I just ordered some new hooks - couldn’t find them locally from my friend who owns a shop here in Cincy. I went to Outdoor World/Bass pro in their fly section just in case, and the fly shop guy just laughed at me. Thanks, “Richard”.
ANYWAY - When they come in I’m going to try and match the itsy-bitsy bugs we have on the local waters here. If I can master this then I’ll see if I can find some 32’s online.
Why 28? The size 24s I tied and fished just dwarfed the local bugs on the surface so I’m going to try and go smaller to see if I can get closer to what they are eating…plenty of looks, not enough takers.
I’m mostly going to tie midge larva and griffith’s gnats AND OF COURSE Fly Goddess’ purple midge.
Any quick words of wisdom? Thoughts for success? Things like “don’t drink and tie?”
use fine thread (i use uni 17/0 trico)
not to many wraps, it will look wierd.
plenty of light.
adjust your bobbin for lighter tension.
fine tip scissors( if you dont already have em)
and just remember to go SUPER LIGHT on dubbing
8) hope it helps.
So once you have tyed a few of these tiny flies, can you post a picture with something in it for size reference like say the eye of needle or something?
Not only does it make things easier; it makes your flies LOOK better.
I like a jeweler’s loop type like the Opti Visor. Ever since I started using one; ALL of my flies look 100% better with nice neat wraps especially when I tie size 32 Mercury Brassies!
Also if you can get your hands on some Gudebrod 10/0 there is nothing better IMHO. It is 45 denier, strong and lays flat. Ignore high aught numbers; it’s all about denier or weight.
This is ALL great feedback - and yes, I certainly will post a pic with something as a size reference.
Great suggestion about putting some dubbing wax on my fingers to help holdthe hook. My bodkin is also magnatized, so that helps too.
The overwhelming consensus is that less is more - and I’ll have to remember that, despite my personal bad habit of “if one is good - then two must be better”.
Bamboozle is dead on when he says “magnification” - on the “Size 32!” thread I posted a pic of the Magnifying light that I have on my bench - best of both on one stand.
Here’s a pretty good article on tying/fishing small flies http://www.flyfishohio.com/Fly_Box_Porn_Cameron.htm that really got me thinking about how to go small after seeing all those fish chase those really small flies!
My biggest worry is not necessarily the tie itself, but being able to do so in the vise I have. The jaws are pretty fat and rounded like this:
To put it in perspective, this is a sz 18 scud hook. I’ve had a little trouble tying sz 24 with this vise so I can only imagine how it will be with a 28 and then a 30.
Thanks again for all your advice! I will be sure to post pics as soon as I have something that doesn’t look like a fuzz-ball to post!
I have tied on large and fine jaws alike with no real issues except that you will quickly find out how good the jaws of your vise are when you start clamping really tiny hooks at the edge. Soft jaws will begin to spread at the edge and soon become useless for the smallest hooks.
Really pointy or fine jaws will allow you to set the hook in deeper which will help to prevent the edge spreading I have seen on some vises. I sprung for midge jaws for my vises. Because I tie mainly small stuff; the midge jaws get used most of the time.
Another HUGE issue is clearance around the hook. I have found that being able to adjust the head angle of my vise helps a LOT! I also have found that large head draw collet vises can have clearance issues. Fine jaws are great IF you can get your fingers around the hook; some jaw collets are so big my fat fingers can’t get in there.
Luckily when I bought my vise I took all of this stuff into consideration; especially the minuscule flies and ended up with a vise that works for me for everything.
i have tried tying 26’s on my traveller with the midge jaws and only crushed the hook bend and thats without cranking down on the tension. i now limit myself to size 20.
I have had no problems with the vise. I had the Renzetti Traveler with both sets of jaws which both held the fly. And Vosseler took care of this with two different jaws.
As to vises for small flies, you might want to take a look at the HMH Spartan with the midge jaws. I really like this vise for small hooks. Nice fine pointed jaw tips and adjustable angle and an overall quality vise at a good price.
