It is currently 29 Mar 2024, 00:55


New Topic Add Reply
Author Message
Post 19 Jan 2021, 09:49 • #1 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/23/08
Posts: 944
Location: US-MT
Image


Top
  
Quote
Post 19 Jan 2021, 22:10 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/30/09
Posts: 1525
Location: Hamilton,Ontario,Canada
That thing looks deadly. :eek


Top
  
Quote
Post 20 Jan 2021, 10:24 • #3 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/23/08
Posts: 944
Location: US-MT
:=)) float like a mayfly. sting like a hook


Top
  
Quote
Post 20 Jan 2021, 14:44 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/28/07
Posts: 1006
Location: US-TX
Beautiful tie. How well does it float? I was under the impression that zelon tended to mat and sink when wet.


Top
  
Quote
Post 20 Jan 2021, 17:14 • #5 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/23/08
Posts: 944
Location: US-MT
No no. Zelon floats well. The best part is how quickly it dries off. After you catch a fish you swish it off, snap cast it once or twice and away it goes. You don't have to spend five minutes shaking it with powders they way you do with CDC.

What's that stuff. There is another synthetic that mats up and sinks but Zelon isn't it. Antron antron antron. Antron is not much good for dry flies but Zelon is.

Zelon is a discontinued carpet fiber. It takes dyes after manufacturing, which is great for fly tiers and bad for rug makers, because spilled wine ruins the rug. That's why they don't make it anymore. Once the Zelon is gone it's gone forever. It's not clear how much longer it will be available.

Carpet fibers that are not Zelon make good dry fly hackles too. But you do have to find it already manufactured in the color you want, which is hard. I browse free carpet samples at Lowe's and Home Despot a lot. I make lots of dry flies with carpet scraps too.

Here's an Enhanced Comparadun -- made with a sparse bit of clear, semi-transparent Zelon underneath. The Zelon disappears as it drifts. But it does give the fly some added flotation moxey.

Image

Craig Matthews' Sparkle Dun is a Comparadun with a Zelon tail that might look vaguely like a not-yet-shed nymphal skin, that also (and more importantly) makes the fly float better. A lot better. Zelon is good stuff.

Now I'll have to make an Enhanced Sparkle Dun.


Last edited by pittendrigh on 22 Jan 2021, 13:20, edited 1 time in total.

Top
  
Quote
Post 20 Jan 2021, 19:15 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/28/07
Posts: 1006
Location: US-TX
Ahh, I was thinking it was similar to antron. How do you turn it into a hackle? I have some hanks of crinkly zelon from fly tiers dungeon that might work.


Top
  
Quote
Post 21 Jan 2021, 17:51 • #7 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/23/08
Posts: 944
Location: US-MT
I put a tuft of fuzzy stuff underneath the thorax area with a loose figure eight knot. Adjust it. Comb it out left and right and then glue it on permanently. Almost any glue will do.

You can also twist Zelon or carpet fibers up into a dubbing loop. I don't do that much but it is possible.


Top
  
Quote
Post 29 Jan 2021, 17:11 • #8 
New Member
Joined: 08/12/20
Posts: 15
Terrific fly!
This would be a perfect for the slow water in the Slough Creek meadow below the campground!


Top
  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  

New Topic Add Reply



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
Google
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group