Weighted Flies How Do You Tell Them Apart?

[fshng2]

I tie lead weighted and non weighted ones.
Do you folks put weighted ones in their own box?
Do you color code the heads?
Also some have more weight than others, do they get separated into two categories?
The only no brainer are bead heads.

 

[bigjim5589]

I used to try to color code the heads with a band or bands of bright thread, however I suffer from CRS, and would forget what the heck each color represented.

Now, I've standardized my tying, since I'm mostly tying big flies anyway. I only use lead wire in .015" diameter. 3" flies get 3" of wire, 4 " flies get 4" of wire, and anything longer also gets 4", plus cones, beads or barbells.

I've been putting flies in plastic sleeves too, and write on the plastic " 4" wire " so I at least know if an unused fly has extra weight. Whether or not it gets back in the sleeve is always a challenge.

I still can't tell the exact amount of weight when selecting flies, but since the flies are large, can usually tell if one is heavier than another. If I need to get a fly deeper than the weight might allow, I go with a faster sinking line, which is not often.

I rarely add extra weight with the lead wire to flies smaller than 3" in length, so that's not an issue. If I do, it's usually not a pattern that I might tie often, so that too keeps it in my mind that it's got extra weight added.

 

[mtboiler]

I have three types...
Glass bead heads, which have no weight.
Silver bead heads, which have a couple wraps of lead wire to keep the bead head in place.
Gold bead heads, which are heavy.
Hope that helps.

 

[dennyk]

I use weight mainly on Stonefly patterns for trout & Steelhead. Solid color body = weighted, varigated colored body = unweighted.

Denny

 

[ottosmagic13]

All my unweighted flies are beadless.

I tie very few unweighted nymphs.

 

[toothybugs]

I can tell which flies are weighted and which are not when I dump my box in the creek and only recover a fraction of them. Those are generally the unweighted ones.

HTH

 

[fshng2]

I can tell which flies are weighted and which are not when I dump my box in the creek and only recover a fraction of them. Those are generally the unweighted ones.

HTH

Thats funny...but actually hadn't thought about sorting them with water.
For the initial sorting putting them in a basin of water would do it.

I like big Jim's idea about putting more lead wraps on larger flies.

Thanks for all the ideas guys.

 

[pnc]

Never had problem telling difference. Been some time since looking at trout flies. Thread had me wondering so pulled out old box with trout flies. Still tell at a glance. Easy when weighted are on one side. Unweighted the other.
Fish mostly salt now and all boxes are same set up. Weight one side, no weight other side. Often grab a couple of flies from each side of box and stick in pocket. Just been easy way of separating for long time.
Weighted flies are separated by weight. Often carry crab patterns on same size hook with different weights. Weights are selected for drop rate in water. Dumbell weight on crabs makes it easy to tell difference. But with these or other meathods of weighting. Knowing where what fly is helps.

......... pc

 

[trout trekker]

A few ideas,

Exposed thread heads, change the color of the tying thread.

Larger ones, you should be able to do a drop test into the palm of your hand from a foot up. Heavy ones land with a bit of a thump, light ones not so much.

Don't tie both weighted and unweighted patterns in the same size. Big = weight, smaller = Unweighted or lightly weighted.

Become a dry fly enthusiast.


Best, Dave

 

[clouserguyky]

I prefer to use either a thread or dubbing band or hotspot near the bead to tell them apart, or I'll wrap the body with a different color wire. Others like to use different colored beads to determine what weight fly to pick. I use beads on almost all my nymphs, and sometimes I'll want two of the same nymph in the same weight to have different colored beads. For example, on a bright sunny day I'll want a black bead and on a dark cloudy day I'll want a gold bead, but the two flies are otherwise the same.

Using jig hooks for the heaviest nymphs and anchor flies helps too. You'll know it's an anchor fly pretty easily that way...

With streamers, I'll use a different size conehead or a different color of dumbbell eyes at times, but also use different colored thread to tie off the fly.