# Playing around with brushes



## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Monkeying around with a few options of material combinations. All brushes done laying longest fibers on the table to shortest fibers.

Top brush 5 1/2” wide brush. Craft fur with ripple ice fiber. Craft fur and ripple ice split 80/20 over the wire.

Second brush is 5” wide. 2 colors craft fur laid about 90/10 over the wire with, 2 colors ripple ice fiber 50/50 over the wire, with one 2”color of Congo hair split 50/50 over the wire.

The bottom two brushes are both 2” wide w/two colors of Congo hair-1” fibers 
and 2” fibers split 50/50 over the wire. The brush also has two colors of ripple ice fibers cut in half and split 50/50 over the wire.

Things I learned along the way….when trimming fibers use the first bundle of material as your gauge. You get more consistency that way. As advertised, the bulk brushes definitely need the heavier gauge wire. I busted one of the wire loops on both of the denser bulkhead brushes. With the denser brush the wire spins up rapidly between the materials and the hooks to begin with, which is why I think it breaks in the later stages of the brush. So I had to hold those with pliers and finish spinning/brushing. The 009 wire will be here today so we’ll try the thicker brushes upon its arrival….so I’m pleased. Time to wind some stuff on hooks!!! 











































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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

This is pretty fly. Used the olive/white brush and the camo bulkhead brush. It took longer to put the eyes on and color than tie and trim. 











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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Brushbuster….this is your fault










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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

adam bomb said:


> Hey Brushbuster, what materials have you been playing around with?
> 
> I just did 3 orders. More xtra select craft fur and ripple ice fiber, NMF Wavelength Flash, NMF Flash n Fiber, FTD Congo Hair and FTD Big Spirit Fiber to play around with
> 
> ...


Right now just craft fur, Congo hair, maribou,and flash material like northern lights and flashabou. Id like to try FTDs big game hair. I'm just about done with my salmon flies and will be doing pike next, so I'll be ordering some stuff for that.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

adam bomb said:


> Brushbuster….this is your fault
> View attachment 842133
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Wow, those are nice. Bait fish patterns are brand new to me and I guess it's time for me to learn some new tricks.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

brushbuster said:


> Wow, those are nice. Bait fish patterns are brand new to me and I guess it's time for me to learn some new tricks.


Man are they fun and addictive to tie! I did this perch tonight. Blended Orange,gold,olive ripple ice fiber, olive and white brush, olive craft fur wing, NMF Perch back wavelength flash, olive bruiser blend and white laser dub head. Then filled it up with yellow or and and black sharpie. 

I also got in some more orders today. That Nightmare Musky Fly material is nice stuff! The flash n fiber is pretty similar to SF Fiber. And that wavelength flash is really nice stuff. It’s all blended. So unless you wanted a single flash color this beats the crap out of ripple ice fiber for value. Bigger bags and packed. I could really see this adding a lot of dimension to the brushes and flies. 



















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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Finally used that chartreuse and white brush Puny. Did peacock herl, Olive craft fur, olive perch back flash blend and a bruiser blend head. It looks amazing when wet and out in the sun. 


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

Man these are pretty awesome. Really impressive work you guys are doing.

I have only dabbled a little in flytying. Mostly just a couple of simple steelhead patterns as a kid. Last year dusted off my equipment and made some maribou jigs for bass fishing. The handful of jigs on the market that are the right size and weight that also have a stout enough hook are stupid expensive. I did some research and tied up a box of jigs. Kinda enjoyed doing it. 

This year my son has started messing around with fishing giant hair jigs in deep water. He has one in particular he really likes. I have been looking at it thinking I should be able to easily tie this for under $16-17 they charge for them. Their website says the body is synthetic fiber hair that gives it the proper fall rate. I am betting it is a synthetic brush like you guys are making. Can you get this stuff in a really wide brush? I am thinking it has to be atleast 4-5" in length. If I can find the proper jighead this thing seems super simple to tie. They add a single long chicken feather for the tail. This jig has a 5/0 hook for size reference. I need to measure one and see how long it is.
















