Pete
For a second there I thought you were going to start raising silk worms and
pulling your own gut. :0) It has been done before.
A lot of guys use those old gut leaders. That in my opinion is a much
better substitute than twisting mono. You soak the leaders in warm water
to soften them and then twist them together. You can use a rotary vise to
hold one end of the gut with hackle pliers and put the other end in a
stationary vise then twist. Hold the gut in this position to dry. I may
have better instructions still typed up I'll check and forward them to you
if I find them. That is the cheap way of doing it by hand. You don't need
gut twisters or other gadgets to do this.
I know there are a lot of different ways of accomplishing the same results
so it will be interesting to see what advice you get.
Remember when working with old gut to soften it first with water. They used
to have to soak those leaders before fishing with them.
You will get a more realistic look to your fly if you use real gut. The
leaders can be found cheap if you keep your eyes open. You don't need the
Hardy leaders to do this.
Deb
