Ice Dubbing

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Anyone use ice dubbing? I hear a lot of good things about it but have never handled it or fished a fly made with it. What are your impressions?

2

Babe’s Curse,

I recently added a set of Vince Wilcox flies to my page. Many of the patterns use Ice Dub. Why not take a look. Here is a sample image:

The rest of the patterns, plus full recipes:

[url=http://www.danica.com/flytier/vwilcox/vwilcox.htm:18e6c]http://www.danica.com/flytier/vwilcox/vwilcox.htm[/url:18e6c]

Ice Dub is also a very suitable material to use the Rope Dubbing technique as illustrated here by Don Ordes:
[url=http://www.virtualflybox.com/articles/article.php?id=5:18e6c]http://www.virtualflybox.com/articles/article.php?id=5[/url:18e6c]

Cheers,
Hans W

=== You have a friend in Low Places === [url=http://www.danica.com/flytier:18e6c]http://www.danica.com/flytier[/url:18e6c]

[This message has been edited by Hans Weilenmann (edited 29 March 2005).]

3

I use a lot of it for nymph thoraxes and a few patterns that use it for the abdomen, like a scud or stone. It’s a great product.

4

I like it for scuds and other subsurface patterns. I usually use it straight. Recently though, I tried chopping some of the shrimp pink color up and mixing it with squirrel in a dubbing loop made of fine copper wire. The resulting twigs or dubbing brushes as I call them, are real handy for tying up a bunch of pink squirrels. They’re easier for me to use than a thread dubbing loop because you can let go of them and they don’t unwind.

Ice Dub plus hare’s mask is good for GRHE’s

A friend dubs it directly onto thicker wire with super glue for his scuds and nymphs, no twisting into a loop. Just dab the glue on the wire and stick the dub on before wrapping it onto your nymph.

I’m thinking of adding it to dry fly wings for greater visiblity.

5

Great Stuff. I find it provides just the right amount of flash in some of the nymph patterns I tie. The material also works very well for trailing shucks and under-wing cases.

6

Another two thumbs up for Hareline’s Ice dubbing. It’s very easy to use for all sorts of flies. I use it mostly for caddis and dragon nymphs as well as dressing up the old DocSpratley. One of my most successful flies is the Pennask Special.

7

Sounds like I gotta place an order. Thanks for all your input. That dubbing rope technique is pretty slick. I got some tying to do, opening day in NY is Friday. Yeee Haa!!

8

Babe’s,
I like to blend it with the naturals to add a bit of spice to the recipe.

<*(((((><
Jim in CO

9

Izzat kinda the same stuff used in parts of these?

Or this? [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/leesoares/CIMG0211.jpg:450d3]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/leesoares/CIMG0211.jpg[/url:450d3]

10

SheTies
That one nice fly you have there, You should think on submiting it for fly of the week.
Ghost

11

Yeah lee, that looks like Ice Dub. What are those, damsel nymphs?

12

Ain’t sure what the fish take’em for, but that’s what we toss’em for…
Ken Hanley has been useing that “twirled body” method and does some REAL simple, effective DN’s with a single piece of antron thread.
Maybe we can find or do one to post later.

13

Thanks GrayGhost, I can work on a FOTW of that pattern if people would like. It’s a slight variation of a BC pattern that works really well around here.

14

She Ties,
That would be great…I would vote affirmative. Grand bug. Gotta try some.

15

lee s,

Ken Hanley’s fly will be featured in the Spring 2005 issue of SouthWest Fly Fishing

16

SheTies,
I vote for a FOTW also. It really looks nice. Please add the tying steps. I’m not at the point where I can read a recipe, and know exactly how it all goes together.

A foolish consistancy is the hobgoblin of small minds

17

I like Ice Dubbing a lot. I use it unmixed for many of my brim and bass flies. Really great stuff! 8T

BTW, to all who posted pictures of flies, super job with those—very nice.

18

All I can say is that it makes great looking bodies on buggers and other nymphs.

Seege

19

Sheties … I really liked your Penask special . I have hundreds of Doc Spratleys in all colors , I like the improvements you made to it with your special . Do they work better than a Doc ? I havn’t fished Penask for Years , since they put the connector in . Have you ? My Dad took us kids there many many times in the 60’s and 70’s . I heard that the size of fish are lots smaller now do you think this is true . We are thinking of trying it this year about the end of june .

If You think you are a person of infulence , try ordering someone else’s dog around .

20

GnuBee, I find that they work about as well a Sprately patterns if not better. I find that the sparkle green ice-dub gets more strikes than the traditional chenille body flies. I aslo tie the Pennask special a bit bigger than my Spratleys. I have not fished Pennask lake lately. One of the issues some of the lakes are running into is high reproduction rates that innturn depletes food sources. You wind up with an overpopulated lake with not enough food to sustain larger fish. I know Chan and some of the others are working on thinning out some of the fish populations in order to restore bigger fish sizes.

That being said there are soooo many great lakes in the region if one isn’t producing to your liking there is ALWAYS another lake within a 30 minute drive (often much closer). When you go up there to fish be sure to check Fishbc.com for fishing reports and talk to the local fishing/fly shops… they may not point you to their favorite lake but they will point ya towards some fish.

psssttt… Hidden Lake in the Shushwap region has some very nice bows. E-mail me if you want some tips on Hidden.