I know this is kind of getting off topic but I have knows some tyers that have used a cigarette lighter to anneal the bend to open it up a bit. I have not resorted to that. Plastic beads are my problem not many brass beads. Don, you are right about the old Mustads. I have a draw with a whole bunch of flies with broken hooks from bending the barbs. All of them have been fished and broke off on fish. All are the old Mustads. Tony
--- On Thu, 1/7/10, Don Ordes <[email protected]> wrote: From: Don Ordes <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [VFB] Tiny Fly Question- beads and barbs To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, January 7, 2010, 2:14 PM A lot of the new hooks for flyfishing are micro-barb, so they don't pose much of a problem. I rarely squash a barb flat, unless the hook is brittle and the barb doesn't bend. I prefer to bend the barb down to a very shallow profile- east to remove & set, but it won't just fall out. If I'm setting beads, I just squash until they fit, or find a smaller barb hook. The barbs on my ol Mustads are really big compared to the barbs on the new hooks today. Mike is right about glass beads- the hole size and bead length vary quite a bit. As far as bending the hook, every maker and every style and every size will be different, as far as how much bending they will take. Some snap with the 1st movement, and some you can almost tie a knot it. Forged vs wire vs gage vs tempering- all account for bending flexibility. Style is something you can take into account when you match hooks to the fly design. Tying barbell-eye streamers?- limerick bends are fine. Going to be using cone-heads, beads, etc.?, buy perfect or round bends. D ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael Bliss To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 12:48 PM Subject: Re: [VFB] Tiny Fly Question One of the things that Tony said was what I would say - pinch the barb down. Next get the right size bead for the hook. Glass is not as flexible but I have found that they are not consistent with the sizes. You can try several and some will work and some won't. Tony's idea of bending the hook is interesting but I would worry about that causing metal fatigue. Someone smarter might be able to answer that. Mike On Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 6:43 PM, Chuck Alexander <[email protected]> wrote: OK all you tiny fly tying experts LOL.. I am stumped with a problem.. I took the advice of tying a bigger fly, then working my way down in hook sizes till I get to where I want. Problem is, I'm tying (or TRYING) my Pink Panfish Producer, and I'm down to a size 20. Problem is, the gold bead for the head. The ones I have are either too small to go around the sharp bend in the hook, or they are too big, and they either fall right off the eye end of the fly, or get stuck, with the eye buried halfway inside the bead. I have tried the beads front wards, backwards and sideways. Is there a secret to this??? Should I just make the "gold=bead head" out of gold tying thread, or tiny tinsel?? Or do you just not tie flies this small with a bead head on them?? Thanks for ANY help, Chuck -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com -- Mike Bliss Aloha from Hawaii -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com
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