WEIGHTED RIBBON WIRE
Weighted wire for adding to the shank of the hook, is normally applied to subsurface fly patterns for two reasons…
1. Faster decent of the fly pattern beneath the water surface.
2. To even the balance of the dressed hook, compensation for the anchor effect on the hook of the hooks bend components of the hook.
The weighted wire is extruded with a circular shape, this circular shape, when wrapped around the hook shank gives bulky shape to the body of the fly pattern.
When securing the weighted wire to the hook shank, the thread has a tendency to slide off the weight wire, lodging in between the wraps of weight wire.
Here is a simple way to eliminate this constant problem in fly tying.
Before attaching the weight wire to the hook, place the weighted wire on a hard surface. Using short piece of metal rod (exacto knife handle (with exacto blade remove), you can create ribbon wire end result is a flat wire for wrapping around the hook shank.
Wrapping flat wire around the hook shank eliminates thread becoming trapped in-between the wraps of weighted wire abdomen/thorax to the finished fly pattern.
Use a larger diameter of weight wire, to create the same thickness if you had used a small diameter of weight wire.
To secure the wire wrap attach a plastic strip (sandwich bag material) to the hook shank to wrap around the flatten weight on the hook shank. Secure with a palmered wrap of thread and do a couple of wraps to secure the other end of the weight.
- This will help speed-up your dressing of the fly pattern.
- Gives the finished fly pattern body a less bulky appearance.
- Make you a better "Dresser of Hooks"!
~Parnelli