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mines terrible. Thoughts on the best approach for this?
I'm making size 10 beadhead pearl scuds. Mixture of white hares ear and some pearl white aunt lydia's sparkle yarn. Either its to thin picked out...or tooooo bulky. Fish dont care really....but I'd like to tie this fly and have it alteast look ok lol. Makes me wonder if I'm not cutting the yarn into small enough pieces to pick out better........
direct dub, touch dub, dub bing loop?
Practice??? ;)
Where are you? Alaska Fly Fishers have free regular tying clinics through the winter in Anchorage, but they are done for now. Mossy's Fly Shop, also in Anchorage has tie-ins on Thursday evenings and there are lots of folks there that can show you how to handle dubbing very neatly... But if you are in Fairbanks or elsewhere that is not going to help much.
A couple rules of dubbing:
1) Start with exactly as much as you think you need and put half of it back.
2) Keep the dubbing thin on the thread, just barely cover it, and make more passes to achieve bulk. That will teach you far better how to regulate your noodle.
3) Scuds are too small to worry about anything like dubbing loops or other fancy stuff... A Nor-Vise would make your life easier though...
3/8" is plenty long enough to cut the yarn... 1/2" is too much IMO&E.
Without seeing the fly and the problems you are having it isn't easy to answer. Staple length needs to be similar for the dubbing to mix well. When you cut the yarn up I'd make the pieces no longer than twice the length of the hare's ear. Mix it well. a coffee grinder is my prefared method.
On small flies a dubbing loop leads to bulky flies, the way around this is to split the thread and insert the dubbing. Though for something as large as a size 10 the bulk of a loop shouldn't be a problem.
A tip from production tying might help. Tie one fly. Get the dubbing right then undo it. Take a piece of card and lay the unwound dubbed thread along the card. Mark the card where the length of dubbing extends to. Rewind the dubbing and finish the fly. On the next fly Run out the thread and dub to the length marked on the card. Then the subsequent bodies are the same. If you write the pattern and hook size on the card you can keep it and use it for all your flies. You can use the same card for several sizes of hook if you label each line with the hook size.
Several years ago I came up with the following method of tying bead head scuds quickly. I don't have any Aunt Lydia's so will use some other yarn for the photos.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ited-1copy.jpg
Notice I've cut it in different lengths. Mixed with white hare's ear and a touch of UV white SLF for added sparkle, and given a whiz in a coffee grinder.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...4_edited-1.jpg
Put the bead on the hook and start the thread.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1_edited-1.jpg
Tie on the shell back forward of the eye.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...2_edited-1.jpg
Whip finish and seat the bead on the thread.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...9_edited-1.jpg
Add weight if required (There is no need to mess about gluing it or anything)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1_edited-1.jpg
Cover the weight with open turns of thread and tie in your rib.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3_edited-1.jpg
Dub the body. Get it so you like it then unwind it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...4_edited-1.jpg
Measure it along a piece of card. Rewind the body. Whip finish behind the bead and trim out the thread.
Pull the shell back over the top of the bead and body and secure it with two turns of rib.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7_edited-1.jpg
Wind the rib forward until behind the bead. Secure it with a couple of half hitches and break off.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...9_edited-1.jpg
Trim off the excess shell back and give it a brush with the rough side of some Velcro.
Hope something in that helps with your problem.
Cheers,
A.
Loop dubbing works great for #12-14 scuds IMO. I generously wax one side of the loop, touch dub a fairly generous amount of shaggy dubbing to the waxed part of the loop, then twist the loop tight and wind it forward. Finish the fly then pick out fibers on the bottom.