Believe it or not materials

[Corbo]

What materials have you used (or experimented with) that are "off-beat, strange, weird, exotic or otherwise unique"?

I actually use "stim-u-dent" toothpicks from the drug store to make really cool and life like "bodies" for baitfish imitations, then I cover the toothpicks with floss and then cover with tube mylar or other tube material.

I also use craft cord for streamer bodies; both to cover the hook shank and also to build an under belly by tying it front and rear in a back & forth manner making several layer... (I use "flat craft cord for these).

Pictures of stim-u-dent here http://www.easttennesseefishing.com/...howtopic=28070

Scroll through the text; at the very bottom is my bunny fly that I tried to describe in another post. It is on a size 4 kink shank (where bead is secured), has an Estaz body and bunny over the "top" on an inverted hook... deadly.

[Heavynets]

I make poppers from McDonald's straws. I fill them with insulating foam. After it hardens I cut to length and insert a #8 kink-shank hook. I cover the exposed foam with epoxy or UV curing resin. Then proceed as usual.

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[Knothead]

My son has a black Lab. I use leftover hair from past baths for dubbing. I call it the beadhead Hogan. I have tan hair from our mutt- Lucky's beadhead nymph. I use feathers I find in the backyard for tails on several flies or wrap them as a pheasant tail.

[Corbo]

Heavynets; I like thepopper; is it messy to squirt foam into a straw? I'll bet one can of foam would fill a 100 straws... you probably have a lifetime supply.

Knothead... Our Chocolate Lab is named LUCKY and he's 14 years old; go figure? His fur is really soft; perhaps I ought to collect some dubbing from him as I don't hink he'll last this year.

I'm supposing dog hair doesn't naturally float.

[MadisonBoats]

I concur with Knothead in using my dog - Dodger's fur. It is short and it chops and blends well with other dubbing.

The best wing material I have ever found is a Subway Sandwich Bag. One bag will last you years. Also; you can use a pencil and rub against it along a piece of wood to give it veins. Just cut a rectangular piece and slightly pull it apart until it stretches without breaking. Then; trim and tie in.

One of the neatest flies I found recently was a small alligator clip with a hook snaked through it. It was in a tackle box I found. It actually looked pretty enticing.

Then there are the bottle cap and rubberband lures the old guys use to make back in the days.

Originally Posted by Corbo

........
I'm supposing dog hair doesn't naturally float.

Corbo, if you want it to float; put it in a baggy with a few drops of Rainex and mix well.

[narcodog]

I use dental floss for the strips on Iso nymphs

[Corbo]

Rainex, dentall floss, plastic bags, squirt foam straws etc. is a good start; I'll bet there are some here too afraid to post about what they use.

There is a thin foam material used by manufacturers when they box electronic stuff; it's ussually white or light green... I have used this for wing cases on floating nymphs tied on a wet hook.

[Knothead]

I read a story about a couple of guys fishing in Canada for pike. They made lures out of an old teaspoon or tablespoon. Cut off the handle, drilled holes on each end, put split rings in them and a treble hook on the widest end.
Question- how many stop for roadkill?

[kentuckytroutbum]

If its squirrel, I'll stop and take a look to assess the condition. Usually the tail is usable, but that depends.

[Heavynets]

Believe it or not, about 5 years ago, while on my way home from a fly tying class I saw a peacock that had been hit by a car on the interstate. I immediately pulled over and gathered together the remains. I now have enought hurl to last a lifetime. There's nothing better than being at the right place at the right time.