Let's talk thread

[Cane Pole]

OK, I went to the craft store with my wife yesterday and was amazed at the hundreds of colors and types of threads they had. Has anyone tried using these. Some were Rayon, Nylon, Silk, Polyester, Cotton, or blends of these. I was thinking about waxing some and giving them a try.

 

[AtticaFish]

I am not too particular about using any specific type of thread unless i am tying small flies or jigs - small is #10 & #12 for me - i'll pass on anything smaller. Tied with nothing but crummy sewing thread (no wax) for probably 15 years before i ever even knew there was stuff made for fly tying. The jigs and flies held together pretty well too. I have bought a lot of thread from craft shops. I look around and try to find a spool that has a long tag end hanging out and simply pull test it and see how much strain it takes to break it. Pretty scientific huh? hahaha. How thick it feels does make a difference too. The thicker it is, the quicker it builds up.

For the small flies or little 1/64 jigs - stick with the 'made for fly tying' thread and you will be saved much aggravation. I have a few colors of good fly tying thread but the majority of what i use is Madeira embroidery thread. Just my opinion anywho.

 

[Pup]

One of my favorite threads is Coats Trilobal Polyester Embroidery Thread. It's a 40-wt. thread that works well for building up jig bodies and tying down materials on jig heads without collars. I do prefer lower denier fly tying threads for collared jigs, but can get by with it when tying hair jigs of a single color. Its unit cost is much lower than that of conventional fly tying threads and there's no lack of color choices.

Other craft/fabric store gems include:

• Kreinik Braid
• Sulky Holoshimmer
• Guttermann Metallic

Those listed above are great for tying thread-bodied jigs.

 

[Fatman]

I'll check a bunch of them out, our local JoAnne's store is moving to a new location and is having big sales

 

[Cane Pole]

Thanks for the info. Do y'all wax these threads, or just use them and a good coat of clear.

 

[AtticaFish]

Only time i ever waxed thread was for using dubbing and now i prefer using a dub loop instead of wax. Thread necks almost always get a double coat of clear nail polish, unless they are going out on the water the next day. Anymore, if i can't see thread after the finish knot, no adhesive or nail polish is added. I do not sell my jigs - probably would glue them all if selling.

This brings up an interesting question i have had for a while and never asked...... why would someone want to have a 'pre-waxed' thread? I hear some jig tiers (and fly guys) claim the best is the pre-waxed. What are the advantages to it? I can see wanting to use it for tying DRY flies where the wax would (maybe) help the fly float better. Past that - i'm clueless.

 

[Cane Pole]

Waxed thread does not slip, so it holds better, and knots hold better. All of this is good info. I don't think enough is said about what thread is being used and why. It is good to know that a lot more options are available than just what is sold as fly tying thread.

 

[Fatman]

Back when I first started tying bucktail jigs for my Uncle all I used was carpet thread and it worked fine. Sometimes I think I have way to many.

 

[Shoemoo]

I only use regular thread if I am making thread necks, extremely tiny jigs, or tying for steelhead/salmon (in which case I use GSP or Kevlar depending on the color).

If I'm doing a standard chenille body jig where I don't want thread to show, I use Coats Transparent polyester monofilament. It's great stuff. Just like the really light pound test mono used on fishing reels. Costs around $3 for 400 yards and it's clear so it matches any color. Doesn't cut up bobbins, either. Only drawback is it's really slick.

 

[Pup]

The braid and thread presented in my bullet list above doesn't receive any wax. Those are used for jig bodies and are clear coated. I've tried waxing the trilobal polyester thread with beeswax, but that often resulted in excess wax buildup. When I need wax to prevent material slippage, I use a good flat-waxed fly tying thread.

One note about synthetic hair and "slippage", sometimes the hair just breaks or simply pulls out with or without wax. Not necessarily a bad thing, as I have a friend who fishes my jigs and tells me that they are as good or even better with a little hair loss.

 

[smalljaw]

With Danville flay waxed nylon under a dollar I figure that is the way to go but I do still have Ultra Thread and while it is strong the last 3 spools have been seperating badly so I'm done with it, in fact I'm done with all Wapsi brand tying material. The wax is good for holding good and it also keeps the thread from friction burns when you tightend down the finishing knot and it helps keep the thread from rotting. I found that out when I first started tying small bucktails for smallies, I had a cheap vise, 3 bucktails a cheap bobbin and some embroidery thread. The first creations worked fine the first season and by the next spring hair was falling out and they were coming apart so I learned to whip finish and then head about using super glue and that was that, problem almost solved and then I ran into an old river rat and we talked from our boats and he liked my jigs and then he asked about the thread and told me to use pre waxed fly tying thread and the reason he said is I'm going to get into tying more and more and there will come a time when I make a jig that I will just whip finish and if I want to fish it and expect it to last then I better be using waxed thread so that is what I got and have been using ever since.

 

[Fatman]

Even some of my bigger jigs are tied with Uni 6/0. I've also used kevlar and gsp. I know some guys on the fly boards who use regular sewing thread and wax it to keep thread buildup down. Even with ceremic bobbins you have to check them once in a while to make sure you haven't gotten a crack or a rough edge

 

[quivira kid]

I have gotten to liking Ultra 140 for most of what I do. When tying smaller flies, I will switch to Uni... and floss and tinsel type wets get the 70 denier Ultra.