Some Woven Bodies

Quivira Kid's post got me thinkin'....here's some of mine:

First, a Beadhead Hendrickson Woven Body Nymph, sz. 14
Attachment 4886

...and a green woven body Caddis Pupa, sz. 18:
Attachment 4887

What material are you using to weave with?

Thanks,
Greg

Hi Greg,

Both the flies' bodies are tied with "DMC 25 Mouline Special" embroidery floss. I've bought it in WalMart and JoAnn Fabrics. Many colors available. It contains 6 strands. The Hendrickson nymph is done with 1 strand of #3021 Chocolate Brown on top, and 1 strand of #739 on the bottom, then ribbed with fine copper wire.

The caddis pupa is done with 1 strand of #907 green on top, along with 1 strand of pearlescent flashabou, and the bottom is 1 strand of #733 olive. Eyes are a piece of brown .011 Maxima leader material tied crosswise to the length of the shank, then ends are melted.

I use a nit- picker to minimize fraying when weaving.

Those look sharp! Nice work.

PRM, I have had trouble with DMC cotton flosses getting chewed up quite badly. Of course, a little chewing might just make them more fuzzily attractive to fish.

Ed

P.S. Quivera Kid is right, they DO look sharp. They're beautiful.

EdD,
What terrible predicament - flies so good the fishies won't leave 'em alone! But I agree, they do get fuzzy, becuase they work so good. I think that actually helps the flies' effectiveness. I do use a very thin wire to rib the bodies to help keep the bodies from comin' apart. I have tried making the bodies with mono and with fine wire, but they tend to get sorta "chunky" - I'm usually tying from sz. 14 down to 28, so single strands of floss, and of thread, seem to be the best options size-wise. And thank you for the compliment - much appreciated!

Those are real nice patterns.

Quivera Kid, EdD, and Daniel J -

Thank you for the kind words!

Paul