Too weight or not too weight ?

[yea-who]

Do any of youz or is it possible to add weight (lead wraps) to say a mickey finn or black nose dase style fly ? Just curious ?

 

[afishinado]

Yeah, I wrap lead around the shank of many of my streamers. Don't go too crazy on weight though, it will be a pain to cast. Try tying .10 or .15 lead wire on the middle of the shank and cover it with thread as the first step. Leave some room near the head where most of the materials are tied in and taper the body in the rear with thread. For less weight you can wrap strip lead parallel to the shank. Wrapping the lead on the underside of the shank gives the body a wider profile. The rule of thumb is the diameter of the the lead should be roughly the same diameter as the hook. HTH.

 

[MKern]

I would wrap parallel as well. Maybe top and bottom of the shank to give a bigger profile.

 

[bam]

streamers like the mickey finn are sparse, so to keep the body small. Try wrapping with small diamater lead. Like mentioned above, you can wrap it parallel to the shank using a larger diamater lead. I'd keep it on the bottom... thinking too much weight on top could flip the fly over...

 

[jayL]

I don't weight "swimmers" like a mickey finn.

The way I define "swimmers" vs other streamers is seemingly arbitrary, but some streamers seem to do better fluttering and darting in the current with no added weight. IMO the only real way to determine which patterns take weight, which ones take sink tips, which ones take shot, etc is to experiment.

Streamers are a funny animal. The shape and materials are very important to their action. Two people can tie a dry fly pattern a completely different way, and it will fish similarly. This is not the case with streamers, where the size of a head, length of the wing, type of materials, etc can all drastically change the way the fly fishes. All you can do is see how your own ties fish with varying weights and presentations.

 

[yea-who]

Thank you for the input.... Good stuff.

 

[troutslammer]

and put mallard flank wings on em really makes em dance and swim irresistablely

 

[yea-who]

Slammer i'm not getting what your saying about the mallard flank wings. Do you mean wings like a split wing on a dry or like a wing case on a zug bug ? How such sould i incorprate a flank wing to such ?

 

[jayL]

A "wing" on a streamer would be the black part:

 

[yea-who]

So JayL what slammer is getting at is use some mallard flank in with or without the bucktail hairs. I see it will have more life underwater. The hairs are stiffer and a lighter material such as flank will have more flutter and such.
ya learn something new every time ya go to this site !

 

[Festus]

I don't know how this stuff works on streamers, but it works great on nymphs. You can also take lead wire and flatten it with pliers.

Flat Lead Wire

 

[jayL]

Festus,

Thanks for the flat wire link. I use "twist ons" for my flat wire needs, which is mainly cress bugs and some nymphs. That should work better.

 

[yea-who]

I never even thought of using those flat lead things that come in a match book to weight flies with. thank you...

 

[Festus]

Those things that Jay mentioned are also great for flat bodied stoneflies. You can trim them and taper them with an old pair of scissors. Plus, you can make them thinner by squeezing them in a vice with smooth jaws.

 

[sandfly]

Dental lead works great for adding weight with little bulk. I wrap it or even fold it to a body shape. its free too.

 

[blueheron]

Careful, some states have outlawed lead in fishing gear. Of course, I use it all the time, but I never lose flies.

 

[jayL]

If you fish new york, you have to bring your own. You can't buy it.

 

[blueheron]

Wait I can't post , ice dancing is on.

 

[bam]

try some lead tape. It'll give you a smooth body for wrapping tinsel and won't create too much bulk...

 

[Festus]

I've heard that those lead strips are also sold at golf pro shops. They hve adhesive backing to add weight to golf clubs.