This may be old hat to many folks, but I was stumbling around the other day trying to get the tiny beads on the tiny hooks to tie a zebra midge pattern when I figured out that I could easily get the bead onto my bodkin first then align the hook point with the top of the bodkin and slide the bead back up and onto the hook.
You can even get several beads on the bodkin at once then run them onto the hooks one after the other and get the beading process out of the way and done.
It saved me a bunch of time and frustration once I figured this out.
So many of us tyers are self taught. We caught the addiction from
reading of tying and studying patterns. The articles often do not tell
of the neat little tricks of the trade that many ASSUME everyone
knows.G By all means, keep those tips and “tricks of the trade”
coming for those of us who may have never seen another person
tying flies up close and personal.G Warm regards, Jim
This is one I just have to try! Getting the beads on hooks is one of my most frustrating tying tasks. I’ve tried lots of alternatives, but usually end up quietly cursing. Thanks for the post!
Terry!
Great idea! I too use a method to add those tiny beads omto a hook! A while back, I purchased some beads that were strung on a double stran of ultra fine wire! The pack came with 25 beads on the wire with the bouble end folded so the beads could not come off. The “loose ends” of the wire were also bent to the side. I was able to Straighten out the loose ends, then with beads still on the wire, thread one at a time onto the hook! Once on the hook, simply slide the bead off the wires! took about 5 minutes to bead up 25 hooks!
Eather way… The idea is a great help and less beads rolling :roll: around the floor!
Flitrap
Try putting the beads on a safety pin first. It’ll hold about half a dozen–slide them on the safety pin so that the small hole–that you want against the eye of the hook is forward–gives control and you have a ready supply for however many fliees you are tying