Glo Bug/Egg Yarn flies

[mute]

Trying to tie up some glo bugs but not quite masterign it yet. The problem i have is, when i tie it and then trim it, and it puffs out, its not a full egg, the underside of the hook you can see, ive followed a few different tutorials and its still not really coming out like a full ball.

What i do is cut an inch or so strip, fold it in half, tie that down in the middle onto the hook. then a few wraps behind and in front, pull up and clip.

 

[jayL]

Use more yarn. I use three or four pieces, depending on hook size. Sometimes I fold a long piece a few times, sometimes I cut it. That doesn't really matter.

Also, work it over the hook with your fingers and it'll spread out.

 

[Red_headed_Stranger]

I also use a little bit more yarn than that. Make sure all your thread wraps are extremely tight and that you keep tension the entire time. Also, if you aren't getting a complete egg don't worry too much. The fish don't seem to mind if it isn't complete. In fact, depending on the egg, sometimes getting the full egg can get in the way of the hook gap.

 

[mute]

Hmm, perhaps, but i think im still doing something wrong, theyre not as "tight" little balls like the ones i bought at the store. Heres a picture of a few of mine and a bunch of bought ones. And also when submerged in water, the store bought ones retain their round shape, mine kind of just go to slush. If it will help more i can show a video of myself tying one

 

[jayL]

It's entirely possible that your yarn sucks.

Either way, I use mcfly foam.

It looks like you need sharper scissors and more yarn.

But, as always, they will work fine. It won't matter at all... you won't be using globugs on wild trout (unless you know where wild rainbows are in the SE. I don't), unless they are brookies, and those are the two types of fish that will care the least about the quality of your flies.

 

[JackM]

Steelhead season is almost over. Looks like you have enough of those to get you started next year anyhow. Move on to dry flies.

 

[mute]

Talk about frustration, im done tying for the night. Used like half of 2 packs of the waspi egg yarn. Dont know what im doing wrong. tried liek 10 different ways of tying it, dotn know how they get it to withold that more compacted hard ball shape.

 

[mute]

Well after about 30 ties, i got 1 nice perfect one. And i dont know how i did it hahaha. Well after searching the net ive come to the conclusion that McFlyFoam is stretchier and gives the perfect balls effortlessly. And that its harder for the Egg Yarn as its a different material. I did find this though ( http://www.flytyingforum.com/uploads/gallery3fb838aa61aa5.jpg ) , and if i understand how they got to step4 i will probably be ok using the yarn instead of buying the foam.

 

[jayL]

When I use the yarn, I see similar results as you. When in the water, it puffs out anyway, now that I remember it.

 

[bigjohn58]

Just buy some pom-poms at the craft store and super glue them to the hook. Make sure you aren't fishing specail regs if you use them. Use your fly tying time to tie up some real flies!

 

[Maurice]

I've had people tell me that my egg flies are like mushrooms. All the material on the top. Like Jay says, once they get soaked with water they "round out". Never had any problem catching fish with them. Got two today in less than 30 minues on them. Then I had to go.

Keep in mind when fishing any type of underwater dead drift that the trout see it on a 2-D frame. It doesn't have to look spherical just round. Same with nymphs. The naturals are flat for the most part. but our ties are round. They see them as flat because they are 2-D in their eyes when coming toward them. Remember silhouette and color are most important.

 

[chstrcntyfish]

I use mcfly foam based on the recommendations from here. I cut four one inch peaces, tie two of them parallel to the hook shank and let them get torqued to the bottom. Next, I tie two more and keep them on the top. After that I pull both ends of the bottom towards the back and make another wrap over the top. Then I pull everything back and tie it off at the front. Pull the top ends up and cut, pull the bottom ends down and cut. It makes a dense edd that is usually really round.

Here is the video I learned from...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71gvXcWBOu4

 

[JackM]

Constructive criticism for the tier in that video:

6:20 was about 5:20 too long for instructions on how to tie an egg.

 

[chstrcntyfish]

It was definitly too long, but I just fastforeward it to the part I want. I think that technique used works good though. I tried instructions that involved spreading the piece so it was flat and then cutting the ends. The eggs came out junky. The directions in the video make a nice dense egg if you compress the foam good.

 

[ryguyfi]

I tie a decent amount of egg flies for steelhead and also trout. I can't count the amount of trout I caught on a salmon colored egg pattern anywhere from size 18 to 10. It's a "junk fly" but if it catches fish, who cares. By the way, my eggs look just like yours, but I haven't been tying all that long. I have tried using a stonger thread, more yarn, and sharper scissors and that has seemed to make them more like the "store bought" ones. I've caught fish on my crappy looking ones too, so keep tying. One problem I ran into is that my flies were slipping off the hook. I since have wrapped a bit around the shank of the hook and cemented it there. But ditto on the dry fly tying.

 

[roctober5th]

I'm pretty new to tying, but I saw a guy that ties commercially pull the yarn thru a plastic straw. I haven't heard anybody mention that method. Tell you this - it was quick and round.

 

[2bonthewater]

you can buy the McFly Foam with the straws...........3 sizes in the package.........

McFly Foam is a way quicker tie than glo-bug material...and with less waste

basically fill the tube, pull out desired length of material, figure 8, whip finish, clip the top of the egg to match the bottom of the egg and you are done

 

[jpb5002]

I don't even use traditional egg patterns much. I have had greater success with a scrambled egg variation. I normally tie them on a #16 or #18 nymph hook with glo bug yarn. They basically look like mini sucker spawns. I use a lot of off white, light pink, and salmon colors. I put a little bit of orange for a blood dot. Give it a shot. They are much easier to tie and use way less material.