Acetate Floss

[tim_y]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone on here has used acetate floss when tying flies. Pretty much you dip the flies into acetone and the floss hardens and gains some translucensy, similar to the effect of using condoms on nymphs. I happened to stumble upon it in a magazine and couldn't believe how realistic some of the flies looked. The stuff is pretty cheap, I ordered a bunch online and will post some results. Any input is appreciated.

[Dr. BlueDun]

Waiting to see your results---any references regarding the use of the acetate floss would be appreciated. "Doc"

[tim_y]

Hey Doc,

I was browsing a magazing called Fly Fusion. Towards the back they had a nice recipe for an anchor worm using the acetate floss. The fly looked great and I was reading the article written by the tier. He uses it just like you would an anchor worm, and it accounts for more fish than any other fly in his box. I'm slowly becoming a convery in anchor worm flies - you can't catch fish on split shot. Once the floss hardens, it becomes hard and translucent, similar to the wraps on a fly blank. Ribbed with red wire or mono, it segments nicely. From looking at the pics, I think that you could make some great larva patterns with it, expecially midge and caddis pupas. I'll keep you guys posted with some pics. It should be waiting for me when I get back to NY.

[Davyfly]

This was a material l used a great deal way back in the 70/80s period.
By and large it has lost favor.
It is a perfect material for producing solid bodies flies, can be woven for 2 or 3 tone effects, ideal for Polish and Czech style nymphs, they will sink like a rock, perfect also for patterns such as corixa or any others where you want a hard back, stonefly nymphs and so on.
Actually l developed a range of patterns that used acetate floss that were at one time commercially produced, not to day.
My woven corixa was a great favorite. I will have to post a pic of it for you guys.

I would not immerse the fly. I would use a fine artwork brush to coat the acetate, avoiding contact with the other materials used, which may be a dubbed body, for example.
If you are not careful you can near on melt the acetate floss to nothing, which is why l would use a art brush.

Happy tying guys.


Davy.

Make sure that the acetone you buy doe's contain acetone. some of the nail varnish removers to day do not contain acetone and it doe's not work so well.

[tim_y]

Hey Davy,

I just wanted to thank you for the heads up on the brush method. I found out that you could definitely burn through the floss completely, even with the brush. The first batch I wasn't too happy with, but they caught fish. I tied a bunch of different midge variations and added a small peacock head. The good thing is that when the flies get chewed up, all you have to do is throw them back in the vice and add a new collar, the floss is perfect. Once I get some results that are easy on the eye, I'll post. One of the killers was a caddis pupa that I ribbed with 6lb mono. It added some really nice segmentation to the body and the floss gave it that veiny look.

[Davyfly]

Good deal Tim.

[tim_y]

Hey guys,

I finally got some of those flies to my liking and they killed. Unfortunately, before I could post pics, I lost my fly box. That hurt, but I did manage to tie up some more tonight. The first picture are what the flies look like before I brush the acetone on them, the second is a stonefly and the third are a couple of pupas that I tie. If you look closely at the finished fly, you can see the hardened floss, and how it creates some nice segmentation on the fly. All I do is twist the floss on my final wraps. If you do give it a shot DO NOT dip the fly in acetone. (Thanks for the advice Davy) Even with a brush I had a couple melt through completely. Definitely works with a thin coat with a brush. The brown pupa killed the other day, fish took that when I was throwing the rest of my box at them as a dropper.

[jason]

wow......those are really nice! Love the stonefly.
jason

[tim_y]

Hey Jason,

That was pretty early on when I started to tie these. They've really become my go to flies this year. The stone (as do most stones) seem to catch fish everywhere. The green caddis nymph in a size 14 seems to catch fish anywhere you there is vegetation especially. I guess it can resemble a scud or green inchworm as well. The brown one has been absolutely killer on the Neversink. They're extremely durable and quick to tie as well.

[tim_y]

Here are a couple of new flies that I've tried using the floss. Thanks again to Davy for his advice about using a brush with the Acetone. I accidently dropped one in, and before I could get it out all that was left was some lead on the hook.