77022 Softies Series

[William Anderson]

A couple months ago the quest for interesting yarns that might make a variety of cool Killer Bugs included a yarn Ray introduced me to a couple years ago. Bill Shuck (correct me if I'm wrong, Bill) chopped the yarn for his Tups thorax for the swap. I have been tying Killer Bugs and a few yarn bodied soft-hackles with a single strand of the three, but recently chopped up a batch to use in prespun bodies from the Block.
The complete name is Wheat Heather Classic Merino Wool, #77022 100% wool.

Hen and Patons 77022 Yarn Dubbing in Primrose prespun on Clark's block, hen cape tails



Hen and Patons 77022 Yarn Dubbing in Primrose prespun on Clark's block thorax, yellow buttontwist body - Tups



Partridge and Patons 77022 Yarn Dubbing in Primrose prespun on Clark's block



Hen and Patons 77022 Yarn Dubbing in Primrose prespun on Clark's block, Mayfair Pale yarn body



Vintage Mayfair pale 100% wool yarn



Wheat Heather Classic Merino Wool, #77022 100% wool.



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[Old Hat]

Good stuff here William. I chopped up some of the killer bug yarn I use into dubbing a while back. I like the look of it but not as well as the yarn itself wrapped on the hook. This looks like a very nice dubbing blend.

[Mataura mayfly]

William, very nice looking set. Your use of the yarn, chopped for dubbing is an avenue I have not yet travelled. Lord knows I have plenty of yarn! But I tend to reach to one of the three possum skins hanging over the tying bench for thorax dubbing.
The pale Tups is an excellent looking variation of the pattern.

This yarn could easily make the transition to a July Dun Nymph or maybe even the Dark Olive Nymph, sliced up and used as dubbing.

What kind of length did you cut the strands to? Coffee grinder blended?

[DUBBN]

Simple Scud using your technique, and the 77022 yarn. Good stuff Mr. Anderson

[William Anderson]

Thanks for the kind comments. I see a lot of potential using yarns as dubbing and blending it with some natural furs as well. I chopped this in 1/8" to 1/4" snips and blended in the coffee grinder. Just something else to try but I like the control of this wool with the prespun silk. Split thread and dropped loop will get you there of course, but the bodies turned out nice. I'll play with a few more. My killer bug interest left me with lots of different yarns. (that project is not over yet. More to come.)

Wayne, as scud this is hard to beat. Nice pattern and lots of life. Thanks for posting this. Please share any others out thoughts on the yarn when you get to fish it. The wool darkens but all the colors are vibrant. It should produce well for you.

[tie2fish]

Cutting up and blending it to make dubbing is the only way I've used wool so far. To be honest, William, I can't remember the name/number of the wool provided by Ray that gives such a good approximation of the Tup's thorax. What you've shown above is certainly close. BTW, the flies you've shown us are all superb, and DUBBN's fine scud would excel almost anywhere freshwater shrimp reside.

[fly_fischa]

Awesome looking set of flies Will, exsquisite tying mate. Interesting experiment, the bodies created using this technique have a lovely buggy quality. I can just imagine how great they'd look in the water.

[DUBBN]

Bill, William, I tied the scud as it was the fastest pattern I could think of to test Williams technique out on. That, and I had some shell back laying next to my vise. I also tied a Soft Hackle using the process. I am catching up on tieing PT nymphs at the moment, but when I swing back to Soft Hackles, I will be employing this technique.

Jeff, I was not asked, but I used canned air to blend the cut yarn. A blast lasting less than a quarter Second provided enough material for dozens of patterns. I cut the yarn in to 1/4 inch lengths.

Yarn provided to me by William, JohnP, and Jeff, should cover quite the color spectrum.

[JohnP]

Those are some really nice-looking flies. I have not had the chance to play around with my Clark block much yet, but one of my goals this fall/winter is to experiment with the technique.
I use a thrift store coffee grinder to blend dubbing; works like a charm and only cost $2.

[Kelly L.]

William these flies are awesome. I like blending my dubbings as well. I like to mix wool, and natural hair, and sometimes I throw a little sparkle in. You hit a very beautiful mix in these flies. Something else I've used in my dubbings is Shuck Yarn from FTD. Hey it is cheap, and good stuff. I have also been known to put some Antron Sparkle dubbing in my mix, or just plain antron. A coffee grinder has been a well used item around my place. I get into a dubbing frenzy now and then. I toss in all kinds of stuff. Some of it turns out great. Some of it looks like the cat threw up....ROTFLMAO.