Foam found around the house

[bigslackwater]

I've been tying some foam hoppers lately and got to thinking...Foam is used in many products. There has to be lots of usable foam all over the house, but I'm drawing blanks on where to find it. I like the idea of tying flies from scavenged material. So far I've thought of foam insoles in shoes and the little foam cushions under the bases of lamps, electronics, appliances etc... I'm sure there are some better places to find good usable foam. Suggestions need not be limited to foam! If you know of any other other fly materials found around the house, lets hear em!

 

[joseywales]

I’m with you. I repurpose everything I can. I’m not so much “green”, as I am a lazy/creative combination. Can’t stand running to Lowes or local hardware, don’t really like throwing good items away, and enjoy the challenge and uniqueness of self creations. I am just starting to tie flys, so I might be suggesting the wrongs types of foam at times.

Well let’s see. Mepps pays for squirrel tails and we have squirrels in the yard. Hmm….
What type of foam is inside old life jackets???
What about those beer can coazies
Old carpet padding
A sleeping pad for camping that might already be damaged

If you have daughters, the girls have some pretty bright nail polish, if you want to liven up a lure or popper. They also have strands of bling on their shirts or hair bands that could make nice flash for a Wooly or other type of fly.

 

[Fishidiot]

I've salvaged foam from some different sources in the past.....however closed cell foam in sheet form is available in craft stores for such cheap prices that scrounging is hardly necessary IMO.
Any Michael's or AC Moore store has colored sheets (I often buy white and color it with markers) or you can get thicker foam in kids visor hats etc. It's really cheap and you can get so much that it lasts for years.

 

[shakey]

flip flops.i have seen bass bug poppers made out of them

 

[joseywales]

fli flops. Of all the good for nothin...I hate those things. Good to know that they are good for something. Fli flops and scooters, every parent's nightmare.

How about a $5 foam cooler?

How about foam from inside a beaten up cooler? Not all of those had foam sprayed in their did they???

 

[jrcll]

I used the foam from a cheap paint roler , it peeled right off, and you an color it with a waterproof pen

 

[flytyingfred]

I dont know how scooters got into the conversation but if your kid has a scooter with those little thingys( I just remember the name streamers) hanging out of the handlebars they make great wing cases for nymphs. It only takes a few of them to last a winter of tying and there are so many in the bunch the kids dont even know you pilfered them.

 

[flytyingfred]

P.S. I forgot to mention the if your wife knits or crochets like mine does and you are stealthy enough you can clip a few feet of yarn off one of those big skeins and they never know. Also someone on here and I dont remember who uses dryer lint. I myself have not tried it yet but as was mentioned it comes in various colors including white which could possibly be dyed. Rubber bands make great body material for nymphs and can be colored with permanent markers.

 

[joseywales]

flytyingfred wrote:
P.S. I forgot to mention the if your wife knits or crochets like mine does and you are stealthy enough you can clip a few feet of yarn off one of those big skeins and they never know. Also someone on here and I dont remember who uses dryer lint. I myself have not tried it yet but as was mentioned it comes in various colors including white which could possibly be dyed. Rubber bands make great body material for nymphs and can be colored with permanent markers.

Using lint, you add a bit of survival to your gear. If things get REALLY bad out there, you can start a fire with your fly. A fire fly if you will...

 

[bigslackwater]

I took Fishidiots advice and went to Michael's... Holy crap! I got a ton of colored foam...every shade imaginable for $10. Could probably tie 5000 flies with this supply! So my foam is taken care but we can keep talking about other scavenged materials...carry on!

 

[gfen]

fwiw, the accepted form of scavenged foam is from flip flops and other foam bottomed footwear.

 

[turkey]

I've made flip flops out of scavenged foam poppers.

 

[bigslackwater]

Now if you can reassemble an entire pheasant, that would be something!

 

[DGC]

I like copper wire ribs on many flies, including certain dries if, for example, only for reinforcing a palmer hackle, such as on a big Stimulator. Therefore, if a fan or some other appliance with a power cord dies, I save the cord. Wire strippers in steps make easy work of removing the insulation to expose the copper wires. To keep them organized, you leave a bit of the insulation in place when you cut the piece you have exposed from the overall length of power cord.

I have not noticed a significant loss of sheen in comparison to spooled copper wire purchased from tying suppliers, and in fact a little less sheen is at times desirable, if that were to occur.

 

[bigslackwater]

Good idea! I've got an old vacuum that I'm about to take apart.

 

[flytyingfred]

also on the wire posts any electric motor has a mile of wound copper wire inside. Its sometimes a little difficult to disassemble the outer shells but its worth it and also the guage of the wire is a little bigger. The bigger the motor the heavier the wire of course. If you are lucky it sometimes comes in different colors. I do not let any electrical appliance leave my home without a complete disassembly.
Then its off to the bottom of the hill to our neighbor. He takes everything metal we throw out (tin cans to frying pans). He recycles it and in return I sometimes get a ground hog or a red squirell for my donations.

 

[Leteras]

Clear nail polish is great for head cement and very inexpensive. Embroidery floss is cheap for woven flies. I can actually get the floss in 500 yard spools but I haven't had the need to tie that many woven flies yet. Packaging foam that is very thin makes good wing cases. Fake nails make good beetle shells. Craft store yarn will give you a lifetime supply of sucker spawn makerial. Spider web material they put out for halloween makes great egg veils. Holographic tinsel from craft stores is cheap and can be used for many things.