I have been tying tandem streamers for awhile now and use 30lb. mono. line for my tandem hook ups.
BUT, most of the old tandem flies were tied with wire. So… anyone have any idea what kind of wire was used? Where can I get some???
Mono works fine, maybe better. But mono does have a long shelf life either.
I guess I would like to tie these like the ones in by gone years.
Thank You!
Hi,
I don’t know about the old patterns but I’ve found a broken E string from a guitar works really well. I also have a spool of .007 stainless wire and that also serves well. Take care & …
Tight Lines - Al Beatty
www.btsflyfishing.com
I’ve tied a few pike tandems using Cortland Toothy Critter. Seems to do well, fairly flexible, and the coating on the wire just helps hold it in place a little better. Not sure how big you are tying, this may be a little big.
Deeky
Used Piano Wire to good effect in the surf for years with no problems on the South Coast of South Africa.
Just checked a large collection of tandems that my dad and I tied in the 30s – only 2 had a black wire ,all the others a single mono. I have one article that shows 15 pd Berkley Steel Nylon Coated Wire --melting off the nylon at the tying ends before tying. I have tried this method but prefer mono. I now use double 12 pd mono the loop end thru the rear hook eye. Some of my latest flies are Snake Flies go to Google and type in “Snake flies” a tandem rear hook and a few inches of mylar tubing to the front loop eye All tied with a mono base. BILL
I found some examples but cannot seem to see yours. They look interesting though.
Dwight