SBPatt 0 Report post Posted June 14, 2018 A lot of variations to the basic framework out there; just one idea here. hook - Dai Riki 135 #12 thread - Danville 6/0 black core - 8lb Mason body/shellback/head - 1mm foam blue wing - Congo Hair white thorax - dubbing blue hackle - grizzly put a loop in the end of the mono mash barb, start thread; tie in mono tie in foam, hook the loop onto the gallows brush mono with Super Glue, wrap foam up (2x hook length) brush on some more Super Glue and wrap back down; tie down tag end at base tie in CH on either side of body tie in hackle dub thread/dub thorax wrap hackle thru thorax; tie off/trim trim hackle on top, pull foam forward; tie down fold forward over eye to create head tie off, half hitch x 2, SHHAN, trim head, trim wing, trim out hackle underneath Regards, Scott Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FishnPhil 0 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 Did you invent this style of fly with wrapping the foam? If not...man you are a pro at this technique!! Didn't someone just ask you about a damsel today?! No matter, these are such nice looking flies that I cannot wait to try some hoppers and others myself. I like the idea of using mono to help keep the shape and you don't have to use the needle method which is an extra step. Does the foam hold up to trout teeth well? Looks awesome. I tried with 2mm foam and too much glue, which turned into a mess. Someday I'll post that pic of that, haha, once I am better at these. Looks like I will order some 1mm foam. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SBPatt 0 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 Phil, Thanks for the kind words. Adam Trina came up with the original Carnage, using a heavily waxed needle to create the body. I started tying those but found I couldn't get consistent results and my bodies were very fragile; they did catch fish though so I started looking for other alternatives. I tried underbodies of Swiss Straw and fine tubing, including shrink-wrap, on the needle; that strengthened the body but it was still clumsy to transfer the completed body to the hook. It was also hard for me to put tails underneath the foam (they tended to wick up the Super Glue and bind the fibers together). Two years ago I started fooling around with tying a core onto the hook and looping it onto the gallows, constructing the body off that; first used Congo Hair, which worked okay, then switched to mono, which was cheap and easy to use. With a bit of practice, getting consistent bodies became a matter of using the right width strip of foam and applying proper tension when wrapping the foam to get the taper I wanted. 1mm foam works well for a lot of the flies I tie; 2mm is more of a challenge but is good for the big bugs like salmonflies and big hoppers. You can also vary the thickness of the body by changing the lb test of the mono. The mono core also made it real easy to incorporate various tailing materials into the flies; moose body is my favorite because it's more durable than deer hair (bucktail works very well, too); I haven't had much success with hackle fibers. The foam bodies hold up well to the trout's teeth and even well-chewed flies continue to float and catch fish. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Regards, Scott Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
