types of beads and where you get them?

SBecker

SBecker

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Jun 26, 2010
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I wanted to know.....

How many guys on here tie your patterns with beads?

Brass or tungeston?

Slotted or not?

Favorite Colors?

Do you purchase them in bulk (100packs) or (25 packs)?

Where do you get them from?
 

When conducting market research on this forum, please specify that you have this hot new idea for a fish-shaped fly tying desk machined out of metal on your boss' CNC.

No one wants beads. They want novelty fly tying desks. Shaped like fish. Fish!
 
I use a lot of beads in my nymphs. Mostly brass but have used tungsten as well. I get mostly brass anymore because of the price difference. I find that brass does the job I need it to do just as well as tungsten and if I need it heavier I just add some lead wraps. I haven't used any slotted beads yet. I have bought wapsi cyclop beads in brass and tungsten, I got a bunch of Allen fly fishing beads when they had a sale going for them, and recently I ordered some brass beads from riplipsfishing.com for $8.99 for 200. I haven't fished with any of the riplipsfishing.com beads yet but after tying with all of them I think beads are beads. They are all countersunk, they are all brass, and they all make your fly sink. Riplips also has a pretty big selection of colors, styles, and sizes. I like the black nickel brass beads, dark but still a little flash. I usually stick with the basic colors of gold, silver, brass, and black nickel.
 
gfen wrote:

When conducting market research on this forum, please specify that you have this hot new idea for a fish-shaped fly tying desk machined out of metal on your boss' CNC.

No one wants beads. They want novelty fly tying desks. Shaped like fish. Fish!
Click to expand...

Sorry made me LOL
 
How many guys on here tie your patterns with beads? at least one - me.

Brass or tungston? - Usually brass due to cost

Slotted or not? - not

Favorite Colors? - #1 gold #2 copper

Do you purchase them in bulk (100packs) or (25 packs)? 25 packs

Where do you get them from? Roughly the middle of the rack in the middle room with fly tying supplies at TCO in West Lawn.

 
I tie with a lot of beads, and I use both brass and tungsten. I only use the slotted heads when tying jig flies and sometimes with smaller TMC200-style hooks due to the restrictive bend. usually I'll use gold for brass beads and copper for tungsten, but if I'm tying darker patterns, I use nickel for brass and black for tungsten. And as much as I hate to say this, I generally buy my beads online, due to the fact that my current work schedule doesn't let me get to my local fly shop very much. As to where...it's usually J. Stockard Fly Fishing for me.
 
I was at BPS Harrisburg last week and was surprised to see that the majority of their bead selection was switched over to the more costly, but heavier tungsten beads. They had very few brass beads on the wall. I'm just not ready to commit to beads that are 3-4X the cost just because they're a bit heavier.

That being said, if I plan well enough in advance, I'll purchase my beads in 100 packs from Allen Fly Fishing. As far as colors go, the usual...gold, copper, nickel, etc. For steelie patterns, 'hot spot' colors in green, orange, and pink.

I like tying my patterns with beads because I prefer to put the weight in the fly versus having to weight the line. I also like the way it 'finishes off' the fly versus a non-bead head.
 
I went to Cabelas last friday to exchange something. I knew I needed some beads and decided to check their selection out. What a crap show. They had one color of tungeston and in no sizes thay would help me. Also, they had brass, but only in gold. Was pretty pretty disappointed in what they carried. O and their prices were ridiculous.
 
There is a good online source for them, but off the top of my head it escapes me. You're definitely better off buying in quantity if you can. Just like anything else, small quantities equal high markup.
 
SBecker wrote:
I wanted to know.....

How many guys on here tie your patterns with beads? I do, a pile.

Brass or tungeston? both, mostly tungsten

Slotted or not? both ( I like jigs )

Favorite Colors? nickel black, gold, copper, Rip lips fishing has some beads called anodized = very cool iridescent colors they have four or five I tried the green I like it. There is a really deep bright blue color that I've got a feeling I'm going to end up with even though I'm not sure what I'll tie with them, I'll figure something out. ( yes I'm a material junkie, and I admit that freely. They have quite a few colors that I'm thinking are going to become my new favorites.

Do you purchase them in bulk (100packs) or (25 packs)? now that I've found rip lips by the 100. I'm done paying 5-7 dollars for 20 beads.

Where do you get them from? See above
Click to expand...

The anodized tungsten beads are $12.99 -100
regular tungsten are $11.99-100
One other thing, you might have found this as well but the beads that have the color baked or how ever they do it on you know pink, orange, olive, brown colored ones ect... seem to be a touch larger than say the gold or copper colored ones. Not quite a "hook" size larger but almost if you know what I mean.

 
When I'm fishing nymphs it is usually a BH pattern. I buy most of my beads on line and usually purchase them with other materials. I bought tungsten once and didn't really see a difference. Like another poster, I usually get my stuff from J. Stockard.

Don
 
For me, I typically tie just tungsten; the sink-rate alone justifies it. I included a video below that really shoes you how fast they drop in water compared to other types.

In terms of places to purchase, Allen Fly Fishing offers great prices and quality beads, regardless of slotted or not. For colors, Rip Lips Fishing has a great variety, though the prices are a little more. Color preference is up to you, though I recommend some fluorescent colors as a hot spot.

With show season starting, I would advise you to attend a couple and make purchases that way, buying the basics from Allen.

Good luck!

TC

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTnlAKGy3fA[/youtube]
 
Nice, I'll be using that. Thanks.
 
I use mostly tungsten beads! Mostly non slotted due to jig hooks seeming pretty weak to me! But brass has its place in skinny streams, but ever since I gave up split shot, tungsten is the only way to get your flies down efficiently! I order exclusively from rip lips unless they are out of a size then I'll either wait or get some from Allen! I do reccomend people who are trying the euro style of nymphing to get some patterns with tungsten beads of different sizes!
 
When I'm tying nymphs, it's either tungsten or glass as of recently. Usually I find tungsten beads on ebay, a hundo pack is usually available for a good price. I've started hiding the bead in the thorax recently, so color isn't as important (for the time being). I have to assume it helps under certain conditions. The glass beads, I get at AC Moore's or Michaels. EXTREMELY cheap for the glass beads, and I haven't broke any while fishing. The translucency is pretty sweet on the colored glass. Purple, green, and peacock have been doing well. I also picked up a matte black color, which looks nice on a fly, but haven't got a chance to fish em yet...
 
I watched that video and the sink rate of tungsten is impressive. The first time it was dropped in the glass, I didn't even see it. I suppose if I can find tungsten beads at a good price, I'd consider paying a few bucks more over brass. I don't know that a 2-3X price difference like the big boxes are doing is worth it however.
 
I just started utilizing glass beads in some of my nymphs as well. Have known about them for years but just started using them this last season.

The Pat Dorsey Mercury series of flies is top notch.
 
I like gold beads on mayfly nymphs, and smaller ones, 3/32 on my size 14's. On caddis I like to have small black beads, but gold will work as well. One bead im searching for is pearlescent. I like caddis creek beads to use on my thorax in glass and brown.
 
you local big box hobby/craft store is an excellent place to find a rainbow of colored glass and plastic beads and a whole lot cheaper.
 
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