How painful is it to tie with mono?

Fly Patterns
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1

I hear tell that a lot of people use monofilament for ribbing. From what I’ve seen, this is the same monofilament used for fishing line. I have a bunch of it in various diameters, but I’m wondering how much of a pain in the rear it is to work with and if there are any tips or tricks to making it work.

Every mono I’ve ever seen is very slippery and I can’t imagine the thread grabbing it well or the mono itself grabbing materials with any real dedication. Am I just wrong about this and it will work fine? Is there anything special I’d want to do while tying with it, or tricks to using it?

More generally, what sorts of applications do you feel you’ve just gotta have mono over, say, some form of wire? As I’ve mentioned many times I’m completely new at this game and any pointers or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

2

Its okay to tie with, but I limit my tying to using it for ribbing. No different than trying to control other types of slippery fly tying materials, but I always make sure to use cement whenever I use mono, just to make sure it stays put.

kelly.

3

Jeff,

I personally don’t use it. One thing you could do if you decide to is to put the spool in warm water for about 1/2 an hour. It tends to make it more pliable.

4

When I use mono, I pinch it with flat bladed pliers to flatten it slightly. it seems to grab better.

5

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll see what I can do with it later. If things don’t work out, I’ll switch to using wire or oval tinsel.

I’m still curious, though, about when you’d really like to use mono over some other material.

6

Czech nymphs often call for a mono rib and, in my experience, look much nicer (more like a bug, less like a lure) with the mono as opposed to wire.

7

Another good use for mono in tying is to tie down marginally secure stick on eyes. After applying the eyes wrap over them with the mono as necessary and then coat with epoxy. The mono becomes invisible and the fly head is really durable.

8

If you’re talking about as a substitute for thread, I use it for a lot of my saltwater tying - flies like EP baitfish and synthetic Clousers are a lot easier to tie with mono than thread, and like Ray said, it becomes invisible when coated with cement/epoxy. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s great stuff. For things like ribbing, can’t say I’ve had any problems although I usually use Krystal Flash, Super Hair or Ultra Wire for what I need.

Regards,
Scott

9

I’ve used it for ribs quite a bit and never had a problem with it. It can be used as the rib to secure the palmered hackle on an Elk Hair Caddis, without the weight of wire. (Not that the wire adds much weight)

10

I use mono thread . It comes spooled in various sizes to fit most bobbins. When used over various sizes of monofliement it has a great translucent property.When colored with a permanent marker it has almost a flourescent quality. I discover new uses for it almost weekley.
Fred

11

I use mono on a lot of salt water flies that I tie. I like it!

12

Jeff,

One of the nice things about regular old mono fishing line is that it comes in some nice colors.

I have brown, green, yellow, and red. Plus, of course, clear. It makes a nice rib, as it’s simi transparent and can trap a little bit of light. Not sure if the fish care, but I like how it looks.

You can use it as an overbody, completely covering other materials. This can protect fragile materials, and/or produce some interesting effects. Sort of like a real deep finish on wood or metal. Looks a bit richer too me. I like playing with things like light transfer and finish depth anyway. Sometimes I think we ignore that aspect in our flies when it’s obviously present in almost all insects and in every fish.

I do use the spooled mono sewing threads for tying a lot of flies. It’s cheaper than thread by a wide margin, and it’s often better for a lot of applications. Primarily streamers and foam based flies.

I make sure to tie it in tightly and always add a drop of cement or CA glue (as noted above).

One other tip, when using it as an overlay or as a rib, always keep tension on it until you get it tied off seccurely. It will unravel instantly if you give it any slack.

Buddy

13

If you’re looking for something that may lay flatter, try a D-rib maybe…

14

Lately I’ve found this material to be far superior to mono with all of the same qualities except for the stiffness. Stretches and threads hold it easily. Something to look at if mono is your thing.

You get it at the craft store. It’s used for jewelry making.

kelly.

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15

Kelly,

That stuff is great. I’ve found it in several thicknesses and in a variety of colors.

Buddy

16

HI ,

    I am  new  to this  site .and  with  regards  to  tying  with  mono.I have  been using  mono  for  tying silk  for the  last 10  years . I buy it in 3000 yd spools then  load  up my  home  made  bobbins  with it.the  only  down fall is  i have  to tripple whip  finish the  heads then   cement.

IT is used in the sewing industry for sewing fabric and is called invisable thread ,it comes in clear and smoke colour. IT has a breaking strain of about 1lb.

 Regards     DANIEL    TASMANIA.
17

The 1st an last time I tied with mono it stretched and stretched all out of control, I gave up and cut it off and tied on tying thread instead. I didn’t try again I didn’t dare.

Jeanne