FLY TYING BEADS, Cone Heads, & EYES

                                       
                  Beads                            Cone Heads                            Eyes

Last night was rich with the sounds of all the wild places you've ever imagined. You've waited months for this new trout season, spending the long winter tying flies, reading articles about Argentinean browns, and tuning up your cast in the snowy back yard. Now, awash in dappled morning sunlight, you step gingerly from the river's edge into the fast current. Taking a deep breath and smoothly loading the rod, you confidently toss a Bead Head Prince Nymph into the deep pool just upstream...

Fly tying beads have been creatively and enthusiastically incorporated in European artificial fly recipes for quite a while. The recent popularity of "bead head" fly patterns in Europe has helped American fly tyers form a more positive association with fly tying beads, making this fly tying material more readily and widely available.

Beads lend extra weight and profile to nymph patterns fished in the subsurface, but they can be used to segment bodies in nymph patterns or to offer extra buoyancy to fly patterns as well. Realistic nymph bodies can be constructed from beads, and commonly beads are tied in to a fly to give a fly extra flash and shine.

Today, many of the most productive and most common artificial fly recipes on the books have been "retro-redesigned" to include beads in their material lists.


Bead Heads
Most commonly, fly tying beads are utilized in "bead head" fly patterns. Bead head lures have been in use in Italy and Europe by spin fishers for years, but the widespread application of bead heads to artificial flies did not become popular until European fly tyers like Roman Moser and Theo Bakelaar began to incorporate the technique in many of their nymph patterns.

Tying on a bead head is an extremely simple way to dress an artificial fly, but the results that bead head patterns have produced over the years continue to make this a favorite material for many fly tyers.


Bead Bodies
Creating a realistic segmented nymph body without fly tying beads can be a real challenge even to seasoned fly tyers, and bead-bodied fly patterns are becoming more popular - a trend likely generated by the recent surge in popularity of the bead head nymph style of dressing.

Translucent and pearlescent fly tying beads provide lifelike depth and dimension to sub-surface fly patterns and often flashy fly tying beads are utilized to make a fly more attractive, giving it extra sparkle when fished.


Cone Heads
Cone heads are similar to bead heads in the weight and profile they add to an artificial fly pattern, but they are, of course, cone shaped. This shape is more aerodynamic through the water, making the cone head quite useful on swimming flies like sculpins, bunny leeches and Wooly Buggers. Fly tying cone heads are available in different finishes and weights depending on varying presentation methods.


Eyes
Fly tying eyes are similar to fly tying beads in that they are often incorporated near the eye of the hook to add weight, flash, or natural imitation to an artificial fly. In fly patterns, eyes are most commonly included for their attractive qualities. Fly tying eyes are constructed of a wide selection of materials and finishes.

"Barbell" or "hourglass" eyes are invaluable to fly tyers who want to tie streamer and baitfish patterns for both trout and saltwater species. These eye types are named after their barbell shape and are secured to the hook shank with fly tying thread at the narrow gap - or bar - between the eyes themselves.