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I bend back the hooks that I use for saltwater fly tying. These are Mustad #34011 in sizes 6 through 3/0. This hook is 3X long. I bend them back for two reasons. First it changes the center of gravity o f the fly so that it rides hook point up in the water. This makes it somewhat weedless. The second reason is that I use a brush type of weed guard on all of my flies. This type of weed guard requires a bend back hook so that the brush protects the hook point.
You can bend back a hook with two pairs of pliers. That is the way to go if you are just trying out bend back flies or even if you like the style but only tie for you own use.. When you sell the flies that you tie you will want an easier method of bending than the two pliers system Jewelers have a tool for bending strips or wire. It is called a "ring and bow closing pliers." The company I buy from lists three in their catalog: a large or heavy duty model that I use for hook sizes 1/0 and 3/0, a smaller model that I use for hook sizes 6,4 and 2, and an economy model which I keep in my travel tying bag. It is as good as the others and less expensive. To use one of these bending pliers you place the hook across the lower double jaw and apply light pressure to the handles which brings down the top jaw between the lower double jaw. It is effortless and almost error-fee. You must place the hook so that an imaginary line born the shank to the point of the hook is perpendicular to the lower jaw of the pliers. If you are not exact in this, the bend back portion of the hook will be off center. The other problem is knowing how long you want the bend back to be. The place on the hook that is engaged by the upper jaw of the pliers will determine the length of the bend back. Practice with a piece of wire, hooks are too expensive to waste. You will get the knack of it after a half dozen tries. My local jeweler's supply house is Gesswein: 1-800-243-4466 www.gesswein.corn
I am always looking for a better tool to make a job easier or faster. I love tools. When you thread a maker strip through a mylar tube you use a doubled piece of leader wire to capture the end of the strip. When pushing the leader wire through the tubing the sharp points tend to catch on the inside of the tubing. To correct this problem, get a thin piece of brass tubing from a hobby shop. Obtain the smallest size that you can easily push in the sharp ends of the leader wire. Capture the end of the zonker strip in the leader wire. Push the ends into the brass tube. Push the brass tube through the mylar tubing. Pull the brass tube See of the leader wire and mylar tubing. Pull the leader wire and zonker strip through the tubing. Having perfected the method, along comes a new tool. It is called an XPS Titanium Threader. It is sold by Bass Pro Shops:
The tool is a very strong doubled wire with a handy handle. It is sold for pulling rubber pegs through Finesse weights. I use it to pull zonker strips. Push the wire through the tube, capture the end of the zonker strip and then pull the threader and strip out of the tube. I also use it as a bobbin threader. It works well on the Griffin bobbins that I use. It will not fit some of the fine tube bobbins on the market today.
For all of my saltwater flies I use a stainless steel hook by Mustad - #34011 in sizes 6 to 3/0. It is an excellent hook, 3X long and less expensive than competitors. I do sharpen the hook before I tie a fly. I have tried files and stones. They are all too time consuming. I use a flexible shaft or a Dremel motor tool. For travel I use a battery powered two-speed Dremel motor tool. In addition to the tool you will need a 1/8-inch diameter mandrel with a 1/16-inch screw head. These are available at large hardware stores that sell Dremel motor tools. You will also need 1 1/2-inch diameter sanding discs. They are available from any jeweler's supply house. I use Gesswein:
As all sandpaper, the discs come in various grits. I recommend 220 grit. The discs are inexpensive except for the fact that you have to purchase 500 at a time. Put six discs on your mandrel. This gives you a stiff presentation. As a disc wears out move it to the back of the stack. I can sharpen fifty hooks with each disc. I also use these discs to debarb hooks. This grinding wears discs faster. I can only debarb a dozen size 3/0 hooks per disc. I would rather sand off barbs than crush them as crushing sometimes weakens the metal and you don't know it until you notice that you are fishing a fly without a point. Grab the hook at the bend with a pair of four-inch vise grip pliers. Bring the rotating disc to the underside of the point at 45 degrees, then the top and finally each side. This four-sided point is strong and penetrates well It is also easy to hone while fishing. Use a small Oat stone on top of the hook only. This method of sharpening takes only a second per side. It takes longer to put the hook into the pliers and later to remove it. WHEN GRINDING METAL ALWAYS USE APPROVED EYE PROTECTION. One final thought. When debarbing a hook, do the job in two stages. Grinding creates heat and you do not want to alter the temper of the hook If the point turns blue, discard the hook.
