Resin Bodied Wet Flies Part II
UV Resin Bodied Soft Hackles are killer flies for all species of panfish.
I received numerous requests for additional information about the Resin Bodied Wet Flies I wrote about in my last blog post. I thought I would do a follow-up post explaining how I tie these patterns and share some of my favorite tying recipes. I have been fishing this style of fly for many years, but before UV resins came on the scene, they were created using 5-minute epoxy. Using 5-minute epoxy is still an option, but I have abandoned it in favor of UV resin.
Solarez Bone Dry. My UV resin of choice for resin bodied wet flies.
There are many UV resins on the market available to the fly tier. While I have not tried them all, I have tried quite a few of them. I have settled on Solarez Products as my UV resin of choice. Solarez makes a UV resin for every application, and I use it exclusively in my fly tying. The resin used in the creation of these wet flies is Solarez Bone Dry. Bone Dry has some unique characteristics that make it ideal for these patterns. Solarez Bone Dry is an ultra-thin UV resin. It goes on like a thin head cement, and I often use it for that purpose on my flies as it leaves a durable, smooth, high gloss finish on the thread wraps at the head of the fly. The most important feature of this product is the fact that it dries in seconds when exposed to UV light, and it dries with a 100 percent tack-free, high gloss finish. I have been using this product fo a few years now, and I have observed no yellowing, fading, or cracking of the finish on flies that have been around since I first started using it.
Tying The Resin Bodied Wet Fly
Tying the resin Bodied wet fly is pretty straight forward. The use of UV resin has made the process even easier. When I used epoxy in the past, I would tie up a bunch of partially completed flies (bodies only), treat them with the epoxy, and set them on a wheel to dry. Using UV resin allows me to complete the fly in the vise, which saves a lot of time and eliminates a few steps in the tying procedure.
The Firehole Stick #633 is a perfect hook for resin bodied wet flies. The 1x long, 2x heavy, barbless hook is made from high quality materials and sports a black nickel finish.
The Hook
I am always asked about the specific hook I use on all of the patterns that I tie. For the Resin Bodied Wet Fly, I like a standard wet fly hook. There are a lot of good options to choose from, but I have fallen in love with the Firehole Stick #633 by Firehole Outdoors. This nymph/wet hook is a 1x long 2x heavy hook that is perfect for wet flies and nymphs tied without a bead (I prefer a longer hook when using beads on nymph patterns). The 2x heavy hook breaks through the surface film quickly and helps get the fly down to the fish. The heavier hook also holds up well when a good bass inevitably grabs the fly as they often do. I am always amazed at the size of some of the largemouth bass I catch on tiny wet flies! One thing to note is that the Fire Stick #633 and all Firehole Outdoors hooks for that matter are barbless. I prefer barbless hooks on all of the flies I tie for myself, but I have customers that want flies tied on barbed hooks. I highly recommend this hook, and those anglers who only fish barbed hooks should consider giving it a try.
Creating the Resin Body
The most important thing to remember about this pattern is to create the body and apply the UV resin before adding the hackle and thorax. This step will eliminate the possibility of the resin getting on the fibers of the thorax and hackle. I usually use two different threads when tying these patterns. I prefer a more substantial thread to quickly build a tapered body and a finer thread for finishing the head. If you are careful with your thread wraps, you can get away with using a 140 denier thread as a compromise. Using a few more wraps to form the body and a few less to create the head of the fly, you can turn out a fantastic looking fly without changing threads.
You have a few options when building the body. You can use thread alone with or without a contrasting rib to create a great looking body. You can also wrap a single layer of crystal flash or smoother flash material if you want to create a body with a little bling. Remember that you will be adding a layer of UV resin to the fly, so keep the shape of the fly on the thin side, so you don’t create a bulky looking fly unless, of course, that is what you are looking for.
Another tip is not to crowd the hook eye. Give yourself adequate room to finish the fly after you apply the resin. It is also essential to keep the resin away from the area of the hook that you will be tying in the hackle. You will always get better-looking results tying in your hackle on a bare hook shank or one covered with only a single layer of thread.
As stated earlier, I use Solarez Bone Dry to coat the body of the fly. Solarez comes in a glass bottle with a brush applicator. Usually, the first thing I do when opening a new bottle of Bone Dry is to take a pair of scissors to the brush to thin it out a bit. Trimming the brush is an excellent idea if you tie a lot of small flies. Leave the brush as it is if you primarily tie big stuff. At the moment, I am using a prototype plastic bottle with a fine metal needle tip applicator. This bottle is my new favorite method of applying UV resin of this nature. I hope Solarez offers this bottle option to everyone in the future. Are you listening Solarez?
I trim about half of the fibers off of the brush included with the bottle to allow for more precise application on smaller flies.
Solarez Bone Dry has a peculiar characteristic that I have to mention. When Solarez Bone Dry is exposed to colder temperatures (below 55 degrees, I believe), it begins to crystallize, making it unusable. Fortunately, this is remedied by warming it up. I usually stick the opened bottle in the microwave for a few minutes, and it is restored to its proper state. Another method, which I use when tying on the road at various fly fishing shows during the winter, is to stick the sealed bottle in a glass of hot water. It takes a little longer, but once the resin warms, it will be entirely restored. Just make sure the container is correctly sealed or only submerge it to the level of the cap.
