An Alternative to An Expensive Traditional Tying Material

[mt_flyfisher]

Probably one of the oldest and best known wet flies is the Partridge and Orange. It’s a very simple fly that calls for an orange Pearsall silk body with Hungarian Partridge hackle. The problem with using Pearsall’s silk, if you can find it, is that it’s getting pretty doggone expensive, as you can see from what was sold on EBay a few days ago.

Yesterday, I found this Embroidery thread on Facebook Marketplace. All of those 1000m spools in a nice plastic case with a handle for $20.00. I really liked the color selections, so I bought it.

It is slightly larger diameter than the Pearsall’s silk, but I think you could easily tie flies down to #20’s or so. And, I don’t see much difference between this orange embroidery thread color and the Pearsall’s silk orange that I’ve been using for the Partridge and Orange wet fly.

Embroidery thread is relatively inexpensive, and comes in just about every color imaginable. Think it will work?

P.S. I’m half tempted to book a beat on a well known British chalk stream and fish wet flies downstream tied with this embroidery floss. 😃

 

[Kgregor12]

I use a bright red high tensile strength UTC for the thread bodies on my partridge and orange. I often like a minute amount of dubbing as well with one strand of crystal flashabou wrapped around it.

 

[Solitariolupo]

Might not be the same color in the water. Should work.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Might not be the same color in the water. Should work.

I tied a fly body with it and wetted it and i think it looks as good, or maybe better.

 

[Bamboozle]

See what the fish think...

FWIW - Over the years I've tied Partridge & Orange with orange Ultra Wire, orange floss, orange Uni Thread and orange Ice Dub and all catch fish with regularity.

 

[goose54cdd]

I tied a fly body with it and wetted it and i think it looks as good, or maybe better.

It looks very nice to me. I'd like to see how it looks wet. It's probably about right on, but the fish won't care if it's not perfect.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

It looks very nice to me. I'd like to see how it looks wet. It's probably about right on, but the fish won't care if it's not perfect.

I moistened the body just before completing this fly.

 

[dc410]

Thanks for the heads up on the embroidery thread idea, John. The thing about Pearsall’s is the diameter of the actual material is less. Does it really matter … probably not. I actually always thought the thickness of Pearsall’s was too big for small soft hackles. I don’t like big heads on my soft hackles. However, that’s just my thing. I don’t see myself buying any more Pearsall’s silk at this point in my fly tying career - particularly at $10 a spool.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Thanks for the heads up on the embroidery thread idea, John. The thing about Pearsall’s is the diameter of the actual material is less. Does it really matter … probably not. I actually always thought the thickness of Pearsall’s was too big for small soft hackles. I don’t like big heads on my soft hackles. However, that’s just my thing. I don’t see myself buying any more Pearsall’s silk at this point in my fly tying career - particularly at $10 a spool.

The embroidery thread that I got is size 40. It’s quite strong, and is thicker than Pearsall’s silk. It’s pretty obvious that the head on my fly is large - too large.

I don’t know much about that particular embroidery thread, which is Madeira, from Germany. I do see from their website that it comes in 30, 40 and 60 weight, with 60 being the smallest, which would probably be better suited for smaller flies.

 

[Tups]

L to R: Pearsall’s Gossamer silk, Ephemera silk, Danville waxed Flymaster 6/0 (70 denier), Belding Corticelli Buttonhole Twist.

The two silk threads are very similar in thickness to the Danville 6/0. The Buttonhole twist is the oddball - much thicker. The old time Yorkshiremen who created the North Country soft hackle flies often tied with buttonhole twist. They probably just used what they could find locally.

On the other hand some of the Yorkshire soft hackle enthusiasts (as opposed to commercial tiers ) preferred a slimmer, more delicate fly. Edmonds and Lee in their famous book (Brook and River Trouting) recommended Pearsall’s gossamer silk by name.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Another one with with a smaller head.

 

[nfrechet]

i dont think fish know the difference between Pearsall's and embroidery threads

good substitution

 

[goose54cdd]

Another one with with a smaller head.

View attachment 1641238773

The fish will never know. It looks like a great substitute to me. Fish don't give style points. They eat when they see and determine if it's edible. You made a good purchase.

 

[lestrout]

Is that embroidery thread silk, or maybe cotton? I think silk tends to wet differently than cotton, especially when not too waxed. When silk on rod windings is varnished, it turns transparent. With water wetting on flies, my various silk threads often deepen and darken in color,

 

[redietz]

I moistened the body just before completing this fly.

View attachment 1641238768

A Partridge and Orange tied with silk is a rusty brown when wet, which that isn't. I'm sure it will catch fish, but probably under different conditions than with tied with silk. There are a number of silk threads available that aren't Pearsall's (and are a lot cheaper.)

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Is that embroidery thread silk, or maybe cotton? I think silk tends to wet differently than cotton, especially when not too waxed. When silk on rod windings is varnished, it turns transparent. With water wetting on flies, my various silk threads often deepen and darken in color,

A Partridge and Orange tied with silk is a rusty brown when wet, which that isn't. I'm sure it will catch fish, but probably under different conditions than with tied with silk. There are a number of silk threads available that aren't Pearsall's (and are a lot cheaper.)

I believe it is rayon, and comes in different sheens as well as in an array of colors. Rayon is very soft to the touch, like silk or cotton, but absorbs water more readily which is not a bad thing when tying wet flies. This thread also has a high tensile strength, and the company makes a point of mentioning their eco-friendly dyes and manufacturing processes.

Yes, Pearsall’s orange silk does darken when wet, more so than this thread does. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad from a fish catching perspective, but if a person thought it important to match the exact color of Pearsall’s thread when wet I’m pretty sure Madeira’s embroidery thread has other colors that would match it.

 

[bdhoover77]

I’ve been buying Ephemera tying silk and am quite pleased with it. I also have several spools of Semperfli silk but its much thicker (3/0) than the Ephemera.

 

[redietz]

I’ve been buying Ephemera tying silk and am quite pleased with it. I also have several spools of Semperfli silk but its much thicker (3/0) than the Ephemera.

There's also Kimono and YLI, among others.