How to Tie Foam Beetles for Fly Fishing
A foam beetle is an artificial lure favored by fly fishermen. The foam beetle mimics the fish's natural prey. Predominantly utilized by fly fishermen in their pursuit of trout, it can also have appeal for other freshwater fish species. Although you can purchase a foam beetle from your angling supply store, many fishermen take pride in tying their own flies. The foam beetle is a good intermediate fly to tie once you have some experience.
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Things You'll Need
- 1 fish hook, between sizes 12 and 16
- Fly-tying vise
- Gudebrod 8/0 black thread
- 4 peacock herl feathers, black
- 5-millimeter-wide strip black fly-tying foam
- Craft knife
- Rooster hackle detail feather, black
- Yellow poly yarn
- Scissors
Instructions
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1
Place the hook in the vise so that it curls downward and the hook shaft is exposed. Tie the Gudebrod 8/0 black thread onto the shaft near the eye. Wrap it tightly around the shaft until you reach the hook bend. Keep the thread taught at all times.
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2
Cut the strip of foam so that it narrows to a point at one end. The foam piece should be twice as long as the hook shaft. Tie the foam to the shaft where the hook begins to bend, leaving the tail of the strip extending past the eye. The first wrap should go around the section where the foam starts to narrow to a point. Wrap the thread around the foam up to the point and tie it off.
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3
Leave the foam piece sticking up behind the hook and keep it in line with the hook shaft. In front of the foam, tie four peacock herl feathers to hook shaft so they stick up above the foam, just before the hook bend. Tie a rooster hackle feather in front of the herls so that it sticks up above them. The foam and feathers should all be sticking up in the same direction.
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4
Wrap the thread and the herls around the hook shaft. Keep wrapping until you reach the eye and trim off any excess feathers. Do not trim the thread, only the herls. Keep the thread taught.
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5
Wrap the hackle feather around the shaft of the hook in the same way that you did with the herl feathers. Wrap it until you reach the eye, then tie it off and trim any excess hackle feather near the eye. Trim all of the hackle "barbs," or feathers, on top of the fly to make way for the beetle body. The hackle barbs should still be sticking out beneath and on the sides of the shaft.
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6
Fold the foam over from where it was secured near the curve in the hook and secure it at the eye with the thread. The foam will form a beetle body. Leave the excess foam sticking out over the eye. You will trim this later.
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7
Take a piece of yellow yarn and place it over the point where the foam is tied near the eye of the hook. Tie it down with the thread. Pull up both ends of the yellow yarn and trim the yarn to about 4 or 5 millimeters. This should form a little yellow bristle just behind the eye of the hook.
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8
Trim the remaining piece of foam and round the corners to make it look like a beetle head. Trim the hackle barbs at the bottom of your beetle, leaving the ones on the sides to look like legs.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not pull on the foam or handle it too much. Doing so will negatively affect the bubbles, which enable the beetle to float.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Stephen Schauer/Digital Vision/Getty Images
