Tying Flies

[MJohnston]

Hi, my name is Mike and I have been a fly fisherman for almost 15 years, but have just recently started trying my hand at tying flies. My kids bought me a fairly good fly tying kit, and it has been good so far with the exception of the thread. The stuff in the kit is a "70 weight" thread, but I find it breaks very easily and the fibres separate when I wrap over lead wire. How can I overcome this and is there something else that is recommended?

 

Cheers,

Mike J

[jdangler]

Welcome to the board Mike. I'm not sure what 70 wieght thread is but if your wraping lead I assume your tying nymphs or streamers. Starting out I would use a 3/0 thread for the streamers & 6/0 for the nymphs or even 8/0 for the very small nymphs, but eventually you will get a feel. The feel is for how tight you need to make your wraps or hard you can pull on the thread to make tight wraps. Go out and get stronger thread, ask at the flyshop, let them know what your tying, thay will steer you the right direction & maybe you could take a beginner tying class, every shop offers them & are well worth the money, show you the tricks,the methods, & how to use the tools, it will take out the frustration & will make it enjoyable to tie

[Tungsten]

Maybe utc 70, its for small stuff i think.Like jdangler said get some 6/0 and 8/0 and you'll be fine.A good bobbin will also help.

[headscan]

I think Tungsten is right about it being 70 denier UTC thread. That thread is made by Wapsi and they also make tying kits. 70 denier is made for flies size 14 and smaller - similar to 8/0 thread. Try using less tension on the thread and it should be fine for smaller stuff. Be careful around the hook point because if you catch your thread on it there's a good chance it'll break.

 

I think there may be another answer for the fibres separating. The tying thread is basically just a bunch of fibres twisted together. If you let your bobbin dangle it'll sometimes start spinning counter clockwise - this is the thread untwisting. Sometimes you want to do this like when the tying directions say to use flattened thread to tie in a material. If the fibres are separating when you don't want them to, try spinning your bobbin clockwise a bit to re-twist it.

 

I highly recommend a book like the Fly Tier's Benchside Reference or the Benchside Introduction to Fly Tying. Youtube is also a fantastic source of fly tying videos. I pretty much used those three sources to learn how to tie without a single lesson, though lessons aren't a bad thing.

[magpie]

Unfortunately some kits come with a basic Bobbin and sometimes the Bobbin will have a bur or a rough edge that causes the thread to frey as well, I second the earlier thoughts about the 6/0 or 8/0 and perhaps a new Bobbin or maybe upgrade to a ceramic Bobbin/ceramic with a ruby tip. I also second the lessons idea, books, magazines, this board has some awesome information, the expo this weekend and the web. I have learnt so much by watching others tie, especially Mr. Leroy Hyatt from Fly Tying the Angler's Art.

 

Good on yah for tying your own flies:)

[murray]

Mike, why not stop in at the Hook and Hackle meeting held every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at the Bow Waters Canoe Club off 17 ave beside the irrigation canal. They have a beginner tieing group that can walk you through some flies. I think they're in the middle of the classes right now but you could at least sit in and watch. They will also have a table set up at the Fly Fishing expo this coming weekend so if you show up, introduce yourself and maybe try your hand at it whith one of the guys or gals.

 

Murray

[daxlarsen]

I would also like to add to this as I just started tieing a few months ago and can think of another easy alternative. Cheap bobbins sometimes hold the spool to tight and you can't pull thread out without it breaking if it is a 8/0 thread. I actually bent the spool holder part of the bobbin out a little bit to make it have less pressure on the spool and thus the thread comes out easier while applying less tension to the line. hope that helps.

[MJohnston]

Hey all,

 

Thank you for the advice and info that all have given me, I will try some of the ideas out and see how they work. The kit that I received is a Lefty Kreh Classic Fly tying kit for trout (My kids got it at Bass Pro). The main components of the kit are fairly good, and if someone has an idea of how to check for and remove burrs from the bobbin, I am open for that. I had thought of buying some common thread from one ot the local fabric shops, but in retrospect, think it would be too bulky for anything above a #4 or 6 fly. I will invest in some good 3/0, 6/0 and 9/0 thread from a fly store and go from there.

 

Thanks again and I will more than likely post again.

