Silver flash

[skeet3t 0]

I have used silver tinsel that we use on the Christmas tree. I mix a couple of strands in with the white marabou in the winter when the herring die-off occurs. It also works as we have the warpaint shiner in the river which is a silver. Gotta admit- the stuff is cheap!

[mikechell 0]

I don't use the silver type, but I do have some "prismatic" looking tinsel that looks good.

 

Was that the point of your post ... just to state what you use? Or did you have a question or something in there?

[SILKHDH 0]

I have a lot of Christmas tinsel I use. Much of it is holographic. I have easter basket fake grass too. But I realized quick that the old type silver tinsel for Christmas trees was really fragile. I never put it on a fly for that reason. I am assuming the newer "silver" tinsel is more durable? Much of the tinsel on the bottom row of this rack is from Walmart Christmas Isle. It is probably mylar, and is hard to pull in half.

The old silver tinsel I had was easy to pull in half. I think it was a more metallic material. I don't have any in my house anymore, so I can't check what it was made from.

[mikechell 0]

And .. of course ... next Christmas, kids every where will be crying because of the dull, tinsel-less trees in their living rooms.

[SILKHDH 0]

When I was a kid, the whole tree was tinsel, actually aluminum. with a spot light shining on it that changed color. Oh what a miraculous site it was. Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how shiny art thow branches.

[flytire 0]

hang some balls on that tinsel tree and top it off with a star

 

i remember 'icicles' type of tinsel that was just too thin for fly tying

 

i had the holographic stuff from walmart and all it did was delaminate when wrapping

[skeet3t 0]

Mike, stating what I use and sharing it with others. Got to admit, tinsel is cheap. Two or three strands go a long way. More than enough to keep the kids happy.

I imagine saltwater anglers might also find tinsel useful for some flies.

[mikechell 0]

Yeah, Skeet, I understand. Most "tinsels" today, I think, are mylar ... plastic with a coating. That's what the stuff I have is, anyway.

[FlaFly 0]

Mike's right.... modern stuff is mylar. The original ones (way back when I was a fry), were made of aluminum like what used to line gum wrappers... real thin. We never tried to save them... just threw them out still on the tree.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Using (or re-using) ordinary tinsel will work as long as you don't mind the drawbacks (the most important being to keep any fly with ordinary tinsel away from the slightest hint of salt or just brackish water...). The reason that tinsel was long ago replaced by synthetic flashes is simply that they work better, and certainly aren't bothered by any corrosion issues. Given the low cost of something like Flashabou (and the fact that a single hank of the stuff will work for a ton of flies...) I always recommended to my students that they have on hand three packs of Flashabou - one each in gold, silver, and pearl... Hope this helps

[vicrider 0]

SilkHDH, is your flash tree a commercial version or did you make that yourself?

[skeet3t 0]

Captain, good advice on the Flashabou. I have often thought of wrapping a hook with the mylar tinsel- put down a thread underlay and wrap over it. Might try it this year. Body for a Wooly Bugger or Clouser minnow?

[Dave G. 0]

Every year my wife has me string this garland stuff over the two archways to the living room. I think it looks stupid, very 60's but I noticed that it is really nothing more than strung tinsel on a string or twine. I've been snipping pieces off there and got a pretty good collection of the stuff. She hasn't caught on yet.

[RickZieger 0]

I have been using the Christmas Tinsel that comes in package for several years now.

Pull on each end of the strand. Quick way to find the weak spots. May 10 strands per package.

I have gold and silver.

 

Rick

[JSzymczyk 0]

There's an old pattern in Bates' "Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing" that is described as having a brushy silver Christmas tinsel body, which was then given several coats

of lacquer to fill it in and prevent tarnishing. Today I'm sure people would glop on UV resin, but the concept is the same, and it is OLD. Anyway, if I get motivated

I'll look it up and post the recipe.