Received, RD-01,
Thanks my friend, I am going to dub some "Wolf" fur.
Jimi
Hi, John, Joyce, and all other 'ropers', giddeyap lil' doegee! Welcome!
Thanks for joining my first swap. Splitting the group in 2 seemed to please
everyone. Less tying for each.
On the topic of dubbing and yarns:
Ropes and noodles and spins and twists have been going on for a very long
time. Twenty years ago I was roping poly-u yarn for hopper bodies. This
is not what rope-dubbing is about. Also, almost all linear-fiber dubbings
(and thus yarns) can be tied down and spun-roped and wrapped forward,
creating segments. Lots of people do this- many patterns in the books. I
would not even approach this as a 'new' technique. But this is not the
rope-dub method, either. When Polly roped his big stone bodies, and many
like him- Dave Whitlock included, he allowed the thread to twist with the
material. Whether a loop, split strand, or single strand of thread, if the
thread twists with the dubbing, it's not my technique. In those methods,
the thread is the limitation of the roping, breaking before the dubbing ever
gets tight enough to create segments.
The important thing to remember in the 'rope-dub' method is that the thread,
or wire, is a 'platform' on which to rope. Since the thread or wire core
does not twist with the rope, some variables now come into play. This is
where the rope-dub shines. Versus yarns, taper and color variations come
into play, plus the ability to easily vary segment width and body size in
one step. The ability to change the dub if it doesn't suit you is another.
Just unwrap, vary the rope, which is not fixed, and re-wrap.
So far as I've seen, ANYTHING can be rope-dubbed. Bob Haerings 'Dubbing
from hell' was the toughest, but once I figured it out, the results were
well worth the effort. I'll be sending photos of various roped bodies using
everything in my possession that can be called a dubbing. Having one
technique that can apply all dubbings to any size fly, bushy or clean, is a
real find. My record so far is 21 segments on a size 28 Mustad shank. The
exact same method and dubbing will produce a #2 6X stonefly tail. People
were cussing ice-dubbing until I publicised the rope-dub for it, as all of
the previous noodling techniques fell short of shaping any kind of body with
it. A clean-segmented ice-dub caddis body can be done in 30 seconds flat.
And you don't have to vary the technique to do it. And wax, which is never
used, would just kill the luster of ice dubbing and many others.
Learners should start with a long-fibered dubbing, like SLF or llama. It
ropes easily and shows the segmentation results quickly. Then move on to
different dubbings, starting with clipped furs and longer synthetics. Then
finally try short synthetics, which are the toughest to master. The nice
thing is that once you 'get it', it all becomes so fast and easy.
Once you can rope your personal arsenal of dubbings, then experiment. Comb
the cat or dog and rope the fuzz from the brush. Rope dryer lint? Rope a
lock of hair from your head, if you can spare it. Mix dubbings, adding
flash materials like awesome hair scraps. As your 'final' step, try roping
on the new tying wires, either as a tag or as your tying thread.
This should be a lot of fun. Any questions? 16 flies each.
Again, Welcome ALL!!!
DonO
PS When you get this message, please reply 'received #RD-01'
