Alternative Fly Tying Material

[James Smith]

I always keep my eye open for potential fly-tying material when out and about. I picked up this 30" piece of Fringe material at Hobby Lobby for 89 cents, It has enough material to make 220 extended tail patterns. The material is synthetic, so it doesn't soak up too much water and stays in place. I tie the twisted material to the top of the hook and add a tiny drop of very thin CA where the material ties into the hook. This wicks through and keeps the material from unwrapping (which it doesn't do easily anyway). I added a blue tungsten beadhead to get it to sink down to where the bigger bluegills hang out. The body is a dubbing brush that I make from seal fur and the collar is a guinea hen feather dyed blue. Super easy pattern to tie, VERY durable, and effective. The fringe material comes in different colors, but I find that black is often the most effective color for me, especially if I mix in just a touch of blue which the fish seem to like. https://gifyu.com/image/S4RB7

[Rick Z]

Looks interesting. Kinda of an eye lash yarn.


Rick

[James Smith]

Rick, The fringe is only the tail and works much like twisted yarn to make a thicker extended body. The body of this fly is a dubbing brush that I make with my dubbing brush twister with thin copper wire.https://gifyu.com/image/S4iM2

[BadBug]

I like it Jim. Cool looking pattern. I like the Black & Blue color combo. Dennis.

[James Smith]

Thanks, Dennis. I have mores success with subsurface patterns in both warm and coldwater species. I started using the combination of black with a bit of blue when fishing for trout and found that it is equally effective for Bluegill and other species in the Sunfish family.

[alra195]

Brilliant use of the pre-furled material for those extended tail leeches. Very well done!

[James Smith]

Thank you for the kind words. I pretty much use any materials I come across that I think will create durable, different and productive flies.