Cotter pins and articulated flies

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Has anyone used cotter pins when tying articulated flies in place of the front cut off hook or a Waddington?

If so any special considerations?

2

Duckster,

I’ve bent stainless steel wire into that ‘cotter pin’ shape for that purpose before (hate to use up hook), but I’ve not tried a premade cotter pin.

Just thinking out loud:

I’d be a bit concerend about the crossection at what would be the ‘eye’…I pulled out a couple of cotter pins I had laying around, and they all have a half circle crossection, even through the loop…I’d worry about the ‘edge’ cutting the tippet…maybe the smaller ones are more circular (the ones I have are all at least 1 1/2 to 2 inches long).

Buddy

3

by cutting off the bend, would a straight eyed hook be another choice to make a tandem?? just guessing here

4

HHhhhmm…could be an issue Buddy…mine look smooth but they are not a circle.

Norm, did you delete your post…my email notified me of your post and the link…but it doesn’t appear in this thread.

Re: what you said…the straight eye hook would indeed work but the eye isn’t a big issue…at least to me [for the front hook].

My concerns…

“wasting” a hook

I got 555 cotter pins for about 3 bucks…that’s inexpensive

Clipping off the bend creates a sharp edge that has to be dealt with…

Wonder what happened to your post???

5

yea i did. i was thinking (it hurts sometimes :D) about a straight shank hook but then realized that it might not work. so thats when i deleted my post. my bad. :smiley:

6

I think it is a lot easier to put a hook in the vise to tie the rear portion than something straight would be. I don’t see cutting off the hook shank as a big deal.

7

another product similar to cotter pins are the wire-loop pieces that jewelry makers use. try shops like fire mountain gems. they have varying lengths of these “pins” that have preformed loops at the end. just be careful of your material, something too soft will just come out when a fish is on.

Jordan

8

>>>Has anyone used cotter pins when tying articulated flies in place of the front cut off hook or a Waddington?

I certainly have. Here are some links (that I hope are OK to post):

http://speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=37085&highlight=cotter+pins

http://speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=37377&highlight=cotter+pins

That forum has a search function for more…

>>>If so any special considerations?

I had the same concern others expressed regarding the “D” profile so I intentionally snagged a few flies on the bottom (that’s my story and I’m stickin to it!!). Every time I would pull like crazy and when something finally let go, it was the loop I put the stinger hook in. (I use superbraid fishing line for the loop). I would have maimed any fish long before that… so from my experience, the “D” loop thing isn’t a big deal.

Balance the weight/size of the cotter pin with what kind of sink rate you want and size of the fly (of course).

I have heard that some guys tie on stainless cotter pins. I don’t. I have a box I got for cheap at a discount tool place. I can fish big heavy flies close to the bottom without worries that way.

The pins I have all have the tip of one “leg” a bit longer than the other and that’s the little nub I put in the vice. It’s not a lot to hold onto, esp if you are really going to pull hard on the thread as you tie.

Hope that helps…

Scott