Floss Application Tutorial
There have been more than a few questions about floss. Floss isn’t that difficult to apply, but if a certain amount of care isn’t taken your results will not be very good.
I use Danville’s 4-strand floss most of the time. This tutorial will focus on this type of floss. Silk floss is difficult to work with and tends to fray and soil easily compared to other types. I wouldn’t recommend using it except for display flies. I recently became a big fan of Uni-Stretch Floss. It doesn’t have the sheen and luster of rayon or silk, but it is easy to work with, is durable and comes in great colors.
(Click thumbnail to expand)
To have a nice smooth look to your floss body, it is important to have a smooth base underneath. And, because all flosses become opaque when wet, a base of white thread or silver tinsel is recommended to keep the black or bronze of the hook from showing through. This first picture shows a thread base on the front 1/3 of the hook.
(Click thumbnail to expand)
I let the thread unwind to get all of the twist out so it will be flat when I wrap it onto the shank. Each wrap is edge-to-edge with no overlap.
Tie in the tinsel on the bottom of the shank and bind down the tag with 3 or 4 wraps. Body materials on salmon flies are almost always tied on the bottom. The top of the shank is reserved for tails, hackles and wings
(Click thumbnail to expand)
Keeping tension on the tinsel, wrap over the top of the shank. Each wrap should over-lap slightly, and then you should slide the tinsel off the previous wrap so that the edges meet. Wrap to the end point and return to the tie-in point. Unwrap the thread on the tag and tie down both ends of the tinsel. I do this to minimize the number of thread wraps and have a smoother body.
(Click thumbnail to expand)
When working with floss it is very important to have clean hands. Before I start I use a pumice stone to remove any rough spots and burrs on my fingers. Then I wash my hands to remove all dirt and oils. Some tiers will wear silk gloves when putting floss on, but I don’t think it’s necessary if your hands are clean and smooth.
Cut off 6 0r 8 inches of one of the four strands of floss from the spool. Tie it in at the same spot where the tinsel is. Making sure that it is not twisted and is flat, begin wrapping the floss edge-to-edge down the shank. Try not to overlap because it will leave a lump that cannot be dealt with later.
(Click thumbnail to expand)
(Click thumbnail to expand)
Once you have reached the end, return to tie-in point keeping the floss smooth and flat. Unwind the thread as you did with the tinsel and tie down.
(Click thumbnail to expand)
Taking something smooth and curved (I use the barrel of a bobbin) gently but firmly rub the floss back and forth to smooth out any rough spots.
(Click thumbnail to expand)
Now you can tie in the body material and ribbing and finish off the fly.
(Click thumbnail to expand)
(Click thumbnail to expand)
