Wayne, Save all of your old tooth brushes. One cool trick I found, not really related to rope-dubing, is to color an old toothbrush with permanent marker, then quick-like (before it dries) brush out a rope or even finished fly. It leaves hues and shades of color that can't be blended in beforehand. The under-rope and segments are hilited because the color is added to the humps only if you do it after you wrap.
Say you want a stonefly with a darker brown back and a tan belly. Rope the fly out tan and then brush on the top color right where you want it, to the darkness you want, even graduating or blending colors. Using the marker itself tends to saturate in and then bleed out (yuk), but the tooth-brush carries only enough color to the fly to highlight and shade it. Or, once you have your yellow rope formed and brushed out, hit it with a toothbrush colored with pink marker. Will give pink hi-lites without actually coloring the yellow over to pink. (like blending, but frosting the tips only) I do a normal tooth-brush with three colors to a brush and keep them right there with the markers. Coloring with stiff toothbrushes also fuzzes out the dubbing. I know. I know. Someone will say someone else does this or did it 1st. I've never seen it. Don't doubt it. Can't address it. Don't care who was first. It's just a thing I do that I'm sharing. Been using hiliters for 30 years, been brushing on colors for that long. End of story. Works for all nymphs, stones, dries, eggs, whatever. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: Wayne Blake-Hedges To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, November 05, 2010 1:38 PM Subject: Re: [VFB] RE: Rope dubbing a Tups Indsipensible- comparisons Hi DonO; Your reply is almost as funny as the recipie. I'm told the original recipie was quite effective though. Wayneb --- On Fri, 11/5/10, Don Ordes <[email protected]> wrote: From: Don Ordes <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [VFB] RE: Rope dubbing a Tups Indsipensible- comparisons To: [email protected] Date: Friday, November 5, 2010, 2:47 PM Wow, I thought Buggs smoked some good stuff! A good reason not to get any wool pulled over your eyes by Mr. Tups. Does changing this method cause any ramifications? Eeeewwe, ba-a-a-a-a-d, no-kidding. Buggs ----- Original Message ----- From: Wayne Blake-Hedges To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, November 05, 2010 12:23 PM Subject: Re: [VFB] RE: Rope dubbing a Tups Indsipensible- comparisons Hi DonO; True Tups dubbing is made from the wool on a ram's testicles. It was urine stained and also pink stained from red dye placed on the ewe's nether regions. When a Ram performed his "duty", he would get some red dye mixed with the urine stained wool around his testicles producing a pinkish, translucent wool. The dubbing blend I'm using provides the closest substutue many have found to date. I'll have to try rope dubbing and then brushing and see if I can obtain similar results to what I'm getting now. Wayneb --- On Fri, 11/5/10, Don Ordes <[email protected]> wrote: From: Don Ordes <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [VFB] RE: Rope dubbing a Tups Indsipensible- comparisons To: [email protected] Date: Friday, November 5, 2010, 1:17 PM By 'sacred' means no substitutions allowed, which makes fly-tying pretty pagan. Don't forget your wire brush- before or after you wrap. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: Wayne Blake-Hedges To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, November 05, 2010 11:06 AM Subject: Re: [VFB] RE: Rope dubbing a Tups Indsipensible- comparisons Hi DonO; What do you mean by "sacred" are you reffering to the true "Tups" blend or what I'm using? It's amazing how many variations you see of this pattern, not only that it was tied as a dry fly, wet fly and as a nymph. I'm trying to tie a "Tups Flymph" type pattern and the dubbing blend I'm using gives me the result I desire. One thing I have thought of that would allow me to better use the rope dubbing technique is, to keep the wool fibers longer than indicated in the recipie. Wayneb --- On Thu, 11/4/10, Don Ordes <[email protected]> wrote: From: Don Ordes <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [VFB] RE: Rope dubbing a Tups Indsipensible- comparisons To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, November 4, 2010, 3:57 PM Wayne, here is one I pulled from the internet ^ Here's yours V How 'sacred' is the dubbing blend- material and color? DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: Wayne Blake-Hedges To: virtual flybox Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2010 1:46 PM Subject: [VFB] RE: Rope dubbing a Tups Indsipensible Hi Dono; Here's a photo I have of some earlier attempts: http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii179/Waynebh/IMGP0015.jpg The fly is composed of Gutermans sewing silk abdomen, with a home made wool dubbing from the following reciepie: To prepare the dubbing, cut off approximately 25 inches of natural-shade (#098) "Fisherman's Wool". This is available from Lion Brand Yarn Company (http://www.LionBrand.com). Next, cut off 3 inches of True Red (#114) yarn, also available from Lion Brand. The dull orange (needle felting) wool comes from Felt Works Dimensions and is available from many craft stores. Take the lengths of Fisherman's Wool and red yarn and cut into half-inch pieces. First blend the Fisherman's Wool, then the red wool, then combine the two and mix again in a blender. Once these are blended, tease out approximately 1 inch of cheddar-shade needle felting wool and cut into quarter-inch pieces. Blend with the previous two. This results in a creamy pink dubbing with just a hint of dull orange scattered faintly throughout the wad." I know you can touch dub using a rope dub method, it was just not working for me. Wayneb -- 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 -- 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 -- 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 -- 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
