Fly Displays

[muskyhunter81 0]

I am going to be tying at an expo this weekend and wanted to see what ideas you guys had to display flies for others to see.

 

 

[flytire 0]

I have a block of wood with 20 radio shack test clips

 

GOOGLE "fly stands" or "fly holders" for examples

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I started doing shows (boat shows mostly, then fishing shows, then fly gatherings) back in the eighties and wanted a quick way to not only allow folks to look -but also pick up and examine my flies up close - so here's what I came up with.... I took a small block of walnut (maybe 2.5" wide, 1" thick and 9" long then carefully smoothed it out, rounded the edges, etc. I then used a piece of dowel, 1/4", cutting it into 2" pieces with a tiny horizontal hole in each one near the end. I laid out a center line, then used a small drill press to set out a line of holes (one for each bug) that the dowels would fit into (loosely, like pegs so that they could be picked and replaced over and over again.... The dowels were stained walnut to match the base then everything was oiled down and polished dry.... In use each dowel had a hook inserted into the small hole then a tiny touch of super glue to hold it in place during handling..... The pic shows the results.

 

When I found I needed a mount for reverse tied flies (most bonefish and permit patterns ride hook up instead of down...) I came up with another display mount entirely. It's nothing more than a small, thin, square base with row after row of toothpicks inserted from the base up (once half a toothpick is jammed into place the other half was nipped flush for a permanent "splinter" to place a hook eye on. I don't have a photo of that base but each fly is mounted by sliding the hook eye onto a toothpick - allowing the fly to ride just the way it would in the water.... The finished display looks like a small thin board with a bunch of toothpicks (at half length) sticking out of it. Hope this helps.

[Crackaig 0]

When I teach beginners I always teach that is bad manors to hand someone a fly without putting it into a holder of some kind. Just because of the risk from the hook point. Even if it is just to put the hook in your hackle pliers.

 

The cheapest display like this I have come across is to get some map pins. The ones with a 1/2" deep plastic head. Dull the point with a file. Using a punch make some circles of self adhesive foam and stick them to the top of the pins. You can drill some small holes into a piece of wood to keep them in. By far the cheapest solution.

 

Then there are the electrical probe clips that are very popular. If you happen to have some antler around you can flatten it three of places so it will stand on a table, hen drill holes in it to take either the probe clips or the pins.

 

I've seen some really fancy sculpted pieces that are drilled or have cups to hold the probe clips. It is a case of how much you want to spend.

 

You can buy stands used to hold small photographic prints with a base and crocodile clips, those work well.

 

The thing is you want to be able to pass the fly around as well as display it.

 

You could just stick some foam onto a wooden block. Use hackle pliers to pass the fly around, then stick it into the foam.

 

Cheers

C.

[whatfly 0]

I have a block of wood with 20 radio shack test clips

 

Same here. The test clips are especially cheap if you buy them in bulk on ebay. Just drill hole for the size of the base of the test clip, and you are off and running.

 

A clear plastic fly box works as well in a pinch.