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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

DirtySteve said:


> Man these are pretty awesome. Really impressive work you guys are doing.
> 
> I have only dabbled a little in flytying. Mostly just a couple of simple steelhead patterns as a kid. Last year dusted off my equipment and made some maribou jigs for bass fishing. The handful of jigs on the market that are the right size and weight that also have a stout enough hook are stupid expensive. I did some research and tied up a box of jigs. Kinda enjoyed doing it.
> 
> ...


Looks like craft fur to me with either a saddle hackle or schlappen tail. You can definitely buy brushes. How long are the fibers on that jig?

This is a 3” brush in the link, so depending how they measure them it’s gonna be 1 1/2” fibers or 3” long fibers. My craft fur brushes are using full length extra select craft fur and are about 5 3/4-6” wide after spun. So they produce a nice ~3ish inch fiber. 








EP Craft Fur Brush - Enrico Puglisi Craft Fur Brush


EP Craft Fur Brush available now at the Caddis Fly Shop. The Caddis Fly Shop has a massive selection of fly tying materials--all products ship same day and are free of sales tax. Free shipping on US orders over $50.




www.caddisflyshop.com





Your other option would be tie in the tail, reverse tie Bucktail as a prop then reverse tie craft fur leaving the flared butts to give it the lift so it’s not a snake when it gets wet. Your last stack tie in normally and do a thread collar or stay with the reverse tie right up to the jig collar. Doing the latter would give your fly more shoulders and a cleaner finished look. 


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Tying flies to save money
🤣🤣🤣


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

DirtySteve said:


> Man these are pretty awesome. Really impressive work you guys are doing.
> 
> I have only dabbled a little in flytying. Mostly just a couple of simple steelhead patterns as a kid. Last year dusted off my equipment and made some maribou jigs for bass fishing. The handful of jigs on the market that are the right size and weight that also have a stout enough hook are stupid expensive. I did some research and tied up a box of jigs. Kinda enjoyed doing it.
> 
> ...


Also looking at their consistently makes me wanna get in the market for the price they’re fetching! 


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Dinking around here today. White Craft fur brush, blend of silver holographic and UV pearl ripple ice fiber, NMF Psycho bluegill flash n fiber, laser dub hot spot and laser dub head.  



















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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

New brush tonight. Made from white NMF Flash n Fiber, FTD Blue BG Fiber and Congo hair. I used NMF Flash n Fiber Baitfish blend fur the wing then Bruiser blend for the head. Very translucent fly. Should shed water nicely. I’ll definitely build this brush again but will definitely be adding smolt blue ripple ice next time. I was hoping for some subtle blue hues from the BG Fibers. It just didn’t happen. 



























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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

Finally got a chance to take a look at one of these closer. My son left his hair jig box on his buddies boat last week. 

It is mostly a synthetic hair fiber with shiny clear fiber mixed in. It is pretty thick...atleast much thicker than i expected. There is one long olive colored feather that looks like a rooster hackle to me. Their is two small orange bunches of died squirrel tail and on small patch of black squirrel tail. Also 5 iridescent type strands on each side for some bluegill type color.

This jig is quite used and beat up. The length of the fibers are 5" or slightly longer. My son said he initially trimmed it back a bit thinking it was too big for michigan largemouth. He said he wishes he would have left it normal length. He has caught several short bass on it with no issue.

The quality if the craftsmanship is pretty awful. The wad of thread and globbed on glue looks like it was done by a 4th grader. I could make these far nicer if i can find some extra long brushes. 

I have found some redfish saltwater jigs that are shaped like this with the 30degree hook shank and 5/0 hook. Struggling to find any 3/4 oz just 1/2 oz. He says he would like to try some lighter ones so I think I am going to start with those.

















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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

Always take notes on what has been working with your tying techniques. That way it will be easy to replicate a pattern and build consistency with your flies.


