Hook: 4/0 (weighted with a few turns of lead wire secured with super glue)
Tail: Arctic fox tail hair and a good helping of flash
Beard: Arctic fox tail
Wing: Flash and crinkle hair (Turrals) or slinky fibre(h20), or supreme hair in various colours
Eyes: 10mm wobbly eyes (available from craft shops) secured with Epoxy resin
Weedguard: 50lb nylon tied in a ?V?(optional)
[attachimg=1]
Step 1. Crush barb with hook (optional) then fix it in the jaws of the vice. Take some arctic fox and tie it in as a tail. Take some flash and tie in also at the tail end then secure with a wip finish. Wind a small ammount of lead wire as shown and secure this and the previous thread wraps with super glue.
[attachimg=2]
Step 2. Take another peice of arctic fox tail and tie in as beard. Then place some more flash as shown.
[attachimg=3]
Step 3. Take the winging material, in this case pink crinkle hair and tie in as shown.
(http://)
[attachimg=4]
Step 4. Double back the wing.
[attachimg=5]
Step 5. Tie in Weed guard (optional)
[attachimg=6]
Step 6. This is the messy bit. You must keep the epoxy at the head area only. Secure the eyes with epoxy(5 min) once dried add a second coat of epoxy and the fly is finished.
[attachimg=7]
The last picture shows some variations using the same recipe. The bottom two flies have rattles for stirring dour pike.
Good stuff Col, I have put the pics in line for you
I take it these flies are for catching shreks or hanging on the Christmas tree :P
Davie
Very "pikey" ! :)
Are those light wire Aberdeens? No problems with them straightening?
TL
MC
If you want to save a few bob, and have a bit more choice instead of using the "googly" doll?s eyes, you might like to try this;
http://www.greatart.co.uk/GLAS...uance (http://www.greatart.co.uk/GLASDESIGNWINDOWPAINTS.htm#nuance)
http://www.misterart.com/store...r.htm (http://www.misterart.com/store/view/003/group_id/298/Plaid-Gallery-Glass-Window-Color.htm)
http://www.onestroke.com/demo/....html (http://www.onestroke.com/demo/pages/GalleryGlassPages/windowcolorindex.html)
Comes in all colours, including clear, various metallics, etc etc and works very well indeed.
This is acrylic window colour. The stuff I used here for making 3-D eyes;
(http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/863/se8qi4.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
The eyes, ( and anything else done with the clear material), go completely clear, and stay that way. The ones in the picture are still very slightly milky, as I was in a hurry to take the picture, and the stuff was not completely set!
(http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/6803/se16ub2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
The stuff I have used here is a German brand, but there are many makes and others I have tried have all worked. The stuff comes in various sized bottles, which are designed with nozzles for painting directly on glass. These allow a fine dosage of small drops. The bottles I use contain 125 ml of paint. Doubtless someone could work out how many drops that is, but so far I have made well over a thousand eyes from one bottle of clear acrylic and as far as I can tell it is still nearly full! The bottles cost 1.60 Euros. You may find them cheaper elsewhere; glass painting is a very popular hobby it seems! I can?t understand why people waste good fly-dressing gear on such stuff, but there again, they probably think we're nuts too! =)
The stuff is non-toxic, no fumes, water based, extremely tough, waterproof when set, and extremely easy to use. I have a couple of flies with eyes, and also "epoxied" with the stuff, sitting in a glass of salt-water on my windowsill, where they have been for three weeks, ( I took them out after three months! I wrote the article with these pictures quite some time ago now). The "normal" hooks were rusted, even the stainless hooks were marked, but the stuff was still clear, and there is no sign of any deterioration. The stuff does not yellow or fade.
I have used it for coating heads and bodies etc, ( Try the glitter or pearl metallic etc, on a "flashback" nymph!) very successfully.
TL
MC
Col, how deep do you fish this fly?
These are well fed pike!
Good stuff Col. I'll be tying some of those up for the summer I think.
Two pike on fly at the same time must have been hilarious :D.
