Best Foam For Beetle Patterns sizes 12 to 16?

[waterloosunset 0]

What's the best type of foam. I'm thinking Veniard's Fly Foam, but perhaps you have a better option?

I'll be tying a strip of fpam at the bend and another at the eye, then securing both at the thorax.

[NJ All Day 0]

What's the best type of foam. I'm thinking Veniard's Fly Foam, but perhaps you have a better option?

I'll be tying a strip of fpam at the bend and another at the eye, then securing both at the thorax.

 

veniards or just regular craft foam would be perfect for beetles.

[Hot Tuna 0]

I like to make sandwiches of the thin craft store foam....two sheets of black with one sheet of green(my favorite) or orange glued(I use Super 77) between the two black sheets. Then you take your single edge razor blade and cut strips of the thickness that works for your hook size. The resulting strip has a stripe that is obscured by the body of the beetle but very visible to you. Blue Ribbon Flies calls something similar tiger beetle strips and sells them if you don't want to make your own.

[waterloosunset 0]

I like to make sandwiches of the thin craft store foam....two sheets of black with one sheet of green(my favorite) or orange glued(I use Super 77) between the two black sheets. Then you take your single edge razor blade and cut strips of the thickness that works for your hook size. The resulting strip has a stripe that is obscured by the body of the beetle but very visible to you. Blue Ribbon Flies calls something similar tiger beetle strips and sells them if you don't want to make your own.

 

Thanks for the advise guys. I find hat the fly floats but under the surface film so that none of it is visible when fishing it.

Can you recommend a way to get it to float higher? That striped foam sounds like a great idea.

[Snowblind 0]

I like to make sandwiches of the thin craft store foam....two sheets of black with one sheet of green(my favorite) or orange glued(I use Super 77) between the two black sheets. Then you take your single edge razor blade and cut strips of the thickness that works for your hook size. The resulting strip has a stripe that is obscured by the body of the beetle but very visible to you. Blue Ribbon Flies calls something similar tiger beetle strips and sells them if you don't want to make your own.

 

Thanks for the advise guys. I find hat the fly floats but under the surface film so that none of it is visible when fishing it.

Can you recommend a way to get it to float higher? That striped foam sounds like a great idea.

 

Two ideas:

 

Tie in and loop over the foam a CDC feather of the right color. The buoyancy added by the CDC helps it keep from being swamped as easily. If you don't want to use CDC, liberal application of a fly floatant is another solution.

 

Dry fly dubbing under the main part foam "hump" will help, so would spun CDC under that area.

 

Add a foam "post" in a contrasting color to make sure you can see the beetle even if it is somewhat submerged. You can even do a hackle on the post for stability.

 

Unsinkable Ants and Beetles are a good thing to have, placing a small dropper nymph or a small softhackle midge behind it is a deadly combination. The Ant/Beetle acts as an "indicator".

[Drath 0]

Unsinkable Ants and Beetles are a good thing to have, placing a small dropper nymph or a small softhackle midge behind it is a deadly combination. The Ant/Beetle acts as an "indicator"

 

+1

 

Yup. My favorite gill technique.

 

-D

 

 

[Snowblind 0]

Unsinkable Ants and Beetles are a good thing to have, placing a small dropper nymph or a small softhackle midge behind it is a deadly combination. The Ant/Beetle acts as an "indicator"

 

+1

 

Yup. My favorite gill technique.

 

-D

 

What is so weird is that fishing just one will get ignored. Run the Ant, no hits. Swing the midge, no hits.

 

The two together?

 

40/60 hit rate Ant/Midge.

 

Just... what are the Trout THINKING?!