Joyce, Sorry about the misunderstanding. I wasn't trying to say that 'furling' technique was a new idea. Far from it. I've seen many dozeds of patterns using furling as the technique for the tails, as it works easily with all roped yarns. I first remember learning the technique on damsels (using blue sewing yarn) and hopper bodies (using poly yarn) back in the mid 70's, and I'm sure it goes way back before that. I mostly explained the dynamics of furling so that newer tiers could try it. I also remember furled and frayed rope lures being used offshore in Louisiana back in the early 60's, too. So there's not much new under the sun there, either.
What I'm saying was 'new' was to incorporate the rope-dub into a furled tail. This may not seem like much at first glance, as a simple rope-dub of one color and diameter, as explained, will only make a simple furled tail, as will roped yarn. All you gain here over yarns is some flexibility in choice of color and type of dubbing, with some changes in texture and floatability. But again, it's the extension of the technique, using the variables of rope-dubbing, that's the real trick. With yarn, you get one color and one diameter, unless you really want to spend some time with your fly. With all of the variables you can incorporate into a rope-dub noodle, especially tapering, there's a lot of applications there. Again, it's an open door to a room beyond. What's in there? Well, you're not limited to synthetics, for one thing. When natural furs are rope-dubbed, they will furl the same as a piece of yarn, yet they can also be tapered and fuzzed out. So if you want a beaver-fur extended body nymph, the rope-dub method will allow one to furl a tapered, extended beaver tail and keep tying straight into the body on the hook- all in one step. Then brush and fuzz it out and it should all look like one fuzzy but flexible body. I'm also thinking of extending the body, as before, then when I get to the hook, continue right into a weave with an opposing materia l that has been previously tied in- an over-and-under extended body. Lots of possibilities... My goal is soft, extended body flies that will feel a lot more natural to a fish, making them hold on longer that a stiff fly. (This is not a new idea, either.) And real fur dubbings would add to this. And rope-dubbing is the quickest, easiest way that I know of to get there. So this is what I was talking about as 'new', the application of all the variables of the rop-dub method in an extended, furled tail. But I guess you'll have to be the final judge if that is really 'new' or not. There is a side benefit for catch-and-releasers, too. Long-shank hooks can do greater damage to a fish, depending on how they get hooked. The added leverage of a long shank on a deeply fixed hook will force the bend and barb to do a lot more damage as the line and pull reverse directions. By using smaller and shorter hooks on extended body flies, less damage should be done to the fish, and more should be lip-hooked rather than deeply hooked. There's more short-shank advantages, but we could cover that in a different thread. Hmmm... also just thinking of an extended mono-cored peacock body. Durable, yet flexible. Eh? Back to experimenting. ( Jimi- many more hooks on the way soon. lol ) DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joyce Westphal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2004 5:47 AM Subject: Re: [VFB] Furling rope-dub tails > You will see this technique if you ever watch Al and Gretchen Beatty tie > flies. I believe it is demonstrated on one of their videos as well. They > are the ones who first taught it to me. Joyce >
