Let's talk bodies...

[Hans Weilenmann]

Which are your favorite materials, and why?

I will kick off...

I am pretty partial to using feather barbs, especially on smaller size hooks, to form abdomen or body. I like the variegated nature, and the fuzzy appearance - the suggestion of movement and 'gills'.

A sample:



Over to you.

Cheers,
Hans W

[narcodog]

I'm with you on this Hans, I like to use both Ostrich and Emu to give that life like appearance. I also like to use loosely dubbed, touch dubbed, fur like Mole and Hare.

[Johnno]

For soft hackles I probably best like thread body with a light touch dub fur ( and my preferred fur is from the back of the common house/field mouse..) either with or without a rib (which is usually a fine gold wire - and which I don't have any of at the moment. )

Why? Just because I do.

[Hans Weilenmann]

But then I am just as partial to lightly dubbed bodies...



Cheers,
Hans W

[letumgo]

Let's see, I like:

- Herl Bodies
- Silk Bodies
- Liesenring-Style Dubbing Loop Fur Bodies
- Touch Dubbed Mole on Waxed Silk Bodies
- Tinsel Bodies
- Twisted Tinsel/Dubbing Bodies
- Fruit Bag Bodies
- Pheasant Tail Bodies
- Aftershaft Bodies
- CDC Bodies
- Midge Tubing Bodies
- Legs Alive Bodies
- Copper Wire Bodies
- Silk Wrapped over Tinsel Bodies
- Thread Bodies
- Quill Bodies
- Tappered Bodies
- Uniform Bodies
- Scraggly Bodies
- Slender Bodies
- Plump Bodies

Don't ask me to pick a favorite. I like them all, for various reasons. Thankfully, I have seen each and every type of bodies on this forum.

[William Anderson]

I would be torn between a herl body like pheasant or grouse fibers and a lightly dubbed body like this possum and hen. If I had to chose a dubbing above others, it would be mole. Thank god I don't have to choose. I would say I'm 50/50 on herl or dubbed. The only reservation that I have with the herl bodies is the extra effort to create a taper to the abdomen as opposed to the dubbed bodies. Not that I could say it makes any difference.

possum and hen


Mike, with some herl bodies I agree there can be less of a variegated nature than a custom blended dubbing, but not always.

grouse and hen


w

[Soft-hackle]

Hans,
This is a great thread idea. Myself, I say why limit yourself to one particular choice. I guess I select what I'm going to use for the body by what I may be trying to imitate. Some materials lend themselves better to the smooth segmented bodies of mayflies. Some look more caddis-like. In some applications one might want the body to trap some air bubbles-furs might work better. I believe movement is important to show life, and as Mike has said, furs and particular feathers lend themselves better to this.

When creating a fly, it is much like creating a piece of art. The artist selects the medium that best suits the subject matter and the message that needs to be conveyed. Each medium has a special attribute that affects the resulting artwork. So it is with tying.

This is why I appreciate the flies that are posted, here. Many of the tiers that submit patterns here offer a look at different materials and how they can be used, creatively. Again, why limit yourself and your skills.

Mark

[Klaas]

All depends on what im trying to immitate and on what size hook and on the water or just below.
Like said before fur holds airbubbles but also sinks faster,a nice small body made from a feather gives a nice segmentation.
I cant say whats my fav material,just learn more here how i can use all of them.

Klaas

[Hans Weilenmann]

*chuckle*

I cant say whats my fav material

Nobody asked you to, m'friend The thread is on materials we like to use. Ray provided a fair listing of what is out there. I cannot say my own listing would look far different

Cheers,
Hans W

[Ruard]

I like to use mostly bodies of Hare and Rabbit fur. If it is a blend then I prefer that and then it could be also a blend with synthetic materials and some glitter too. But dubbed bodies of fur are my favorites