Foam or Spun Deer Hair???
Hi all,
I have a very hard time tying flies that include spinning deer hair so i thought to my self foam floats like a cork and my favorite salmon fly the bommer need to float like a cork so i tried foam for the body and it looks just like the real thing in my eyes. Any thoughts on this.
Thanks,
Salmon man
im not familliar with salmon patterns, so i dont kno what the bomber looks like. it depends where and how the spun hair is being used. if its just for a body, it MIGHT work. if its for a head, like on the muddler, it will be very difficult.
i really dont think it will work...sorry.
well how do you plan on doing this? do you want to like wrap the hook in sheet foam, cuz that would definitley not work...but if you take a chunk of foam, such as from a flipflop, stuck a hole in it, and slid it on the hook, that would work great...i guess...never tried it, but i know of patterns that use that method.
hope that helped.
Of course it will work....several ways you could do it too.
I know what the bomber is and there's no head but as far as a muddler head there's ways to do that too....just look at this week's fly of the week.
Salmon Man,
One of my most productive flies for stream smallmouth is a 'bomber' type fly tied with a yellow foam body and a grizzly hackle.
I just cut a strip of foam about 3/16-1/4 inch wide and wrap it to shape on the hook, add the palmered hackle, and it's ready to fish. Absolutly unsinkable.
Never even seen a salmon outside of a fish market, but if they'll hit a deer hair bomber, they'll hit this one too.
Now that I think about it, this would be a perfect fly to use the Dremel Lathe on....hmmm...
Good Luck!
Buddy
It Just Doesn't Matter....
Buddy, my thoughts exactly.
SalmonMan, the foam should work for you just fine. Deer hair will begin to sink after a while and the foam should last alot longer. I believe I'll cut some yellow foam plugs and shape them with my Dremel. Bomber flies are awesome!
A foam cylinder or shaped body should work. I like the idea of using a Dremel Tool to shape the body might even consider cutting shallow slits in the foam to wrap the hackle in. I can tie with deer hair but my attempts at Bombers have failed miserably.
I think you'll find that wrapping a foam strip on a hook shank really won't float the hook, for a bomber the hackle will help a bit.
I've found that even foam flies will sink eventually, I treat any that aren't getting a coat of varnish or epoxy with a liquid floatant like Water Shed.
Philly,
You can float a hook by wrapping a foam strip onto it.
For a 'bomber' wrap the first layer tightly with some CA glue under it to lock it to the shank. Snug, but not tightly, wrap the additional layers until you have the shape you desire. For a bomber, it's usually three for 'shape' and a final layer to even it out some. Floats a hook without any hackle at all (I use the same 'body' for a slider type topwater, without hackle but including a rubber skirt tail).
I will admit that these aren't 'small' flies. I use a long shank hook, 6s and 4s for these.
I am going to 'switch' to a turned body, however, as it will be smoother and the color options are inspiring. Faster, too.
Good Luck!
Buddy
It Just Doesn't Matter....
Yes you are all correct, foam is great stuff to use on flies, I've used it myself, but spun and neatly trimmed deerhair looks fantastic and I do realise that fish have no artistic or aesthetic senses.
The more times foam is cut, the less air pockets remain. So if you want it to float its better to shape a whole body than form it with thin strips for example.
As far as a foam bomber, its the most successful 'payback fly for those annoying trout that smack my indicator' I have.
Hi all,
Thanks for the suggestions, i was going to post a picture of the two flys to contrast them but was unable to get a good close picture . Any sugestions on this.
thanks,
Salmon Man
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