Hopper and Beatle Foam

[Monster]

I bought some cheap foam recently from a craft shop. it was magic as they had all sorts of colours and it came in 2mm thick sheets. After tying a beatle and a hopper or two with this foam I realized that they do float but do not sit otop of the water.

The question is where should these flies sit and where can I get proper closed cell foam as this stuff obviosly is not.

Please help!!!

[MCC]

Good morning

Sitting very low in the surface film is not bad at all. Closed cell foam will often sink if the foam is compressed too much during tying. My favourite hopper pattern (deerhair) hits the water very hard and sinks after twenty drifts or so but it's extremely effective in windy conditions.

You can get "proper" foam from any of the fly shops or from craft shops.

Cheers
MC

[nicholas]

I read in this months fly fishing mag that Ed herbst gets his foam from Morne @african fly fishing blog, Morne if your reading this maybe you can enlighten us.

[jock0]

I read in this months fly fishing mag that Ed herbst gets his foam from Morne @african fly fishing blog, Morne if your reading this maybe you can enlighten us.

So do a few of us Quick, efficient etc and he seems to carry loads of stuff you battle to find up here in GP without driving to three or four stores.

[nicholas]

So do a few of us Quick, efficient etc and he seems to carry loads of stuff you battle to find up here in GP without driving to three or four stores.

I do not have the mag to hand,what foam was it he brings in?

[Pipe]

I do not have the mag to hand,what foam was it he brings in?

Here is a link to his website: http://www.theafricanflyangler.co.za/

You can also give Streamx, Frontier fly-fishing or Flyfisher Unlimited a call. If you want a hopper that does not sink you should paint and seal the foam

Here is a very usefull link: http://www.presentafly.com/fly-tying.php

Don't hesitate to PM me I love to tie hopper patterns and fish them!

[GGY]

I bought some cheap foam recently from a craft shop. it was magic as they had all sorts of colours and it came in 2mm thick sheets. After tying a beatle and a hopper or two with this foam I realized that they do float but do not sit otop of the water.

The question is where should these flies sit and where can I get proper closed cell foam as this stuff obviosly is not.

Please help!!!

Best (= lightest) closed cell foam products are "Evazote" - Hareline does this in white & black. NOTE - this is NOT the normal Hareline foam, which is a lot denser. (Frontiers has stock).

Rainy's also does Evazote - I recently bought some in Yellow, Chartreuse & Olive in Australia. It did come in Camel (brown) - but this was noticably more dense than the others, so I did not buy it (was no different from "normal" fly foam).

Not sure where you can get Rainy's in SA.

[smallstreams.co.za]

Best (= lightest) closed cell foam products are "Evazote" - Hareline does this in white & black. NOTE - this is NOT the normal Hareline foam, which is a lot denser. (Frontiers has stock).

Rainy's also does Evazote - I recently bought some in Yellow, Chartreuse & Olive in Australia. It did come in Camel (brown) - but this was noticably more dense than the others, so I did not buy it (was no diffrent from "normal" fly foam).

Not sure where you can get Rainy's in SA.

Any issues with thread cutting into this foam Gar? Recommended thread on this?

[GGY]

Any issues with thread cutting into this foam Gar? Recommended thread on this?

Have not had more problems than normal with foam.
Normal 70 Denier threads (8/0) are fine to use, but would suggest one stays away from very thin thread and/or kevlar.
I do use Benecchi 12/0 & Gordon Griffiths 14/0 on foam too, but when working with foam, it is best to use multiple wraps on top of one another, with increasing pressure in the later wraps. This usually prevents cutting.

[Morne]

I do not have the mag to hand,what foam was it he brings in?

Hey Nick. It is the Larva lace foam that Ed uses and that he mentioned in the mag and on Tom's site.