Steve Hudson
Senior Member
This Saturday (August 6) at 10 a.m. Eastern on The Tying Bench, we'll be tying the Crease Fly, an innovative and effective foam-bodied minnow imitation for freshwater or saltwater fishing.
The heart of this fly is a foam body made from a piece of sheet foam that is folded (creased) to create the body shape. I like to use 2mm foam, and I prefer white or tan or light gray. Many other colors can be used, however, so feel free to be creative!
Other materials are straightforward. You'll need a suitable hook (I'll be using something that's saltwater-friendly; the SL-11 3H series of hooks works well) in size 2 or 1 or 1/0. If you don't plan to use the fly in saltwater, then a regular freshwater hook will work fine too.
For thread, you'll want 3/0 white thread. Unwaxed thread is preferred here.
The tail of the fly is made from white bucktail (or from bucktail of another color, if you wish) with several strands of flash material added for visual accents. Various tailing blends such as Kreelex can also be used effectively here!
Because of the way this fly is made, you'll need some superglue-type instant adhesive. I like to use Zap-A-Gap. Go with a "medium" formulation, as very thin ones can be hard to use in this application.
You'll also need an assortment of permanent markers in various colors; a pack of Sharpies will do the job well. Many different color schemes are possible, and with the markers it's easy to mix and match colors any way you choose.
I think you'll enjoy tying and fishing the Crease Fly!
Materials needed to tie the Crease Fly:
HOOK: Size 2, 1 or 1/0 hook. Consider something similar to the SL-11 3H series hooks, which are saltwater-friendly. If you don't plan to use the fly int he salt, a freshwater hook is fine.
THREAD: 3/0 or 210 denier thread, white. Unwaxed thread is good here.
TAIL ELEMENT 1: White bucktail...or a tailing blend such as Kreelex
TAIL ELEMENT 2: Pearl Krystal Flash or similar
BODY: Folded 2mm foam. White, tan, or gray are most versatile; I prefer white. But many other colors will work too -- be creative!
FINISHING (OVERCOAT): There are many ways to finish (overcoat) the Crease Flies you create. We'll talk about how you do that, but for now just think about the basic tying. Then you can finish however you desire at your leisure!
NOTE: Crease Flies can be finished in all sorts of ways! Rather than load this up with photos, let me suggest that you Google "crease fly" and look at the pictures you find there. The flexibility and finishing options for this style of flying is are truly amazing!
Other things you will need:
1) Craft scissors for cutting the foam
2) Zap-A-Gap or other instant-set glue
3) Sharpie markers in multiple colors. Be sure that your selection includes blue or green, as well as red or orange or pink.
ZOOM Login Details:
Meeting ID: 854 8132 4404
Passcode: FlyTying6 [two capital letters, no spaces]
The heart of this fly is a foam body made from a piece of sheet foam that is folded (creased) to create the body shape. I like to use 2mm foam, and I prefer white or tan or light gray. Many other colors can be used, however, so feel free to be creative!
Other materials are straightforward. You'll need a suitable hook (I'll be using something that's saltwater-friendly; the SL-11 3H series of hooks works well) in size 2 or 1 or 1/0. If you don't plan to use the fly in saltwater, then a regular freshwater hook will work fine too.
For thread, you'll want 3/0 white thread. Unwaxed thread is preferred here.
The tail of the fly is made from white bucktail (or from bucktail of another color, if you wish) with several strands of flash material added for visual accents. Various tailing blends such as Kreelex can also be used effectively here!
Because of the way this fly is made, you'll need some superglue-type instant adhesive. I like to use Zap-A-Gap. Go with a "medium" formulation, as very thin ones can be hard to use in this application.
You'll also need an assortment of permanent markers in various colors; a pack of Sharpies will do the job well. Many different color schemes are possible, and with the markers it's easy to mix and match colors any way you choose.
I think you'll enjoy tying and fishing the Crease Fly!
Materials needed to tie the Crease Fly:
HOOK: Size 2, 1 or 1/0 hook. Consider something similar to the SL-11 3H series hooks, which are saltwater-friendly. If you don't plan to use the fly int he salt, a freshwater hook is fine.
THREAD: 3/0 or 210 denier thread, white. Unwaxed thread is good here.
TAIL ELEMENT 1: White bucktail...or a tailing blend such as Kreelex
TAIL ELEMENT 2: Pearl Krystal Flash or similar
BODY: Folded 2mm foam. White, tan, or gray are most versatile; I prefer white. But many other colors will work too -- be creative!
FINISHING (OVERCOAT): There are many ways to finish (overcoat) the Crease Flies you create. We'll talk about how you do that, but for now just think about the basic tying. Then you can finish however you desire at your leisure!
NOTE: Crease Flies can be finished in all sorts of ways! Rather than load this up with photos, let me suggest that you Google "crease fly" and look at the pictures you find there. The flexibility and finishing options for this style of flying is are truly amazing!
Other things you will need:
1) Craft scissors for cutting the foam
2) Zap-A-Gap or other instant-set glue
3) Sharpie markers in multiple colors. Be sure that your selection includes blue or green, as well as red or orange or pink.
ZOOM Login Details:
Meeting ID: 854 8132 4404
Passcode: FlyTying6 [two capital letters, no spaces]
