Colour of tying thread

[Ardbeg]

I'm particularly lazy when it comes to tying my flies and black uni 6/0 is pretty much my standard fare.
There are other threads i will use but only on very specific types of patterns, e.g kevlar on heavily dressed  deer hair flees or 17/0 on parachute type flees, primrose for Greenwells'.

For standard patterns such as trad wets, DHE's, etc. black is my go to thread.

Should I be tying my march browns with brown thread, my invictas with indigo and my Peter Ross' female pheremoned purple?

Cheers

Ardbeg

[haresear]

Like you Steve, I use whatever thread is on my bobbin and that is usually olive, rusty or yellowish. Then again, I very rarely tie traditional patterns and just make flies up as I go along, so I'm not tying to a pattern at all, just an idea.

With dubbed bodied flies, I can't see that it makes a big difference, although I concede that on true Clyde style patterns with dubbed bodies, the dubbing should be so sparse as to be translucent, so the thread shines through. I'm not a big believer in that theory myself :crap

I can see why a tyer of traditionals would want to stay true to the original pattern, but like I say, I rarely do that and so can suit myself. The fish don't seem to care.

Just read your post Col.  I lke the marker pen idea for the flexifloss underbodies. Which pens do you use? I have a selection of Pantones, but they are expensive.

Alex

[scotfly]

As a general rule I like to choose my thread so that it is the same as the body colour. Though lately I have been using a neutral grey a lot.
One way to overcome "thread laziness"  :lol: is to buy several bobbin holders and have each one loaded with different coloured threads. I have about 15 or so bobbin holders all loaded ready to go (bobbin holders are one of my fetishes) In fairness though, several are pre-tensioned to accommodate the various sizes of spools. Uni, RMPS, Pearsal's, Hends, Gudebrod (10/0) and one is set for spiderweb.  

[.D.]

I'm particularly lazy when it comes to tying my flies and black uni 6/0 is pretty much my standard fare.
..............

Putting the colour thing to one side, do you really use 6/0 Unithread for most of your tying? That's pretty fat rope for anything smaller than a size 12 fly.

[Wildfisher]

I use grey 14/0 for just about everything. Spider web for hackling  onto wing posts.

[Malcolm]

Red or black is usual for me. I like a touch of red about a lot of my flies especially Snipe and purple and the thread is just enough.

[Ian_M]

Black for most of my flies.  But that's cos I bought a monster bobbin for 50p many years ago. It's a strong fine thread but a little slippy if you know what I mean.  Get it waxed and its much better. Use the electric drill to fill empty spools and often apply wax at the same time.

[thewaterbouys]

     I tend to use Black quite a lot  but will use most coulors depending on the fly i am tying.

[rabbitangler]

I find myself using white thread more & more, especially on light bodied flies. Saying that most loch wets are black thread jobs.

Sometimes Powersilk/GSP if I need real tension (though its great if you want minimal heads - Just pull reall hard on the whip finish and hey presto ..... no head) the stuff is murder to tie on because it's so slippy and is a nightmare on Deer hair ....any hair for that matter as it cuts straight through if you use too much presssure..........................just a bit more pressure...........a wee bit more...........just a we.......oh f**k.

Also spider web for parachutes & wee things though this is the opposite of powersilk............. normal tension........F**K!!!!