Flytying tips and techniques.......

[fyshstykr]

Joni gave me this "Thread idea".
In a post she made about Leech yarn, She mentioned that she takes the Mohair out of the yarn and spins it in a loop of another smaller diameter thread.
I think that's a great idea, there are times that you don't want the excess bulk, and that idea addresses the issue.



Well it makes sense to have a thread for "Tips and Techniques", I'm sure we all have some things that we do that are not really commonplace, or something someone has shown us that really helps in the process.

One thing that I will throw out here has nothing to do with technique, but deals more with material storage.
My Wife Pam is a Dental Hygienist, and a few times a year they get new "hand pieces" like mirrors, picks, and those little scraper things that they use to scrape stuff off your teeth.

Anyway, those hand pieces come in a small tube about 9" long and about a 1/2" in Diameter with caps on both ends.
They work wonderful for storing "Krystal Flash" and "Flashabou" type materials.

So as much as it hurts to go to the Dentist office at times.... I would suggest you become friends with your local friendly Hygienist and ask her to save these little tubes the next time they get new handpieces.

 

[shorthaul]

ALong the same lines of storage, I had a Bonnard plastic box with about 20 compartments that i had for hook storage---the lid fit tightly so the sizes would not mix. I thought i found the perfect organizer.

THE PROBLEM

One day i left the lid overhang the table and when my elbow hit it, flipped it off the table and throwing 1500 hooks to the floor in about a 5 ' circle. I spent 2 days picking up and separating hooks from size 28 to 4.

THE SOLUTION

I got a business card organizer that had pages of vinyl pockets (about 40) to slide 2x3 business cards into---I found some 2x3" 4 mil ziplock bags (McMaster.com) with a writable window on them and put a small piece of of index card in them to make them stiffer to slide the bags into the slots. I usually cut a part of the box to further identify the contents. Now my "accident exposure" is one bag of 100 hooks and chances are that they wont fly out of the bag if dropped.

 

[Frank Whiton]

Hi to all,

Good idea for a thread.

Your Dentist has many things you can use. I have bought old dentist lights that are a great light for fly tying or other hobbies. The Focal length is several feet and you can get the light up out of your way. I had 4 of them when I was building guns. My dentist also sold me some dental burrs that were carbide and they last forever. Nice to work on epoxy bodies and making cavities for eyes. They also come in diamond but I didn't find I needed them.

Another good idea is to use Mason large mouth jars for storage. I have some Indian Hen Necks that I bought in the 70's and they are as good as new. I stored one in each jar. I bought a case of canning jars that came with lids. The problem today is the jars are pretty expensive.

How about urine sample cups for storage. These are really neat. Get the kind with a screw on top. If you know some one that works in the medical field they will have a catalog for medical related items. Believe me you will like these. I went to my local hospital and talked to someone in the lab and she gave me 20 cups and lids.

Frank

 

[fyshstykr]

A neat little idea for removing your thread from a finished fly without having to pick up your scissors....

This is for Matterelli type whip finishers.
On the bottom of the straight end I have taken a small "Triangle" shaped jewelers file and cut a small "notch or V" in the end, shaped it from both sides,(tapering upward from the bottom of the notch) it does not need to be too deep of a notch to work.
All you want to do is make a sharp edge in the bottom of the notch.

After you whipfinish your fly, instead of reaching down for your scissors, now all you need to do is take the other end of your whipfinisher and place the thread in the notch and push the tool against it and viola your done.

Another advantage to this is you don't have to worry about accidently cutting hackle off like you do with scissors.

 

[fyshstykr]

Here's one.....a tip for keeping your hook eyes clear of head cement.

Clogged eyes are a pain to clear on the river, especially when the fish are eatin! This simple tip will save cuss words on the river.

After you get done applying head cement simply run a small hackle through the eye of the fly from the top to the bottom. One pass should be enough, and you can use a single feather several times by just wiping it off by running it through your fingers or a paper towel.

Disclaimer: Don't run the feather between your fingers to wipe off if you use "Super Glue". lol:wink:

 

[aroostookbasser]

My wife drinks that Crystal light flavoring stuff in her bottled water. The bigger paks are for making 2 liters at a time and come in a tall tube with a cover. I recycle these as feather storage tubes. Perfect for wing feathers and tail feathers. I also use the "Lays chips" tubes after the chips are gone for longer feathers.

