I have been off work for a while lately with a torn shoulder, but managing to have some blissful days high on painkiller and muscle relaxant pills and beside the fire tying flies. (If only life could stay like this, but I guess I am bound to get better sometime... )

Anyway, my stable of flies is nearly complete, except for damned emergers. I have a heap of Klinks and similar, but am particularly fond of Australian Possum Emergers. These are just tied with some possum tail and green wire with a wing loop of tail fur again. My problem is that I have been taught to always test flies in a test tank and look at them as the fish sees them. While I am no entomologist I am acutely aware of how an emerging dun struggles in the surface film to free itself from the shuck, stick its unfolding wings up in the air to dry our in the sun enough for it to fly off. Hence the tail is below the surface film and the rest is not, it is above the surface film.

Here's the problem - every stinking fly I put in the test tank (actually a fancy name for a whisky tumbler) SINKS! I know that floating flies do not sink!

I spent today trying to resolve this issue. I want the fly to sink its cute little bottom below the surface meniscus like a struggling nymph, have a "shuck" above the surface, and hopefully with a wing type arrangement of a few stray hairs or a bit of poly yarn sticking up like am unfolding wing, to enable me to see it clearly.

1. If I tie the fly with a "quick descent" aluminium dub abdomen and apply floatant to the head/wing area, it sinks after about 30 seconds.

2. If I tie some heavy wire to the abdo to get it to sink "bum down" it does so all the way top the bottom.

3. If I don't apply anything the whole fly just floats on its side for a while like a dead shrimp, then, you guessed it, it sinks.

4. If I tie in a piece of cork with the possum tail wing folded over it, it floats, but all of it just BELOW the surface. The weight of the hook and fur seems to pull the cork down unless you use such a large piece of cork it is ridiculous and looks like it should have a bottle and a message attached.

5. I have tried the same with foam and am finding that that too will absorb water and sink in a short period of time, although it does start off well. Again though, if it does float, it will not do so with its head out of the water.

6 Consequently I wondered if the foam was not actually "closed cell" and tried coating with varnish etc to waterproof it, but it doesn't make any difference. I tries a few different types of foam and paper wrap stuff.

7. I have not tried polystyrene balls yet (as in bean bags) as they are so "out of fashion" I would be lucky to find one even on a rubbish tip.

I have been through my tying supplies, kitchen cupboards and workshop to try to see if there is some sort of material I have missed, that will keep the "head" up above the meniscus and let the tail sink below but am now about stumped.

Anyone else have this problem or find a solution?