Several tying materials companies market a product like Hareline Dubbin’s “Egg Veil” to slightly Cloak various egg patterns.
This material has very fine fibers and just kind of wisps around the egg surface in the air or water.
I am not sure what the Egg Veil really represents or provides?—Male fish milt swirling around the egg or just to give the egg a translucent look, or other?
The acid test question is does the Egg Veil make the egg fly more effective in attracting the fish???
What is your experience and views of adding Egg Veil to the egg fly?
Max
When there is flesh floating or lots of eggs from folks gutting and tossing, the eggs often have shreds of roe sac hanging. And when others fish chunks of roe they often have stuff hanging from them.
Almost all eggs are loose and solo.
The veils fish better than non-veils under most circumstances… I think the fish are willing to accept lots of different things, but when they key on a particular color, they want that color and none other. The veils provide a defractor that changes the color as the egg moves through light. When it gets to the right color, they take it. Or not… Or something like that.
I think they are particularly good to have for tough days when you have to start turning your flybox inside out…
art
I use Otter’s egg veil on some of my eggs. The way I tie mine, rather than just wisping around, it sort of clings to the egg, forming a translucent halo of diffused color.
I believe this has the dual effect of looking either like milt or egg skein lining on egg clusters, or simply diffusing the compact, discrete outlines of some egg patterns for a more natural look. It also has the benefit of somewhat muting the fluorescent colors used in some eggs.
I think that the veil is at its best in clear water, especially slower portions of a stream, where the fish have more time to visually inspect an offering.
As far as effectiveness, I’d liken egg veil to a bit of krystal flash or a bead head. Its not better or worse…just different. In most cases it wont mean the difference between catching 30 fish and catching no fish, but its absence or presence might pick up a few extra fish on a given day. It might have just enough effect to get that finnicky trout to take without spooking him, who knows…
For as cheap & easy as it is to add to your egg fly box, it, like a beadhead, is a feature worth adding. Tie some with and some without.
Whatever it represents, I sure makes a difference on tributary brookies here. Haven’t noticed a real difference on other members of the salmonid family though. Who knows?
