FLYMPH FORUM

I notice on here that by far and away the prevalent body and hackle material is natural. Fair enough.

Many of you use and play around with synthetic furs and dubbings for your wingless wets?

Call me a colonial heathen at the bottom of the earth but I'm using a fair bit of synthetic body materials like Glister, SLF, Antron, Enhancer etc etc. and continue to play with (ahem) spun thin rubber strands for hackle...

- the New Millenium Wingless Wet

I just read the other day that nostalgia is mourning what is lost. If so, I really enjoy mourning. I do believe that the excellent fisherman will catch on almost anything while the average one will need the assistance of a good fly. Well tied proven patterns with proven materials make good flies. Besides - when using natural materials I feel more in touch with nature. That is nostalgic too.

dd

Johnno,
I am not opposed to synthetic materials. I believe that in some ways, these improve the appearance of flies. A little addition of Antron for sparkle may be a good thing, but I generally don't overdo it. I'm not crazy about certain things like rubber hackle. To me there is nothing like a good bird feather to add life to a fly. I also don't use a lot of beads on wingless wets. I use them, occasionally on nymphs or streamer patterns, however, I don't fish these types a lot.

Many times, older patterns call for materials that are no longer available or you can substitute a reasonable synthetic in place of more traditional materials. A good example is thread. While silks are still readily available, fine synthetic tying threads allow a reasonable substitute, especially on small flies. Modern flosses also work well for bodies.

I believe most tiers that use more natural materials are looking more toward tradition. It kind of puts you in touch with the past and those that have gone before you. It forms a connection with history, and in many instances, our forerunners knew what they were talking about when they selected their materials to result in very "naturalistic" flies that performed well.

Like I said, there's nothing wrong with using synthetics, however there's something to be said for old tried and true materials as well.

Mark

I echo what Mark stated. I have gotten away from synthetic materials for the most part because most of the flies I tie now are in a traditional style. Catskill drys. wingless wets, etc and nymphs such as Sawyer's killer bugs and PT's. I will still pick up new stuff here and there to experiment with it but I prefer natural.

IMHO, synthetics have their place, especially for salt water flies and steelhead patterns. However, I very much prefer the colors and movements that natural materials provide. That's not to say that I don't use any manmade stuff, but it's usually to add a little flash or tweak a dubbing shade. I've actually noticed that too much sparkle seems to
discourage takes from the wary wild browns that inhabit my home waters.

I believe that if the originators of these traditional, all natural patterns had had some of the synthetics we have today to use, they would have used them. I think they were trying to make their patterns as effective as possible. Why did they choose this type of fur over that fur or this kind of hackle over that kind? Because it looked and moved more like the natural - or it was what they had on hand - and caught more fish. If they had been privy to a synthetic that, say, added a little sparkle and made the fly a better fish catcher, I think they would have used it.

So.....if you're tying your flies to catch fish, I see no problem in substituting or adding synthetics. I believe they would have, too, if it made the fly more attractive to fish. We should feel fortunate to have them.

Anyway, that's my thinking and it makes me feel better about myself for substituting!

Joe

Joe Billingsley wrote:I If they had been privy to a synthetic that, say, added a little sparkle and made the fly a better fish catcher, I think they would have used it.

So.....if you're tying your flies to catch fish, I see no problem in substituting or adding synthetics. I believe they would have, too, if it made the fly more attractive to fish.

Joe

I'm sure that is true, but I tend to use mostly natural materials because I think they feel better, and so most likely 'move' better in the water, and so catch more fish! (I am thinking dubbing materials in particular here.)

I don't think it does to be too puritanical though. IIRC, the early north country spiders, if they had a rib, tended to use a length of silk rather than the gold / silver / copper wire many of us use today. And after playing around this season, there is no doubt in my mind that the addition of a wire rib makes for a better fish catching fly - on my river at least. So is this an instance of the use of a synthetic, in this context? Or would it need to be ribbed with a length of mono for that?

Andrew

All good points, it is like most old tyers they would use what is at hand. I agree if they had some new material they would use it just as glass took ove cane and so forth. As stated earlier if tying traditional flies I use what is called for but if I want to fool around well anything goes.

I tie mostly with natural as well. Like Mark, I will throw in a touch of antron for a color effect and add just a hint of sheen. My reasons are 90% just for enjoyment. I like exploring and getting to know the characteristics of the natural materials. The further I dive into them the more I am amazed at what nature can provide as far as colors and textures. I love finding a new natural material that I haven't ever worked with before and seeing how it can be used. I get even more excited if the material is sourced locally.

Andrew beat me to the punch about gold wire -- it's certainly not found in nature in the form. Neither is dyed silk thread (in fact, the invention of aniline dyes was one of the technical triumphs of the 19th century). Fishhooks aren't exactly naturally occurring. There's a lot of metallurgy going on there, even when people made their own.

I vastly prefer silk & feathers & real metal tinsel and wire to any material made out of plastic. I can't exactly look down on anyone who uses those materials to their best effect. It's like the Amish are down with the technology of the wheel and axle, but not of the rod and piston. They -- and many of us -- have arbitrarily stopped making use of technology invented in a time that we can personally remember. (One of the Pennsylvania streams I fish often has Amish buggies clopping by on the road that goes along the stream. I always somehow feel a bit less guilty when I'm fishing a bamboo rod at such times than when I'm fishing graphite.)