Fly Tying

Tying with foam
by John Root

Hook - Standard wire - 1Xlong-down eye nymph hook. (Mustad 3906B)(Tiemco
3761)  Tied in sizes 6,8,10.

Thread - red or black 3/0

Body - 2MM or 3MM yellow closed cell foam.

Under Body - Small red chenille

Eyes - Med plastic mono eyes on 8-10 size, plastic bead chain on size 6

Wing case (Strike Indicator) - 2MM chartreuse closed cell foam.

Legs - white or chartreuse rubber hackle

Tying Instructions:

Start the thread approx 1/8" behind the hook eye. Spiral wrap the thread down to the hook bend and back to the starting point. Cut a piece of 2 or 3mm foam approx 2 1/2" long and 1 1/2 times the hook gap wide. Cut the front end of this foam in a V to allow it to be tied on the hook easily.

Tie the prepared foam on top of the hook and wrap it down to the hook point and return your thread to the front of the hook shank.

Tie in the red chenille on top of the hook shank down to the point of the hook-where the foam is last tied in also. Spiral wrap the chenille back to the front of the hook and tie it off.

Pull the strip of foam forward over the top of the chenille to the front of the hook. Tie it in where your thread should be-1/8" to 3/16" behind the hook eye.

Tie in the mono eyes in the same location your thread is at. Use the figure eight wrap to secure them. Loosen your vise stem and point the fly straight at you. Take your scissors and trim each side of the foam back to the inside of both eyes. Be sure not to trim beyond the eyes. This will allow the foam of the head to fit inside the eyes when folded over. Reposition your vice.

Cut a piece of 2mm foam approx three fourths the thickness of the body foam-and approx 1 1/2" long. V cut the front end of this foam and tie it in with the starting edge between the eyes. Make all of the wraps for this foam behind the eyes while staying in the same thread channel below.

Fold over the foam that you trimmed down and hold it in place with your off hand. Move the wrapped over foam back from being taught-just enough that it would appear there would be room for 2 sets of eyes instead of just the 1 we have tied in. Make a couple of wraps with your thread in the same t h r ead channel as the indicator and begin to pinch and secure all of the foam. Continue to squeeze and wrap the foam in this area until the head is secure.

Tie in approx one 3" piece of rubber hackle on each side of the fly. This hackle must be tied above the eyes inside the slack we left in the head in order for them to form an X. After the legs are secure-whip finish the fly.

Trim the legs to approx 1 " each. Do not apply head cement yet.

Cut off the excess body material above the thread wraps. Be sure not to cut this off too close. Leave approx 1/8" above the wrap before cutting off. That will allow the end of the cut foam to flare and hide the thread collar. Cut the strike indicator off even with the length of the body and clip off the square edges to make it look like a wing case.

Take the fly out of the vise and paint on the stripes using the black ultra fine point permanent marker. Be sure to paint the end (butt) area first-as it will make it easier to determine the spacing for the other stripes. After painting, put the fly back in the vise and apply head cement. The fly is now complete!