Those are looking great Adam.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

DirtySteve said:


> Finally got a chance to take a look at one of these closer. My son left his hair jig box on his buddies boat last week.
> 
> It is mostly a synthetic hair fiber with shiny clear fiber mixed in. It is pretty thick...atleast much thicker than i expected. There is one long olive colored feather that looks like a rooster hackle to me. Their is two small orange bunches of died squirrel tail and on small patch of black squirrel tail. Also 5 iridescent type strands on each side for some bluegill type color.
> 
> ...


You might wanna try this Crystal Hair from Fly Tyers Dungeon. A nice crinkle fiber with micro tinsel filaments. 13” length too so you could definitely get the length you need out of it. You could even hand blend your own flash or angelina fibers into it if you wanted more. That 5 strands on either side look to be Krystal Flash. I’d substitute laser dub for the squirrel tail. Easier to work with and will blend nicely with the body. 





__





Fly Tying Materials | Fly Tying Recipes | Fly Tying Supplies | Fly Tyers Dungeon | Fly Tying Supplies


Fly Tying Materials, fly tying supplies and many fly tying material tips and tricks, fly tying recipes. Fly tying closeout materials all at Fly Tyers Dungeon!



www.flytyersdungeon.com






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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

DirtySteve said:


> Finally got a chance to take a look at one of these closer. My son left his hair jig box on his buddies boat last week.
> 
> It is mostly a synthetic hair fiber with shiny clear fiber mixed in. It is pretty thick...atleast much thicker than i expected. There is one long olive colored feather that looks like a rooster hackle to me. Their is two small orange bunches of died squirrel tail and on small patch of black squirrel tail. Also 5 iridescent type strands on each side for some bluegill type color.
> 
> ...


So I messed around tonight and just threw together this jig. I think this is a 1/2 oz jig. I used a 6” wide brush, so 3” fiber length. I also tied in a double deciever style tail using schlappen. With the tail and brush I’ve achieved damn close to 5” from the shoulder of the jig. I added NMF Olive Perch back wavelength flash for the wing. To finish the fly I reverse tied in the stacks of laser dub on the olive and orange and whip finished to clean up the collar and brushed out to blend into the brush. This brush is pure Craft fur with Angelina fiber and ripple ice fiber using the strictly the craft fur butts as the core. You could easily add bulk having a denser core like Congo hair, EP Fiber, SF Blend etc. 










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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Pretty nice profile wet!










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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

adam bomb said:


> Pretty nice profile wet!
> View attachment 843164
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That thing is pretty awesome. Nice work!

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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

adam bomb said:


> You might wanna try this Crystal Hair from Fly Tyers Dungeon. A nice crinkle fiber with micro tinsel filaments. 13” length too so you could definitely get the length you need out of it. You could even hand blend your own flash or angelina fibers into it if you wanted more. That 5 strands on either side look to be Krystal Flash. I’d substitute laser dub for the squirrel tail. Easier to work with and will blend nicely with the body.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That stuff looks exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

Those jigs are pretty sweet looking. I bet they'd catch a host of different species depending in where you fish them.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

You are an awesome tyer sir!


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

I got some more materials in for brushes. I’m I’m gonna step completely out of my comfort zone here and build some meaty flies. I have a bunch of Flashabou and a big hank of Kanekalon coming as well. Hopefully achieve some nice 7-8” wide brushes. 

Here’s a full 6” sucker baitfish pattern I tied the other night to try and move that direction.

Also-a side bar. Has anyone used hair tinsel? For $9.99 on Amazon you can get 12 colors, 4200 strands 48” long. I’m told it’s not as wide as typical fly tying Flashabou. It certainly has peaked my interest however.

Hair Tinsel Kit With Tool 4200 strands Tinsel Hair Extensions 12 Colors Fairy Hair Tinsel, Sparkling Shiny Hair Tinsel Heat Resistant Highlights Glitter Tinsel Hair Extensions( 48 Inch ) https://a.co/d/3pfgf9P



























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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

So that went alright! 7” flash core brush. 8” 5/0…yes the hook is sharp. 


























