mylar tubing?

[hungNtree]

I got some mylar tubing the other day and tried my first attempt at using it. My fly looks awful, but its not the tubing's fault it the tyer's fault. How do you guys attach it to the hook? Do you glue it or tie it or what?

thanks in advance,
hNt

[chris from canada]

Hey,

Don't be down about how your fly looks.

I have some awful looking ones, and they catch fish just fine. I am sure yours will do the same!

I first slip it over the hook, then tie it in on the back leaving a small tail .
Then I tie it down in the front.
Sometimes I slip the tubing over foam, so it makes a floating minnow, like the old lure called the zara-spook.

What's important is that you have fun experimenting when you tie.

chris

[aged_sage]

For a really neat fly employing mylar, and that works in both salt and freshwater, you might try Charlie Cypert's Mylar Minnow. Use a streamer hook of your choice. Attach bead chain eyes of appropriate size to the hook. Cut a piece of medium diameter mylar about 3 X hook shank length. Tie in a piece of med. or lg. chenille, color of your choice, at the bend on the back side of the hook. Take the chenille forward and wrap around (a single pass) the far eye and return to the tie in point; take 2-3 wraps of thread to secure it. Bring the chenille under the hook and take a single pass around the near eye. Return to the tie in point; tie off and clip excess. Fold mylar in half and poke scissors tip or dubbing needle through the mid-point to create a small opening that will enable you to work the mylar over the eye of the hook. Pull both legs of the mylar back to the tie in point, one leg on top of and the other beneath the hook; tie off and whip finish. Apply head cement and then with your scissors or dubbing needle, tease out the strands of mylar in the loose ends to form a tail.

Charlie, a now-retired Central Texas white bass/ stripper guide, tied this fly originally for white bass. But it's application has since spread to salt water.

[FishnDave]

I've used the techniques already suggested. Another technique is to slip one end just over the eye of the hook and tie it down. Then push the tubing straight back over the shank so it turns inside out. Then tie the back end down near the hook bend. This works better with the medium and large tubings. It will work with the small, too, but the small has a tendency to want to "unravel".

[Al Beatty]

Hi hungNtree,

I have a couple suggestions that Gretchen & I use to hold Mylar tubing together and shape it on the hook.

1. Mylar tubing has a tendancy to come apart when you don't want it to. We just spray a section of tubing with Tuff Film (available at art-supply stores) or a Krylon (available at Ace Hardware), allow it to dry and then remove the fabric core. Another slower technique is to coat the tubing with Flex Cement or Aqua Flex, dry it and then remove the core. When we use this technique we like to use a mini brush we make out of stacked elk or deer hair that is tied on the end of a tooth pick.
.
2. When placing the tubing on the hook for a fly like a Zonker we first tie a length of lead or non-lead wire to the bottom of the hook shank leaving the free end point pointing forward. Clip off the excess so the wire is equal to the shank in length. Now fold the wire down/under the shank allowing a slight curve to form in it under the shank at the front end of the hook.

3. Slip the "prepared" tubing over the hook/wire combo, tie it to the back of the shank, whip-finish and trim the thread from the hook. Reattach the thread to the front of the hook and tie that part of the tubing to the shank. The loop of wire on the bottom of the hook (AND inside the tubing) helps form the shape of the body.

4. Finish the fly with the wing/hackle of choice.

Tight Lines - Gretchen & Al Beatty
www.btsflyfishing.com

[hungNtree]

Ok, thanks for all the tips. I'll give them a try. I might even post a pic, if and only if the fly turns out considerably better than my last.

hNt