Hi,
My uncle, now 95 and sharper than me, has given me a boatload of stuff. In this treasure trove are may spools of thread. Many are marked “Coats and Clarke”, sewing thread etc.
Questions are;
Any good to tie with? They seem fragile compared to “new” stuff.
Does thread break down, after at least 30 years?
If no good for tying, what then?
Thanks. Oh, I also got enough BIG lead sinkers to weight down the GoodYear blimp!
Mike
The Yong Special midge (developed for super picky trout on the South Platte and San Juan Rivers) is tied with Coats and Clark thread:
http://www.mlsff.org/cgi-bin/Patterns/Recipes/F85/Yong_Special.pdf
Regards,
Scott
I imagine a lot of it is cotton thread, which will can rot and shorten the life of the fly, also cotton thread is weak for it’s diameter which makes it difficult to use w/o breaking. If it were me I’d sort through and look for any silk thread, and chuck the rest. Unless of course the sentimental value is too great.
You could tie a lot of midge patterns with Coats & Clark thread. If you wind it on a hook and it frays that’s all the better.