Ball chain: Where?

[gfen]

Is there a source that's not the fly shop for fine ball chain? The hardware store only had a larger size for lamp pull cords, I'm looking for small balls like the kind you'd find on a key chain.

 

[pete41]

Michaels or any good craft store.

 

[MKern]

The only place I get that stuff is from the ground.

It is everywhere. I bet I find 2' of it every year.

 

[sandfly]

dollar store buy a bunch of key chains, give the tab away and use the chain.

 

[ErnieBall]

the mall

 

[sandfly]

The Mall

What is The mall ???
havn't seen one in years... :-D :-D :-D

 

[JustFish]

Ball and Chain......I can't find the right woman either!! :lol:

 

[ryguyfi]

JustFish wrote:
Ball and Chain......I can't find the right woman either!! :lol:

my ball and chain has kept me from fishing lately... choose your battles...

 

[gfen]

Michael's only had a very, VERY fine size of it... Which I promptly bought and took home to turn out size 16 Clousers.

I'll have to take some pictures tonight, but I think I've got it. This'll be my fifth experiment, but I'm pretty sure I've finally got it worked out using marabou instead of hair (I tried bucktail and calf tail, someone suggested fox but I have none).

Unfortuantly, until I get out and fish them I won't know if they retrive point up, but I know when dropped into a bowl of water they always land hook up. I think part of the difficulty is the only size 16s with longer shanks I have are Mustad C53S, which are slightly humped.

 

[ryguyfi]

I bought some xsmall bead chains at gander mountain... it was on sale for $1 so I splurged and bought it. I tied up some bead chain green weenies sz 14 today... looked pretty good.

 

[flyeyeeye]

Ace hardware, or any hardware store for that matter. It is sold by the foot, much cheaper than the stuff at the fly shop.

 

[gfen]

Maybe at Ace, but the Home Despot only had pullcords for lights that I could find.

I'll hit up Ace someday, I've got one that's sort of out of the way.

I need to spend more time fishing, and less time buying things this year.

 

[DSFlyman]

hmm - maybe I should hit my dollar store.

 

[flyfishermanj]

Here's a tip I came across about tying with beadchain:
Tying with Beadchain Eyes link.

JH

 

[osprey]

Ernie.........is that the mall and chain store?

 

[gfen]

Since my thread's been kicked back up, turns out that Michael's did have the regular, keychain sized stuff in their leather crafting section.

They also had thin leather strapping akin to bugskin, $2 for bundle of many, many feet.

And last night's find was pure antron yarn, brown and white, at Walmart in their hooklatch/needlepoint section for $0.97 for what's got to be 50+ feet. Unlike antron from the fly shop, it is spun into yarn, but it combs right out into kinky fibres.

Its no wonder my friends laugh at me for this, four years ago it'd be had to picture me lurking in the back of craft stores patrolling the yarn section for "sparkle yarn."

 

[gentleshepherd]

I have a question? Can you use the plastic type ball chain? I had purchased 2 tubes of ball chain in a small size but they are plastic. Gold and silver. There is like no weight for these. I thought I could use a bit of lead right behing the eyes to give them some weight. Does my theory hold water or should I say weight!

I bought the tubes at the Joann Fabric shop in Williamsport for $2.50 a tube for I think 30 feet in a tube. They also had blue and purple in 2 sizes small and large.

 

[gfen]

Turns out the stuff I first bought from the jewelery section of Michaels is either plastic or so incredibly light it may as well be.

Using a 3xL 16x straight eye, ready up red thread.

I first bind the eyes on, then a piece of lead wire from right in front of the eyes and back about halfway up the shank, and put a piece of crystal flash (or is it flashabou? The spooled, non-crinkly stuff) on the end.

Wrap thread back before the eye.

Wrap the crystal whatsit back over the thread-wrapped lead to the eye, then back ot the end, then back again. Three layers gives it a nice, silvery irridescence and hides the red. Bind down, clip tag.

Tie in lighter strand or two of marabou on bottom, behind the eyes in a wider band, then just a bit in front of the eyes. Clip off tag.

Whip finish, cut red thread. Time for black/brown/green/etc.

Invert fly/vice. Start new thread in front of eyes.

Couple pieces of flashabou (the crinkly stuff), irregular lengths.

Couple strands of darker marabou, tie in front of eyes only. Taper
your head. Whip finish, cut off, laquer.

An awesome size 16 Clouser minnow! Rides hook up thanks to the lead, has attractant eyes thanks to the cheap beadchain. The red stripe over the lower layer looks like flared gills for an additional hotspot. Moves like a bigger verison thanks to the marabou. Nice and small so my crappy casting technique can lob 'em on my little 4wt. The stocked fish have proven to eat 'em in brown/green.

 

[gentleshepherd]

Thanks for the suggestion, I think I'll tie some up this week and try them out. That's if the creeks clear up! Too much rain.