Extended Body Technique - Part 1

[JohnScott]

There seems to be a truism in fly tying that you never really tie an original fly or come up with a new technique. So it is quite likely that any number of people have been using the technique presented here, maybe for a long time and maybe in the long ago. But having reviewed hundreds and hundreds of fly patterns, with and without recipes, tying instructions and photos, and never having seen this approach to extended bodies, I have no doubt that there are many others who have not seen it, who might like to try it.

This technique goes back to an outstanding fly tier and fisherman from Pocatello ID, Tom Banyas. Several years ago, Tom demonstrated an extended body adult damsel fly made from furled antron which was my take off point when I finally got around to creating a fly for a Western Green Drake hatch on one of our SE Idaho mountain cutthroat streams. Recently, in a thread on that fly, Ducksterman contributed a couple valuable ideas, and some motivation to explore alternatives to my original efforts.

Having given due credit to those who contributed, here's the end product, size 12 thorax and parachute Western Green Drake duns, ready to go fishing.



Step one involves taking a 2" length of antron yarn ( in this case Wapsi medium olive ) and combing it out. Then take a piece of tying thread about 6" long and mix it in with the antron fibers.



Step two is placing one end of the antron yarn with the tying thread in an electrician's helper clip. Then the other end of the antron yarn BUT WITHOUT THE TYING THREAD is placed in another clip.



Try to position the tying thread so that it is intertwined with the antron to one side of center and free of the yarn on the other side of center. Then align the clips with the antron and twist them in opposite directions to begin the furling process. If the thread is exactly centered, it will stick out at right angles to the twisted antron. If not centered, it will tend to wrap around the antron to the side it is off center. Backtrack to get the thread as centered as possible.



Continue twisting until you think the antron will furl when relaxed. When it wants to create small "knots" as you twist, it is ready This will likely take some experimenting.

( Continued )

[JohnScott]

When the material is ready to furl, take both clips in one hand, maintaining tension between them. With the other hand, grasp the thread and pull gently on it, at the same time relaxing tension on the clips. You should end up with something like this. ( Apologies for the poor quality of this photo - preparing this presentation without a helper was a bigger challenge than tying the fly. ) The tying thread should be sticking out the end of the furled antron. You may have to work the material a bit to get it right, but practice will make close to perfect. If the furl seems a bit loose, you can twist the furled body to tighten it. Then remove the body from the clips.



Start the tying thread behind the eye of the hook and wrap back to the bend. Position the furled extended body at the bend and tie it in. Wrap the thread forward somewhat, and tie in the number of tails you want for the fly you are tying. For this fly, I'm using three moose body hair fibers for tails.



Make a soft loop with the thread sticking out of the extended body around the tailing material. Then grasp the tails and very end of the body with your left hand. With your right hand, work the thread around and down the body in several turns to lash the tail fibers to the body and rib the body in the process. I think I took about six turns on this particular fly. When you reach the shank with the ribbing thread, take a number of wraps at the tie in point and then wrap it forward to the tying thread. Tie the ribbing thread off as you would any other material. Apply a coating of flexament to the extended body.



From this point on, it is just a matter of completing the fly. This one is a parachute style with a dubbed body and a CDC wing.



This fly has been a steady producer for the hatch is was designed to match. The thorax version seems to be favored by most of the cutthroat, but the parachute has taken a good number of fish also.

The possibilities for various extended body flies seem endless. For smaller flies, reduce the amount of antron. For larger, e.g. a hex, it may take a couple strands of antron. The number and length of tails can easily be modified. The extended body should work for any style of fly, parachute, thorax or traditional dry, with any kind of body, e.g. dubbed, biot, quill, etc.

[Wild One]

Very nice John.
Thank you for sharing!

[alra195]

Hey John!

Nice tie, I've never seen an extended body technique I didn't like and this is another to add to my tying arsenal. Can't wait to give it a try on our green and brown drake patterns out east. Thanks much for sharing the process. I can't wait to give some a try next spring. Well done!

[mickporter]

I have seen several patterns tied like this using Flexi Floss in the same way, but never antron.

There was an article some time ago in the UK magazine Fly Fishing and Fly Tying, but only using Flexi Floss.

The look nice..........

[ducksterman]

I suspect you can use the technique with just about any yarn.

I've played around with punch yarn and you can vary the thickness by folding it over into multiple strands....also have used regular yarn unraveled into various thicknesses.