Alex
Hello Col
Can't wait to see the christmas tree ones. How do attach these to your leader,
is there any wire or other kind of trace involve?
Davie
Here is how I make them;
You will need
1. A sheet of glass or Perspex. At a pinch, use a piece of stiffer clear polythene taped to a white background. Nothing else will work! This stuff sticks like nothing else; it is easy to peel off the above mentioned materials when it dries hard but flexible but if you get it on anything else it will stay there for good. I know of no way to remove it from stuff like paper, wood, hair, cloth and so forth. This is also why it works so well on flies as an epoxy substitute. If you use the perspex, give it a polish with furniture polish before you start, as it is otherwise difficult to remove the finished eyes.
2. A good pair of tweezers, preferably with serrated points, for grasping beads, sequins etc.
3. Something to dab the black pupils on the eyes with. The tool in the picture is an engineer's pin vice, holding a straight pin (sewing pin) with an oval head. I merely found this convenient, but you can use anything at all really, even a cocktail stick. The idea is to use something which allows you to place drops of a uniform size on the sequins.
4. Acrylic window colour. The stuff I used here is a German brand, but there are many makes and others I have tried have all worked. The stuff comes in various sized bottles, which are designed with nozzles for painting directly on glass. These allow a fine dosage of small drops. The bottles I use contain 125 ml of paint. Doubtless someone could work out how many drops that is, but so far I have made well over a thousand eyes from one bottle of clear acrylic and as far as I can tell it is still nearly full! The bottles cost 1.60 Euros. You may find them cheaper elsewhere; glass painting is a very popular hobby it seems! I can?t understand why people waste good fly-dressing gear on such stuff, but there again, they probably think we're nuts too! :)
[attachimg= 1] [attachimg=3]
All of this should be placed on a white background. I used copier paper. You should also have some kitchen roll or similar stuff handy, for cleaning needles etc.
5. Some Sequins. The ones I used here are 6mm holographic sequins, in "mother of pearl", gold, silver, and copper. There are other colours in the range, but these suffice for most things. I chose 6mm because that is a fairly universal size for baitfish eyes. I have also used plain silver and gold, but I prefer the holographic eyes.
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=4] [attachimg=5]
The process
Place your sequins on the plastic. I have only used a couple here for clarity, but I normally place them in lines of ten or so on the sheet. Some sequins are flat, and others are domed. I use both types. If you use the domed ones, then place them hollow side up. If you use flat ones, then be extra careful when placing the drops on them, since they may otherwise flow off the sequin (maximum two whiskeys before you start). A packet of one thousand 6mm sequins costs 0.49 Euro, but I am sure you could get them cheaper if you shop around! :)
It is quite difficult to photograph these things, as they shimmer and scintillate quite remarkably.
Take the bottle containing the black acrylic, and squeeze a small amount onto the sheet. Take your pin - or whatever you are using - and place a drop of black acrylic in the middle of the sequin. This serves two purposes. It makes a black pupil for the eye, and it also sticks the sequin to the sheet! Sequins have a hole in the middle! This is most useful for our purposes.
[attachimg=6]
Leave the sequins to dry. This takes anything up to 24 hours, depending on paint thickness. When dry, take the bottle of crystal clear acrylic and carefully place a drop on the sequin.
[attachimg=7]
If you do this correctly, the stuff forms a domed "head" over the sequin. Allow to dry. That was it! You can peel these eyes off the sheet, and stick them to your flies.
[attachimg=8]
When you first apply the acrylic from the bottle it is not clear or black; instead it looks milky. It only clears completely once it is dry.
We have just made 3-D eyes, with a holographic background ( the sequin), and a round (unless you were on the beer before you started, or bought square sequins!), black pupil.
[attachimg=9]
[attachimg=10]
TL
MC
Am having trouble getting images in the right order, as my numbers don?t agree with the attachment numbers, and this is a bit mind-bending!
So on to the next bit of fun.
Place your sequins on your sheet as before and take your bottle of clear acrylic, and carefully place a small drop on each sequin.