 

[FISHN50]

Thats a good tip fyshstykr. I've been using the "V" notch for a few years & it works great. I posted these before , but here they are again
Here's 2 more bobbin tips... If you get a burr in the bobbin tube & it starts to cut thread ( very frustrating) thread a peice of Kevlar Thread thru the tube, Grab both ends of the kevlar thread & spin the bobbin around the thread. It will polish the tube I.D..... For Threading the bobbin try those mono loops for pulling dental floss. You can get a lifetime supply for a few bucks in any drugstore. .. If you use Hard as Nails ...Take the little brush in the cap & either replace it with a needle for small (24's & up)flys or just cut the brush to a point to apply it as head cement. For small flies put about 1" of head cement on the thread before you wrap the head & when you wrap it it's glued together...

 

[fyshstykr]

Fishin50,

I like that idea of using the Kevlar thread to smooth burrs.

Will that work on Ceramic Bobbins also?

 

[fyshstykr]

My wife drinks that Crystal light flavoring stuff in her bottled water. The bigger paks are for making 2 liters at a time and come in a tall tube with a cover. I recycle these as feather storage tubes. Perfect for wing feathers and tail feathers. I also use the "Lays chips" tubes after the chips are gone for longer feathers.

My Wife also drinks the Crystal Light stuff, I will try this tip soon.

What flavor do the fish prefer? :wink:

 

[BigCliff]

Great thread here, lots of innovative tips.

If you can find the type of hair curlers made from the hook side of velcro, they work great as dubbing fluffers. I like the ability to twist them against the body of a fly to create lots of "bugginess" quickly.

Also, if you take a thicker piece of foam (1/4"+) and punch a hole through the middle the size of your vise stem, you have a super cheap and handy fly holder. a 2"x3" piece will hold a dozen flies or so without getting in the way.

 

[fyshstykr]

That is a handy fly holder, gonna make one for the travel kit.

 

[Fly2Fish]

. . . I went to my local hospital and talked to someone in the lab and she gave me 20 cups and lids.

You get what you pay for, Frank - those urine cups were probably "pre-owned" :icon_wink

Neil

 

[fyshstykr]

You get what you pay for, Frank - those urine cups were probably "pre-owned" :icon_wink

Neil

Doph!!! :tongue:

 

[Fly2Fish]

One day i left the lid overhang the table and when my elbow hit it, flipped it off the table and throwing 1500 hooks to the floor in about a 5 ' circle. I spent 2 days picking up and separating hooks from size 28 to 4.

Shorthaul, bet you're still not walking barefoot in that area :icon_lol:

Incidentally, for the same reason I've learned the hard way not to go without shoes in fishing cabins. :yikes:

 

[BigCliff]

Reminds me of a stunt I pulled at a friends house when I was about 11. Little necklaces made from seed beeds were the current fad and his little sister had a well organized little box with quite a few beads in it. I bumped it just right/wrong and sent those things flying all over the room, many of which buried themselves instantly in their brand new berber carpet.

I got quite a bit of grief from both the sister and his mom and I think they still remember it to this day. I think their vacuum was still picking up errant beads 5 yrs afterwards.

 

[FISHN50]

THE PROBLEM

One day i left the lid overhang the table and when my elbow hit it, flipped it off the table and throwing 1500 hooks to the floor in about a 5 ' circle. I spent 2 days picking up and separating hooks from size 28 to 4.

Something like this has happened to me so many times I now keep a old magnetic base C.B. antenna on the floor next to my fly tying table to pick up the hooks & flies I drop...... Now if someone would invent a brass magnet for those pesky beads... mmmmmm

 

[Wyatt]

I use several plastic boxs that are divided to store hooks and beads and tipped one box, while I was on hands and knees picking up the beads the wife showed up with a stick roller that she uses for getting dog hair off of cloths or some such use, it picked up all the tiny beads and majority of the bigger ones, haven't found an easy way to sort them yet. I have also bought some magnetic tape at a craft store and cut to fit for the bottom of each compartment of my hook boxs.
Wyatt

 

[fyshstykr]

After wrapping a hook shank with lead wire, coat it with head cement to keep the lead from leaching through and discoloring your fly.

 

[shorthaul]

Shorthaul, bet you're still not walking barefoot in that area :icon_lol:

Incidentally, for the same reason I've learned the hard way not to go without shoes in fishing cabins. :yikes:

Not since 1991, fly2fish, But i dont know if anyone told my x-wife's new hubby !

Revenge is the only true passion---(sinister lol )

 

[Wyatt]

Found a way to sort my beads, use a set of screens that I use when we go Gold Prospecting, each screen is a different size holes, so dump all the beead in and shake, the smaller beads go through to pan the bigger ones stay on top, then dump the pan of bead into next smaller screen and repeat down to smallest.
Wyatt