Glitter in epoxy makes an attractive body or head coating. It is extremely durable and will allow the color under it to show through. You can cover stick-on or 3D eyes. The epoxy not only protects the eyes but also permanently attaches them to the fly. Epoxy is also heavy and sinks a fly without it being so heavy that it sinks unnaturally like a rock. The supplies you will need are a box of flat toothpicks for mixing sticks and 60-second or 5-minute epoxy. The 60-second is sold by ACE Hardware Stores and some fly shops. You will need some glitter sold by some fly shops and by Netcraft in Ohio:
You will also need something to mix on. I use old business cards. Lefty Kreh uses post-it note pads. The post-it notepaper will stick to the table and not slide around. The 60-second is fine for cementing foam to a hook or to coat eyes and a head, however, if you want to coat a body such as a foam popper, use 5-minute as the 60-second sets up too fast. When you paint a head, a flat toothpick will do, but for painting a body you need a small brush. I have at times found brushes intended for little children at 20 for 99 cents or 20 for $1.99. When I can't find these, I use small disposable brushes sold by flyshops from Flex-coat in packages of 85.
There are many types of weed guards. Some are constructed of solid leader wire, some of stranded leader cable and most of monofilament. The style of the solid leader wire is generally one or two legs tied in at the head and extending back to protect the hook point. Some hook manufacturers sell hooks with solid wire weed guards built in. There are several designs with monofilament. One is to tie the mono along the hook shank, then build the fly and finally loop the mono around the hook bend and tie in on the bottom of the head. Other tiers use one or two strands tied in at the head much as the solid leader wire. I have seen a loop of monofilament with both ends tied in at the head. The most popular seems to be a single strand tied in at the underside of the head. My own method is called a brush style. I use it on all of my flies. It consists of a wing tied in at the underside of the head. You then capture the strands with a piece of soft cotton cord, yarn or a small dental rubber band (size 1/8", force:heavy). If you use the rubber band, place it on a size "K" crochet needle, capture the wing in the needle's hook and pull the rubber band over the wing. Then gently work the Gee end of the wing out of the rubber band. Finally, paint the head and wing with flexible cement. Paint to within 1/4 inch of the hook point. Leave this last 1/4inch cement-See. Hang the fly by the hook eye to dry. When dry remove the cord, yarn or rubber band and cut the wing at the hook point. The head cement that I use is Goop thinned half-and-half with Toluol (it takes a week to mix).
I believe that I have tried every head cement on the planet &am nail polish to spar varnish They all work but there are differences. Spar varnish takes several hours to dry. It penetrates well and is inexpensive. It thins easily and quickly. Nail polish comes in very convenient bottles with a brush cap. Thin the brush for freshwater Flies. It is easy to thin nail polish with acetone and it dries quickly. There are brands that are very inexpensive and clear is easy to find. I find that nail polish penetrates better if it is thinned by half. There are water-based acrylic head cements on the market. Loon makes a quality product. I especially like their Hard Head which is very thick and substitutes for epoxy but takes longer to dry. It does not require any mixing. My favorite head cement is Goop thinned half-and-half with Toluol These are both hardware store items and compared to other types, this cement is inexpensive. There are two attributes that I especially appreciate. First, it does not cement the bottle cap to the bottle. Second, it has the amount of flexibility that makes my brush type weed-guard work. Goop comes in a tube and Toluol in a gallon can. They are both highly flammable and the fumes are highly toxic. KEEP AWAY FROM FLAMES. USE WITH ADEQUATE VENTILATION. It takes about a week for the Goop and Toluol to mix so make up several bottles to keep on hand. Micro-Mark sells a model paint rotator that will mix it overnight. I find the "sit a week" method quite satisfactory. If you make up Goop head cement, you will need brush cap bottles. I like the half-ounce size. Micro-Mark sells half-ounce and one-ounce bottles as well as the brush caps.
I also use head cement to seal the ends of bundles of super hair and ultra hair. For this you want a wide mouth bottle. I use an empty Softex bottle. Softex and Goop mix very well so you do not have to clean the bottle. In another Doc's Tying Tips I described how to process super hair and ultra hair into useable length bundles.
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