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piddledplugs

Non-Translucent Yellow Floss?

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I've been looking for a yellow floss of some type that can be laid down fairly flat that does not turn transparent when wet. I've tried a few different types that all look good on the fly, but they pretty much turn completely transparent when they get wet.

 

When I first got into fly fishing, a fellow set me up with a yellow bodied stimulator (that he tied) hopper/dropper rig, and since then I've been trying to duplicate that stimulator. I asked the tyer early on, but he couldn't recall what floss he used. I can get everything right except I can't seem to find a yellow floss that doesn't lose its color when it gets wet.

 

Can you recommend something that might suit my needs?

 

Thanks!

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I've used Uni-Stretch for building bodies it works great. Never seen a Stimulator tied with floss, most have a dubbed body. One suggestion if you don't want to waste the floss is just cover the hook shank with yellow thread. If you want to add a little sparkle to the body wrap the shank in silver or gold tinsel.

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If you're not having any luck with the recommendations given - there is an alternative that rodbuilders have been using for years... It involves using a color sealer and allowing it to dry before doing anything else. The sealer will soak into almost any thread - but when dry the thread regains its original color and at that point you can add any finish or get it wet and it will never absorb liquid again, if done properly... Look up Mudhole.com for all the info in the world about building your own rods - as well as every kind of hardware, glue, and finish on the market today with rare exception. The color sealer is relatively cheap, non toxic, and not flammable... Hope this helps - post up whatever your solution is to the problem...

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For a stimi for a hopper-dropper? Poly yarn is cheap, doesn't absorb water, and can certainly wrap a smooth body down to #10/12. Polypropylene dubbing (Fly-Rite, Superfine) dubbed tightly will work for any size stimi. A strip of wrapped Razor Foam makes a great stimi body.

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Thanks for the responses everyone!

 

It's been about 5 years or so since I've looked into trying to resolve this issue...I finally gave up and started dubbing the bodies. I was just getting into tying at the time so I'm beginning to question whether I can trust the results from back then.

 

Fl Yellow Single Strand Uni-Floss appears to match the color, texture, & shine of the material on the stimulator exactly. As an experiment last night, I laid down a fl orange thread base on a hook, covered it with Uni-Floss, and wet the hook....the thread color did not bleed through. I was fairly certain that I'd tied with these materials previously only to have my yellow stimulators turn orange I got on the water. Anyway, I'll try this once more now that I'm a bit more experienced in tying to verify the results.

 

As mentioned I do tie stimulators with a dubbed body now, but I really like the look of that floss bodied stimi. I'd like to carry both in my box. I'll work on it some more, and if I can't get Uni-Floss to work for me then I'll look into the other ideas that have been posted.

 

Thanks!

-pp

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Just wondering ... do you coat the heads after you tie them in? I see that your original complaint about transparency might not still be the case. But I always put a coat of fingernail polish on the threads when I am done tying a fly. Since they CAN'T absorb water, there's no problem with wet threads becoming transparent.

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A stimulator fly body can be tied with just about any material. Tinsel, flexifloss, uni stretch, floss, dubbing, vrib, yarn, stripped peacock quill, stripped hackles stems etc

 

Give other materials a try. Experiment

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Just wondering ... do you coat the heads after you tie them in? I see that your original complaint about transparency might not still be the case. But I always put a coat of fingernail polish on the threads when I am done tying a fly. Since they CAN'T absorb water, there's no problem with wet threads becoming transparent.

 

I cement the heads, yes, but not all of the thread & floss that shows. In the case of a stimulator, the floss that I'm dealing with has hackle palmered over it, so coating it without munging up the hackle would be an issue.

 

Anyway, I have some experimenting to do yet.

 

Thanks!

-pp

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