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I want to tie up some cone head rubber buggers (woolly buger that uses LOTS of rubber leg material instead of hackle.)
I am struggling with how to get all that rubber onto the fly. I have tried using a dubbing loop and a wire core dubbibg noodle but the rubber tends to fall out of the loop and I am spending way too much time and not getting a consistant distribution of rubber.
Anyone have some helpful hints?
Here is an example...
http://www.bobwards.com/bobwards/servle ... m/82795-02
Kengore...you are probably familiar with this...looks like they make a dubbing brush...I've got some of the tentacles and been meaning to give it a try...if and when I do I'll let you kow....the tentacles are hard to handle...
http://www.orvis.com/detail.asp?subject ... &group_id=
I think ducksterman has it right. It looks like you need to make a dubbing brush with some dubbing and add the micro rubber to it and then twist it up. You might try, and I am not saying this will work, adding some dubbing to your coffee bean grinder and then cut up some of the micro rubber in short lengths and add it to the dubbing in the coffee bean grinder and hit the button in short bursts and see what happens. If it will trap the rubber in the dubbing you could then put it inside a dubbing loop. Not sure that will work, but, I would give it a try. Let us know what you find out because that is a good looking bugger.
It looks to me like your using about twice the rubber as the commercial brand, perhaps using less rubber would help make the loop tighter.
Eric
Hi kengore,
Montana Fly Company puts out a product called Rub-a-Dub Dubbing which has fine rubber-leg material mixed into it. I suggest using it (or something like it) to make a dubbing brush OR just put in a dubbing loop and apply. Take care & ...
Tight Lines - Al Beatty
www.btsflyfishing.com
I tried making the dubbing brush....I don't like it ....my tentacles are the smallest and that may be part of the problem...
I checked out Al's recommendation...and Doug Swisher's site who appears to use the dubbing and also makes his own brushes....
Wish someone knew the trick for those of us that have all the raw materials and a dubbing brush platform???????
buy it from swisher!
http://www.dougswisher.com/fly_tying_materials.htm
Thanks all for the help, I found a solution with the help of a local fly shop.
The trick is to build up a wire dubbing noodle with a sparse layer of spikey dubbing (I used 'crawdub' brand) then a sparse layer of rubber leg material, then another sparse layer of dubbing. The dubbing holds the rubber in place while the wire loop is twisted. It also helped to use some sticky dubbibg wax on the wire.
kengore..& others
Are you using the "tentacles" ?
If so what size?
If not...what are you using?
I have the smallest tentacles thinking it would give the most motion but it is a pain in the you know what to handle :(
Ducksterman, after learning the 'add some dubbing' trick I have been successful making rubber/dub noodle from thin medium and small size rubber, leg material, from micro size rubber legs (the thinnest I could find, about the thickness of fine ribbing wire) and from 'tentacles' , 'centipede legs' and 'ultra floss'. All seem to work with the addition of some dubbing. I have been using coarse dubbing designed for leach patterns, and a product called 'crawdub' which act a lot like mohair dubbing.
The smaller stuff is more time consuming, do the the fact that each strand must be cut to length and placed on the dubbing block seperatly, lots of pieces to handle.
The 'tenticales' and 'ultra floss' seem to work best, this material is much stronger than rubber and seems to be more limp, perhaps it will impart more action.
I haven't had an opportinuty to fish any of the bugs yet, so I still don't know what Mr. Brown will say about my efforts.