"Antron" in LaFontaine's famous Sparkle Pupa patterns

[Byron haugh]

There was a post here, some time ago, about what material Gary LaFontaine used on his Sparkle Pupa patterns.

I mentioned that I once asked him just "exactly" what to use. He generally referred to the material in sort of a generic term as "sparkle yarn".

Well, he told me to go to a Ben Franklin store and buy "Dazzle-Aire". I passed that along in an earlier post.

I have found this notation Gary LaFontaine sent to someone else:

[rainbowchaser]

I have some dazzlaire yarn I bought many years ago. It is not antron but creslan. In Caddisflies La Fontaine makes it clear that this material will work for his sparkle pupa patterns but he uses and recommends antron yarn. Later changes in the availability of the two may have led him to change his mind. On the label the yarn is only identified as acrylic but I remember the more complete description on the store shelf identified it as creslan.

[Byron haugh]

As Sonny and Cher sang: "And the beat goes on...."
Not sure. It was 1994 when Gary told me to use Dazzle-Aire.

Are you saying that he mentioned Dazzle-Aire by name in "Caddisflies" or the trade name of the material?

I have read many posts which refer to "Dazzle-Aire" as a tri-local antron.....

By the way, the note photo I posted seems to be dated March, 1982?????

[rainbowchaser]

Caddisflies page 99: After specifically endorsing antron yarn he goes on to discus other sparkle yarns available at the time. About creslan he says:"it is a perfectly suitable substitute for antron. He did mention dazzle-aire yarn as one of the available materials being marketed as sparkle yarn but does not identify it as creslan. That came from my own reading of the shelf tag at k-mart.

[planettrout]

Byron,



...from this book by GLF:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=9781585744 381


PT/TB

[Byron haugh]

PT and Rainbow:

So, where do we stand now?

The note from LaFontaine clearly is 1982.......I looked at a better photo. Thus, it is not a much later endorsement.

Again, he usually referred to the material as "sparkle yarn" which I believe is simply a generic term. I do not think there is a specific product or technical material known as "Sparkle Yarn"?

I think Gary was trying to be helpful when, in 1982, he wrote to his fan and listed the brand names of material to be used in his pattern...........one being Dazzle_Aire.......

[Gene]

Dazzle aire or sparkle yarn has solid fibers of Creslon or nylon. If you look closely the yarn has clear fibers running through that are clear antron. And yes I have skeins of many colors purchased from Ben Franklins, most of my yarn is Sparkle Aire or something like that. I happen to be 150 miles from home right now and sorry I can't check. I know some people have expressed disappointment in his sparkle caddis patterns. Not me they are still the first caddis pattern I go for. All I can say the solid colors of antron do not have the same effect as the "sparkle yarn". If you have the book Challenge of the Trout, read the chapter on caddis if memory serves me I think Gary explains the bubble attraction to clear antron.

[Allan]

I'm not sure if I read it in a GLF book or in one of his videos but I know he mentioned Dazzle-Aire as a material for his 'sparkle' patterns. The way he used the material was to cut it up into 1/4" pieces and blend them with rabbit (as I recall) for the 'touch dubbing', and use longer pieces of the yarn for the shuck and overbody. Just to clarify something: Dazzle-Aire was manufactured (at least according to the label) by Caron Yarns when I bought several skeins years ago. I bought the skeins that had repeating multiple colors so I ended up with a large variety.

[Mark Vendon]

PT and Rainbow:

So, where do we stand now?

The note from LaFontaine clearly is 1982.......I looked at a better photo. Thus, it is not a much later endorsement.

Again, he usually referred to the material as "sparkle yarn" which I believe is simply a generic term. I do not think there is a specific product or technical material known as "Sparkle Yarn"?

I think Gary was trying to be helpful when, in 1982, he wrote to his fan and listed the brand names of material to be used in his pattern...........one being Dazzle_Aire.......

Byron,

Are you asking where you can get this now? It's available at the Book Mailer. In bulk from some other source, that ship may have sailed. Synthetics are constantly upgrading and tweeking based on raw materials which are always evolving. The price of oil hasn't helped at all either. Many raw material factory's have closed just because of the increase in petroleum.

Regards,
Mark