BEADS ....... ?

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

I know some folks use beads to 'enhance' the appearance,
add weight, or because that's what's called for in a recipe...
Most folks attach them to the hook as part of the fly itself,
and our Fellow Flympher "DUBBN" prefers to slide it
onto the line and allow it to work it's 'magic' from there,
allowing for a 'multi-use' fly....

How many others have tried the 'sliding bead' method and
what do you think of the results???
Also, what size beads do you use, what material (brass, tung.
glass, bone, or whatever other materials ???

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas.

hank

[chase creek]

I've never tried it, but it sure sounds like a good idea!
I don't think I've ever cruised through this site without snagging a new idea or 2.
Gonna try this next time out.
I'm really interested in seeing some replies to this.

[Mataura mayfly]

Can't say I have tried it. Would give a novel approach to adding weight and colour if it was not on the fly for a start. Might be a pain in the butt if you had to untie and reattach the fly to add the bead though..... I would go back to good old split-shot for that, but then you don't get the colour.

I must admit to fishing (and tying) a lot of bead head nymphs, perhaps because I fish bigger deeper waters than some, but I feel the bead adds the weight of lead wrapped bodies without sacrificing hook gape in smaller sizes.

Basically I cannot knock what I have not tried..... so I might give it a whirl next time out.

[FliTrap]

I'll really "twist this topic up with this idea! As we all know, many of the hackled flies will have a tendency to twist and even spin in the currents, causing finer tippet material to twist into a mess! This happens more to my line when I use flies with multiple hackle wraps and then fished with a "long swim on the dangle"! To counter this and to add life to leaders, I send a few pennies to buy a pack of the smallest swivels you can find and ending my leader with one, instead of those small o-ring connectors, thus tying 18-24" of tippet to the other end of the swivel! Saves leader, adds a small weight, and prevents twist, all while getting the fly down! You can still add a "sliding bead as noted earlier in this post if more wt. is needed!
I have had no (really I think less!!!) problems with with snagging the swivel with the hook during casting, I think because of the less of a "hinge", compared to split shot. Few if any more incidents of snagging of the swivel in the rock then if using split shot. And far less tippet breakage due to line damage caused by split shot!
I control for "depth off the bottom" by length of tippet, longer tippet allows a bit more rise from the level of the swivel when no other weight is used! And if there is a "hook snag", I rarely loose the swivel!
Have fun with the idea!
FliTrap
Note: all of the above works better with a slower, more open casting stroke, in the same way as used when casting any weight!

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

Thanks for the thoughts.
I reckon I was looking for more information about bead size
although usage is important as well.

FliTrap, Howdy;
Interesting idea, that of the use of a swivel. Have you found
that the 18"-24" works best for you under your "normal"
conditions or do you set it for a certian depth like a
split-shot, say, 1.5 times depth???

Thanks again for the answers and thoughts ...

hank

[JohnP]

Bead diameter ..... Hook size
1/16"....1.5mm ....20-26

5/64th" ...2.0 mm... 16-20

3/32" .....2.3mm... 14-18

7/64" .... 2.8mm ... 12-16

1/8" .....3.3mm ... 10-14

3/16" ...3.8mm ... 6-10

3/16" ....4.8mm ... 2-8

1/4" .....6.4mm ... 1/0-4

[hankaye]

John P, Howdy;

Thanks for the chart, and takin' the time to
generate it...... By the way is the lower 3/16th"
supposed to be 5/64th" ??? Just checkin' .....

Now what material is folks' preferance,
Lead, Tin, Tungston, Brass, Glass, Bone,
Wood (?), Porcelain kitchen sinks ???

hank

[Old Hat]

Hank, I have used the bead on the leader technique before. I don't normally weight my trout flies on the fly or leader but when steelheading nymph patterns I do. I normally go for an egg colored glass bead on the leader with stonefly pattern. I don't like the painted color beads as they chip way to easily. As far as size goes for the bead, I go big, but then again I'm fishing with #8 and #6's.

[FliTrap]

Hank!
My suggestion of some 18" to 24" is a length of tippet that allows me to retie flies several times without concern that the tippet is "too short"! I fish waters with a lot of variation in speed, depth and them nasty big fishes that wanna break off your flies! Most often I'm the guy standing waist deep in the ugliest spot on the shoals, that a fool can get into, fishing extreme long casts, across pocket waters, on the White River in Arkansas! The long casting results from not being able to wade far, once you get into a key spot!
An example: Rim Shoal!

(I'd be about half way out to that island and down stream, about 50 yds!!!)

(a view of the island, from the other bank and down stream!)

In fishing these waters, I will sometimes run through several fly patterns, sizes and variations until I start consistently catch fish! You can shorten your tippet real fast that way!

Anyone wanna join me for a fly fling on the noted?...Yell out.... We can set a date! I need more reasons to get back to the river several times this winter!
Have Fun!
FliTrap

[FliTrap]

Hank!
After I reread your question:
Yes, its the lift allowed by tippet length, from the pivot point (swivel) that can allow rise in the fly... In slower waters the weight settles deeper and the fly rises to the length of the leader vs the speed of current!
That holds true until current exceeds the affects of the swivel and any weight!
Then depth is influenced by your "sink time" before slack in line is taken up!
Upstream cast, drag free as it sings on the way down stream.
Ya.... clear as mud and learned with lots of stream time!
Catch up with me for three days on the White River, Arkansas, and I'll help you catch on!
FliTrap