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The Breakdown Of Material In It's Basic Format


Kristi

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​Materials can come from almost anything, so there is a lot of choice out there. It can be very confusing :blush: to the beginner, even to one who has been doing this for a long time.

 

Today I will review the BASIC Materials you need to get started to tie a Woolly Bugger.

 

Thread (s) – are a fine strand of material of any color, mostly made of nylon, may or may not be waxed, although this fiber can be anything that can strongly secure a material to the hook with enough tension that it won’t break.

** did you know that the thread is both a material and a tool when it comes to tying?? Material to create insect bodies and a tool to hold our materials to the hook.

Three major thread thicknesses for the beginner when starting off are from largest thickness to smallest thickness listed below:

 

· 3/0 great to begin with on bigger hooks

· 6/0 commonly used on most trout flies

· 8/0 for finer more detailed flies that you don’t want bulk on

Hook (s) – vary in size, style and what they are used for and can be very confusing as well... A size #4 is greater in size than a size #24, so a rule of thumb :thumbup: is: the greater the number, the smaller the hook!!! There are six main parts to the hook. This is important to know when we start tying as some measurements are made from the hook itself thus creating the right length of material we need. The six parts are as listed below:

· Eye – is where we thread the tippet through and around to attach the hook to our fly line. In less words it is the hole at one end of the hook

· Shank – is the longest, straightest part of the hook. Its still called a shank even if there is soft curve in it.

· Bend – is not to be confused with the soft curve of the shank but the sharp bend at the opposite end of the eye of the hook, creating the look of a j when you hold the eye of the hook to the sky

· Barb - the point that sticks out just before the point of the hook

· Point/Tip – is the point of the hook and its sharp so be careful

Last but not least we have the

· Gap is the space that is created between the tip of the hook and the shank of the hook

 

Feathers - ​​come from all sorts of birds and any part of their body. There are many different names to these feathers. They can imitate different parts of the particular insect you are tying

** :excl: did you know that having certain feathers in your in collection could be illegal as some birds are on the endangered species list.. always check before you buy

 

Stringy, Shiny, Sparkly, Fuzzy and Flashy stuff - ​I know it's descriptive. But when you see what I'm talking about you will know exactly what I mean. :vdaylove: These materials consist of fuzzy chenille, shiny chenille, tinsel, and tinsel like items. All this pretty stuff comes in an array of colors, lengths and in many forms. :whoot:

 

Head cement, Topcoats or Finishings - generally finish the fly and give it extra durability, prevent your fly from falling apart or simulate something that the fly naturally has like a soft shell backing.

 

The above outline is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to materials. As we continue on, I am positive you will familiarize yourself with these materials, products and other tools.

Stay tuned for how to tie a Woolly Bugger.

 

 

 

*** If you have any questions you can direct them to myself or any of the other executive of NLFF by creating an account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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