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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

adam bomb said:


> So that went alright! 7” flash core brush. 8” 5/0…yes the hook is sharp.
> View attachment 843862
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Those are looking good. One issue is the short strikes you miss without a stinger hook trailing off the rear of the fly. That does tend to create its own set of issues though.

Having a fish blow up on one of those and missing a hook set is still exciting and worth the price of admission. Sometimes the ones you miss are more memorable anyway.

That's where those small Daiichi single egg hooks can come into play as a light stinger hook snelled on some braided line off the back end.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Chores, lunch and Knocked out these 7” Flash Core Predator brushes.

White Brush
-White Big Fly Fiber
-cream White Kanekalon core
-blue smoky ripple ice fiber

Green Brush
-Green Big Fly Fiber
-NMF Olive Perch Back Flash n Fiber core
-Olive ripple ice fiber

Yellow Brush
-Yellow Big fly Fiber
-NMF Brown Sucker Back Flask n Fiber core 
-Yellow ripple ice fiber


….now off work. Night shift life 



















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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

A two brush bulkhead baitfish today. 










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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

adam bomb said:


> A two brush bulkhead baitfish today.
> View attachment 844806
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That looks awesome. If you ever have some extra time I'd love to see a tutorial on your baitfish ties.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

brushbuster said:


> That looks awesome. If you ever have some extra time I'd love to see a tutorial on your baitfish ties.


Sure, I can do that. I’ll do a picture tutorial.

This is the process for 6-8” baitfish. Basically wrap brush starting at the hook point and moving forward 6 turns. High tie Flashabou 70/30 to set tail length, slightly advance and veil in polarflash tied in 70/30 with the longest fibers on the top 1/2 of the fly with butts evenly distributed around the hook, advance thread up the shank and tie in around the 50% mark and wrap forward 6 turns. Veil in polar flash 60/40 with the longest fibers on the top 1/2 of the fly, and the butts evenly distributed around the hook., NMF flash n fiber(SF Blend works too)underwing tied 60/40 for belly contrast/over wing tied 70/30 for added contrast to the back, bulkhead Congo hair brush(on the above fly) or build a head with two stacks top and bottom of laser dub and whip finish for a reverse tied look or stroke fibers back and finish in front behind the hook eye.

The smaller 4-4 1/2” baitfish I did craft fur tails reverse tied, then NMF Wavelength Flash or Ripple ice fiber blends tied with the same proportions as above. Then advance to about the 50% point on the shank, wrap forward to the 1/4 mark, add an over wing/and or underwing for contrast on back/belly and then build head with laser dub. 

Profile gets controlled by brush core length. Skinnier the core the sleeker the profile. Wider the core the wider the profile. Density of brush wraps and long fiber length obviously play a roll as well. 


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## Slick8 (Oct 9, 2018)

@adam bomb - That hair tensile you're speaking of works great for tying. I've used my daughters for a number of different applications. I will say though that it is a little "stiffer" than your typical flash. For the $ and the quantity/color varieties it's well worth the purchase IMO.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Slick8 said:


> @adam bomb - That hair tensile you're speaking of works great for tying. I've used my daughters for a number of different applications. I will say though that it is a little "stiffer" than your typical flash. For the $ and the quantity/color varieties it's well worth the purchase IMO.


Thank you! Sounds perfect for a tailing material!!! 


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Starting to get it dialed in 


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

adam bomb said:


> those look like brushes bought from the store. Nice job!
> View attachment 846338
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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Thank you.

Here’s the tying steps although I forgot to take a picture of the under/overwing before adding the head.I also shoulda took a picture of where I tied in my brush the second time as there’s a good section of bare shank in the middle of this fly to help reduce unneeded material.

The tails magnum flashabou high tied with standard Flashabou high tied and the belly has polarflash low tied directly in front of that. After advancing I just repeat the process, but omit the magnum Flashabou in the second stack. Overwing was big fly fiber on this one. Underwing was NMF Flash n fiber then built the head from synthetic yarn dubbing I made. I did shade the top of the head with an olive marker to get that transition then added the tiger stripes with a sharpie. Eyes are 10 mm 











































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