Once you have created a body of thread or flash material, give it a light coating of Bone Dry resin. Go sparingly at first until you get a feel for how much resin is needed. A rotary vice is real handy here as you can rotate the fly to keep the resin from sagging before hitting it with UV light and setting the resin. After applying a drop or two of resin, I spread it around with a dubbing needle or the metal stem on the new bottle to evenly distribute it before curing it. The resin sets in seconds when exposed to the UV light.
Finishing The Fly
Now that your body is done, its time to finish the fly. I tie a lot of soft hackles with this style body, but nothing says you can’t use it for winged wets as well. You can get as simple or elaborate as you want. You can finish the fly with a few turns of hackle and call it finished. Tie them sparse or heavily hackled; the choice is yours, both styles have their uses. For hackle, I like hen hackle and feathers from game birds like partridge, grouse, and pheasant. I also use rooster hackle, specifically the hackle found on Ewing Feather Bird Deceiver Patches. This versatile hackle has a lot of uses outside of deceiver style streamers. I use it for hackle on poppers and bass bugs as well as larger wet flies. It has the perfect combination of stiffness and flexibility, and I like the way it looks on larger wet flies.
You can add a little more detail, a change in profile, and perhaps a little bit of contrast by adding a thorax before winding on the feather. I use a variety of dubbing and chenilles to create thoraxes on wet flies. A thorax will help keep the feather more upright when being retrieved through the water. It also presents an opportunity to add a hot spot to your fly by adding a thorax of brightly colored dubbing or chenille. You can also add a hot spot by finishing the head of the fly with brightly colored thread. You can use that same Bone Dry Resin to finish the head instead of head cement to get a smooth, durable, high gloss head on your fly.
Recycling At Its Best
Flies tied in this fashion are incredibly durable and will stand up to a lot of fish. Eventually, the hackle and thorax will get beat up, possibly being stripped off entirely if your not careful with those forceps when removing the flies from the fish’s mouth. Don’t discard that fly! Chances are the body is in perfect condition! Bring it back to your fly tying bench and add a fresh turn of hackle. I usually use a sharp knife to trim away the old head, then add new dubbing and hackle, and it is off to the races again!
Recipes for Killer Soft Hackles
When it comes to panfish, there is no limit to the color combinations that can be used to catch fish. Wet flies have a long tradition of being tied to match specific hatches as well as being tied as gaudy, colorful attractors. I consider both approaches when adding a fresh batch of wet flies/soft hackles to my fly boxes. I encourage you to experiment with your designs and color combinations. Please be sure to share your successes with me!
Here are a few of my favorites:
A basic yellow tied on a standard, barbed wet fly hook.
The Basic Yellow
Hook: Firehole Stick #633 (size 8-14)
Thread Body: Danville 210 denier Yellow
Hackle: Chartreuse Grizzly Ewing Deceiver Patch
Resin: Solarez Bone Dry
A yellow w/black rib tied on a standard, barbed wet fly hook. Barbed hooks are often requested by my customers but I prefer tying flies on barbed hooks for my own use.
Yellow w/Black Rib
Hook: Firehole Stick #633 (size 8-14)
Thread Body: Danville 210 denier Yellow with a black thread rib. Use heavier Black embroidery floss if you want a more “bee-like” appearance
Hackle: Chartreuse Grizzly Ewing Deceiver Patch
Resin: Solarez Bone Dry
The Chartreuse Flash tied with a pearl Crystal Flash body on a Firehole Stick #633
Chartreuse Flash
Hook: Firehole Stick #633 (size 8-14)
Thread: UTC 140 denier Red
Body: Chartreuse or Pearl Crystal Flash
Hackle: Chartreuse Grizzly Ewing Deceiver Patch
Thorax: One turn of Chartreuse/Back variegated chenille
Resin: Solarez Bone Dry
A Red Flash tied on a Firehole Stick #633. This one is destined for my own fly box!
Red Flash
Hook: Firehole Stick #633 (size 8-14)
Thread: UTC 140 denier Red
Body: Silver Crystal Flash
Hackle: Chartreuse Grizzly Ewing Deceiver Patch
Thorax: Bright Red Dubbing
Resin: Solarez Bone Dry
A Basic brown dressed up with an orange thorax instead of the typical brown. This style of pattern lends itself to endless tinkering. Experiment!
Basic Brown
Hook: Firehole Stick #633 (size 8-14)
Thread Body: UTC 140 denier Brown
Hackle: Grizzly or Brown Grizzly Ewing Deceiver Patch
Thorax: Brown Dubbing
Resin: Solarez Bone Dry
A Basic Olive tied with bleached grizzly and black/red dubbing for a little more contrast.
Basic Olive
Hook: Firehole Stick #633 (size 8-14)
Thread Body: UTC 140 denier Olive
Hackle: Grizzly or Olive Grizzly Ewing Deceiver Patch
Thorax: Dark Olive Dubbing
Resin: Solarez Bone Dry
You can add a hotspot by adding a thorax of a contrasting color or by using a bright colored thread for the head. You can also use both methods!
Hot Spot Brown or Olive
Hook: Firehole Stick #633 (size 8-14)
Thread Body: UTC 140 denier Brown or Olive
Hackle: Grizzly, Brown or Olive Grizzly Ewing Deceiver Patch
Thorax: Hot Orange Dubbing Resin:
Solarez Bone Dry
Head: Hot Orange 70 denier UTC
There is no limit to the varieties of Resin Bodied Wet Flies you can tie. Experiment and have a little fun at the vice. I think you would be hard pressed to tie one that won’t work!