]

Does it matter which I use? I'm thinking of using the yarn on bigger wet flies.

 

Thanks,

 

Randy

[Peterjay 0]

I've been using yarn on wet flies and streamers for a long time. It's easier to deal with than floss and the fish don't care one way or the other. Use whatever looks good and you're comfortable with.

[mridenour 0]

I like to use yarn and I can really fuzz it up when i want to get buggy!

[flytire 0]

If you are not tying historical patterns for a museum or collector then you can use just about anything you want for body materials

[RedRoverMike 0]

I like silk because it has a certain luster that Antron just can't seem to give. I also believe that fish react better to the cleaner looking body but you have to be careful because silk gets much darker when it gets wet. You really need to use a rib with silk too. A toothy brown trout can make a whole body fall off.

[Piker20 0]

Id say that peacock bodied flies knock the fish prefering neat bodies idea on the head. A broken form can often be better than a solid mass of colour or shape. It all depends, as said who you're tying for. A north country spider that doesn't have a flat slim body isn't really a NCS but the fish will still gobble up one tied with herl or thread or yarn etc.

[BassMouth87 0]

A neat trick with floss and soft hackles is to place a layer of tinsel or mirage around the hook shank and then cover that with floss. When the floss gets wet it becomes slightly translucent and some of the flash from the tinsel or mirage will show through and IMO drives the fish wild. I usually just skip the floss and tie my soft hackles with opal mirage bodies.

[utyer 0]

Just remember when using either floss, or yarn, you should use only a single strand. Danville floss comes in a 4 strand spool, so you need to separate out just one to use on each body. Best to cut all four strands off, and tie 4 flies than have the uneven lengths on the spool. With yarn, you should split it apart into a single strand even on larger flies. Its much easier to control the body taper or shape with one strand. I have" collected" through the years dozens of different embroidery and darning yarns most of these are very fine, and make great bodies. I look for "heather" type yarns which have a mix of shades spun into the strands.

 

If you look though a list of the "Classic" Bergman style wet flies, you will find many use floss, and a lot use yarn, and there are dubbed bodies, herl bodies, and tinsel bodies too. Most floss, wool, and dubbed bodies are ribbed to add flash, and to break up the solid mass of the floss or wool. This should tell you that all these materials can and do work. Its the color and flash that matters, not specifically what material you use.

 

I have a preference for wool since it lasts much longer, and seems to work just as well when it gets chewed up and frayed out.

 

There is no question that real silk floss adds "something" to the look of a classic wet, but at $5 to 10.00 for a spool, its quite a bit more expensive than rayon floss.

 

Some people say that the silk floss is more durable that the rayon, but all floss will fray in time.

[Randyflycaster 0]

Thanks for all the great help,

Randy