 

Cheers,

Mike J

[admin]

Hey Mike.

 

Some good advise on here. With regards to the bobbin, if it is burrs, you will see it fray rather than snap. The 70 denier (8/0) is a tough thread to learn on because it does break easily. Once you get the feel for the tension you can give it before it breaks, it gets easy. You'll never not break thread, but just less of it. The 6/0 or 140 denier is good to learn with, but smaller flies it can be bulky. If you get a chance, come out to the Spruce Meadows show and stop by our booth. There will be a bunch of tyers there who will be happy to give you some help. Also, if you can, the Hook and Hackle club is a great idea, and a good place to pick up some new patterns.

[SanJuanWorm]

Hey Mike.

 

Some good advise on here. With regards to the bobbin, if it is burrs, you will see it fray rather than snap. The 70 denier (8/0) is a tough thread to learn on because it does break easily. Once you get the feel for the tension you can give it before it breaks, it gets easy. You'll never not break thread, but just less of it. The 6/0 or 140 denier is good to learn with, but smaller flies it can be bulky. If you get a chance, come out to the Spruce Meadows show and stop by our booth. There will be a bunch of tyers there who will be happy to give you some help. Also, if you can, the Hook and Hackle club is a great idea, and a good place to pick up some new patterns.

 

My advice to you is to learn how to spell advice.

 

 

Kidding. There are 100's of threads on tying here. You'll learn a lot from the guys/gals here.

 

I just started tying again after a 1 year hiatus. We'll see how that goes.

[pokerfish]

You might try using the GPS (gel spun polyethylene) thread. It has a much higher breaking point. It is quite slippery, and a little tougher to cut, but I found it waay easier to tie. Fish tales has the WAPSI 200 denier for big flies, but is BO on the 50 and 100. I found some 100 at Bass Pro a while ago. I think that Danville also has some, that is available on special order from Fishing Hole.

 

A lot of tiers swear by it for spinning the deer hair, but I have switched entirely because even my ham fisted efforts are not breaking the thread. My only knocks on it are that it is hard to cut (use a slicing technique with the scissors) and that the 50 is too thin to build up a head on the fly.

 

It also takes pen colours well, so I use mostly white and black. A touch pricier than the others, but in my mind, well worth it.

 

[Leroy]

Thank you magpie. I am always gratefull to hear that program has helped some tiers out.

I think the time is coming that we will not see 3/0, 6/0 or 8/0 printed on spools any longer.

The denier weight will be posted on the spool rather that the sizes we are used to seeing.

 

[acurrie]

Yeah Quality thread and Bobbin = No broken Thread (But I find 8/0 wayyyyy to thin...I think I'm to heavy handed)

[Leroy]

Yes a quality bobbin is a must. I use more 8/0 that any other thread. I even use it for my steelhead flies. After you get used to the breaking point it is a great size to tie with. I does not "bulk" up on the body or head, at least this is what I have found.

[nebc]

Yes a quality bobbin is a must. I use more 8/0 that any other thread. I even use it for my steelhead flies. After you get used to the breaking point it is a great size to tie with. I does not "bulk" up on the body or head, at least this is what I have found.

 

True, however I like thin threads that are a lot stronger, and have moved to Bennechi's products for a lot of stuff like Chironomids, dries, nymphs, microleeches. just that for some reason it is not all that easy to get it in all the colors i want right now. a 10 weight is surprisingly strong, however if you are using a poor bobbin with no ceramic insert and have it set too tight you will not get far with any light thread.

 

I like the Nor-Vise automatic bobbins.

[newflyer]

Yes a quality bobbin is a must. I use more 8/0 that any other thread. I even use it for my steelhead flies. After you get used to the breaking point it is a great size to tie with. I does not "bulk" up on the body or head, at least this is what I have found.

 

couldn't agree more - started with 6/0 for some of the larger stuff, but the bulk adds up pretty quickly, so I have almost completely switched to 8/0 for most of my tying...

 

great new season by the way, didn't catch them all as I have crazy young kids that sometimes are up way to much in the night to allow me to be up that early!

 

Cheers,

 

*Edit*

 

meant to include a link to FTAA

http://kwsu.org/Offers/FlyTying.aspx

 

Great information here for beginners to "expert" (if there really is such a thing)