[attachimg=1]
Now take your tweezers, and select a glass bead of the colour and size you fancy (OK, I know I did not mention the glass beads before but don?t worry you have plenty of time to do this) and place this carefully on the centre of the sequin, pressing it down into the acrylic. The hole in the bead should be pointing up - and there is a reason for this!
[attachimg=2]
When the acrylic is dry, ( please remember that necessity may be the mother of invention, but carelessness and impatience are the fathers of all abortions!) once again place a small amount of the black acrylic in a little puddle on your working sheet and then, using your pin, place a small drop of the stuff on the hole in the bead.
You should end up with something like the photo.
[attachimg=3]
You may have to do this again at a later stage, as the black acrylic runs into the hole in the bead, and fills it up. This is great! It looks more realistic if the pupil has a "root", and it also anchors the bead very firmly to the sequin and the clear acrylic already on it.
Great! We have just made some "googly" eyes. Depending on the sequin and the bead you use, you can obtain a large number of effects. I especially like the holographic gold with a transparent red glass bead. This is almost a perfect imitation of a herring eye!
But we are not finished yet! You want even more google? Well, then simply dispense with the sequins. Carefully place drops of the clear acrylic, spaced around your working sheet.
Take the beads of your choice and place them in the drops. Take care that one side of the bead hole is pointing upwards, or you may well end up with cross-eyed baitfish. When dry, once again place drops of the black acrylic in the bead hole.
I chose some silly colours here, merely to illustrate the effect. It is better to wait for one stage to dry before continuing. Also, the eyes will not go completely clear until the acrylic has set.The actual operations only take a few minutes for a whole sheet of eyes.
The stuff is non-toxic, no fumes, water based, extremely tough, waterproof when set, and extremely easy to use. I have a couple of flies with eyes, and also "epoxied" with the stuff sitting in a glass of saltwater on my windowsill, where they have been for three weeks, and there is no sign of any deterioration. The stuff does not yellow or fade.
I use it to stick the eyes on as well! If you do this, then let the stuff on the fly set a little before you place the eyes; if the stuff is still semi-liquid they may fall off and make a mess.
You can of course use anything at all for a base. For large pike flies and similar, buttons are good, but you can also simply use punched out holographic paper.
Oh dear! I nearly forgot the beads again! I bought this packet of beads at the local supermarket for 0.99 Euro. I have already used hundreds of them. (Sorting them is a bit of a pain; do this before you start!).
[attachimg=4]
TL
MC
Trying to get these attachments right is driving me nuts!
How can I upload multiple attachments in one go Fred? There must be a way?
TL
MC
Mike, in additional options next to the attachment box choose button there is a link
"more attachments" just click that and it will add another box and choose button, you can do a max of 10 in any one post.
Quote from: admin on February 03, 2007, 09:13:56 PM
Mike, in additional options next to the attachment box choose button there is a link
"more attachments" just click that and it will add another box and choose button, you can do a max of 10 in any one post.
OK Thanks Fred. My software was once again blocking the creation of more than one box! Have it sorted noe.
TL
MC
Quote from: Acefisher on February 04, 2007, 03:07:17 AM
Hi Guys,
Thanks for that Mike , great explanation.
This is a technique I have used for the past three years . I got it from an American website I think .
Col , buy sequins in bulk from haberdashery shops , Flashy eyes work great.
The milkiness in the drying eye is because of solvent evaporation, Epoxy solvent or worse (Mike?), so only in a well ventilated place.
It does not matter that it is sold as water soluble.
Take care with these things .
Paul.
According to the "blurb" on a number of bottles of window colour I have, it has no toxic fumes. Some may have however, so it is better to read the instructions first on all these things.
Epoxy, super-glue, varnish and various other things do give off toxic fumes however, and should be used with caution, in a well ventilated place.
TL
MC
Having obtained(aka pinched :D) some stick on eyes from a friend it struck me they were flat & white so I made up a copy on the computer and printed a load out. Then put superglue on top & bottom and allowed to dry, thus sealing the paper. Then clear epoxy in a dome shape put on top. Result was almost indistinguishable from the bought one.