Weaving with wire - easier than it sounds.

[AlanB]

A friend in Ireland said something to me a couple of years ago, which got me thinking about weaving with wire. Why bother? Well it makes slimmer heavier flies. Using wire uses about 20% more wire than winding a similar body from wire. I usually find that if I want weight then I want as much as I can get without huge bulk.

The wire I use are from beading craft stores. Usually 0.2mm or 0.3mm. UTC wire is were I started but it is about 20x the price of the wires I now use. With the 0.2mm wire I can happily go as small as size #18. On larger flies I twist two strands of wire twisted together, often of different colours. To twist the wire I use a dubbing whirl on short lengths, or a drill with a cup hook in the chuck for longer lengths.

When you start you need to make a decision on the profile of the fly body you want. It you want it wide and flat then the strands of wire are tied in to either side of the hook. It you want a deeper slimmer profile then tie them side by side on top of the hook shank. You can also put a tinsel under body on before weaving for a glint from inside the fly.



Those are Czech nymph type flies make with twisted strands.



The same again with single strands.


A salmon fly made with twisted strands.


A wet fly with single strands.

Weaving with wire is very easy as you don't need to maintain the tension on the strands, as you do in weaving with soft materials. It is really easy to do. All you need are two strands of similar gauge. Give it a go. Its the best way of tying slim heavy flies I've found.
Cheers,
A.

[Rick Z]

Will have to try this.

Rick

[JohnScott]

Alan - neat stuff and excellent pixels.

Thanks for posting about the concept. Is there someplace to look for ideas on how to do the weaving, for those of us who are not familiar with the basic techniques ??

John

[AlanB]

Having had a quick trawl around on You Tube here is a video on how to do the weave.


I don't turn the hook over (perhaps because I didn't learn to tie these on a rotary vice).

When you are trying to learn to do this tie up 6 hooks ready to weave, putting each aside at that point. Then weave 6 one after another with no break. Don't tie in anything else after. It is easier to learn if you just do the weaving technique. If you have to prep the next fly before weaving again, the break from weaving is just long enough to forget what you learned on the previous one. After 6 you have a good idea what you are up to.

The wire is very forgiving. Using this technique with other (soft) materials is a lot more difficult. I have plans to do a video but it will be sometime in the summer, hopefully.

Cheers,
A.

[WarrenP]

Here is an article showing weaving by Al Campbell:

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...nced/part3.php

[Uncle Jesse]

Here are a few of my attempts. It's not that different than braiding other materials, you have to be careful to prevent kinks before they occur. I found that twisting a few strands of wire too fine to be used alone into a strand braided easier than a single strand of wire.

Braided L Bug 1.jpgCopper Jacque Scud 1.jpg