I've been watching a few fly tying vids by Davie McPhail and obviously enjoy it immensely, if only for listening to his accent :-). One thing I have noticed though (and I have not heard him clarify on this) is that he sometimes wax the thread and other times not. At first I thought it was a dry fly thing to help float the fly, but then he waxed some thread while tying a caddis pupae immitation, which sort of nullified my theory.
The only book I have on tying techniques is this one, published back in 1982 when I was born,
http://www.amazon.com/Expert-Fly-Tyi.../dp/0806975806, and the authors assume that everyone always either wax their thread or use pre-waxed thread. (btw, this is a fantastic book to have IMO for teaching you the different techniques in tying flies. It's a great companion to books like The South African Fly-fishing handbook that shows you the SBS, but not necessarily the way to actually perform the steps required.).
My question: What is the correct usage of wax. When should I use it and why?
Edit: I'm not referring to dubbing wax.
Second edit: Mmm, maybe I am. Will have to watch the video again... In any case, I know you can buy waxed thread, why would you choose to use it?
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