After returning from a fishing trip to the Lower Mountain Fork and nearly getting skunked I decided I needed to beef up my midge selection (a nice guy gave me a size 22 mercury midge that did the trick). I had previously relied heavily on zebra midges with tungsten bead heads. HOwever, those were too big (even the size 18). So, enter the mercury midge.
I went to our local fly shop and bought some clear glass beads for the head. Then I decided to buy more beads for flies (love that look). My question now that I have tied the mercury midges, what other patterns can be tied with glass beads (for freshwater). I will look forward to your replies. Thanks.
I post this fly with tongue firmly planted in cheek, as I created this fly for a swap to use up excess glass beads and black materials. As with most flies, I believe this will catch some sort of fish somewhere. :lol:
Click on this link for a glass bead stonefly tied by a member on FAOL. It’s really a good looking fly.
Just spent last night tying a bunch of those little #22 and #24 Mercury Midges for the San Juan next season.
Using the bead/thread/rib pattern of this fly, there are several combinations that work very well. Black/tan/brown (or dark copper). Green/tan/green. All green. Red/black/gold. Clear/white/black. Red/red/black. All are combinations that have taken fish for me in the past.
Heck, I think just about ANY combination would work in the right situation.
Glass beads are an interesting addition to flies. They ‘refract’ light as well as ‘reflect’ it, provide weight (but not as much as similar sized metal beads), and mimic that ‘see through’ appearence that’s common on many very small insects.
I’ve had real good luck with a glass bead caddis that uses 3 green beads for the body and an amber bead for the head. I tie some mohair between the first and second bead and some thread at the back end to keep the beads in place. It works great on pickerel.
Alfred, what it says on the book tying with beads is that you just thread the beads on the hook and then secure beads with thread, on the back of the hook, and then with ribbeng material or just with thread making tight wraps and pushing beads back, hope I made it clear if not I’ll post some pics about it tomorow. I forgot, just add glue on the rear if the fly’s abdomen is made with beads, as for the thread layer, is not really recomended because beads won’t fit unless u are using XL beads.
When securing the beads with thread at the bend, do you then work the thread back up to the head for a whip finish, or do you just whip finish at the tail end? Great look flies. Might have to go back to the store tonight for different colors.
The flies that are only beads, I usually super glue, then cover in Sally Hansen. The others I usually just build up at the tail end with matching thread and whip finish there. Although I see that was not always so, the Rootbeer Nymph and the Black Buzzer were not, but if I tie them again I shall whip finish at the tail end.
I know, like all fly-fishers, looking for bargains is part of the fun, but I now prefer to get my beads from
Mill Hill Beads, I buy from the local on-line dealer here in the UK, but if you look at the Mill Hill web site in the USA, you can get a good idea what is available. I have bought all the beads I will probably need for my lifetime and it did not break the bank,
and that is from a true Scot.:lol:
Gives me another idea…looks like you used wire…I’ve been playing around with some Spiderwire Fusion and some Stren Superbraid which is more flexible for articulated leeches…using that stuff for the extension on your fly might give a more flexible body…just another thought…now if I can figure out an easy way to tie in the tail and secure the end bead???
Just an idea for securing the end bead and maintaining the flexibility and this may or may not work, but, why not use some mono in 30-50 pound strength and heating the end, like you do for making mono eyes. If the end is heated to melt into a ball that is larger than the bead hole it should secure the end bead. Just thinking out loud here.
Here’s what I did while you were posting…sorry for the poor picture but it was hurried…tied the Super Braid and a tuft of scrape rabbit I had laying around on a needle …superglued [should have done that later] then slipped it off the needle and threaded the beads…now ready to tie it on a beaded hook…
It just occurred to me…I wonder if the mono ball will complicate the position of the tail material?..me too just thinking out loud…
deeky once again a neat idea that I ,at least, haven’t seen…
Your idea looks real good! Wonder what would happen if after you melted the mono to form the ball and then used your rabbit fur to create a small tail around the ball before inserting through the beads. Maybe hen back hackle a soft hackle collar around the mono “ball”. You have me thinking now and I will never get any work done!
