Just starting tying again after a 10 hiatus from salmon fishing, was looking for materials around the house that might be useful. Almost forgot material costs alot of dough starting out again, any how found a piece of cable wire, so i stripped out the foam dielectric and it fits over the verious size hooks perfectly and floats like nobodies business. RG-6,59,and 11 all have different size dielectrics, I’m thinking might be useful for streamers for bass or trout. Any body else come across interesting materials around the house they found useful.
Hi,
I bought some fancy pears at the grocery store last week that cam wrapped in a foam mesh. The mesh can be cut to form perfect foam posts for emergers or other flies.
nsonthefly,
8-10 years ago, in a club raffle, I won some pencil poppers tied tube fly style.
These were shrink wrap covering a 3 1/2 inch long cylinder of foam. Through the center was a wire trace snelled on to a hook with a bucktail “tail” wrapped on. Fished with a short strip, these flies had an excellent “walk the dog” action.
I soon found out that the stripers LOVED these things.
A couple of years later,I needed to make myself some more of these. When I asked the original maker what the foam he used was, all he could tell me was that it was “some kind of insulation”
Thanks to you, I think I just found out 
“The man who knows all about trout does not exist,
although you have probably met him”
Samuel G. Camp 1911
Glad I could help, the stuff I found that floats the best is quality wire you’d get from the cable company (more air trapped in) not the cheap radio shack stuff. Gotta love this site, lotta good info floating around.