Bead Head Woes

[dartmoor navigator]

Hi folks,

I have some experience of tying Salmon and Sea Trout 'lures' / tubes - but this fiddly trout nymph stuff is altogether different, interesting and damn well infuriating (at t imes).

I have started by just attacking a few hooks and getting (eventually) near enough the shape I want, then the damn bead wont sit staight. I am using veniard 3.3mm on a size 14, they are tungsten with a cut out groove to facilitate the movement onto the shank of the hook - its this 'cut out' that causes the bead to finally ride up and look darned silly - How do you fix these in position please?

[arkle]

Try them the other way around, so that the slot recesses onto the eye itself.

[dartmoor navigator]

That's what I have been doing I think the super glue may be needed here.

[horses50]

I might be totally wrong here but 3.3mm sounds a bit big for a size 14 hook i would have thought 2.5 to 3.00mm would be big enough.

[dartmoor navigator]

You're not wrong at all, but it was the smallest I had to hand for trying this out

[danielp]

I find the slotted tungsten beads always end up at a jaunty angle for me, I tie some flies with them for this very reason, they act like a jig hook to make the nymph swim hook point up.

When i want to tie them so the sit straight I find it a hell of a lot easier with beads without the slot and just a larger hole on one side. Best place I have found for these is Joel at tungstenbeads.co.uk

His stuff is dirt cheap and the quality is amazing, also I agree that the bead you have been trying with is a bit large, 3.5mm beads are depth charges for fast or deep water.

Dan

[horses50]

There is a guy on the forum that does tungsten beads Joel i think but no doubt somebody will come on and let you know if i am wrong, like you say a drop of super glue will do the trick.

[monkeyhanger]

Slotted beads are for "jig hooks" which have a small section of shank bent behind the eye.

I use counterbored beads for standard shank hooks and secure them by tying a spade end knot on the shank behind the bead and sliding it into the counterbore.

John H

[wobbly face]

Have had the exact same problem, try to push the bead onto the hook when putting thread on and again when tying off after completing the fly. Much prefere the drilled through type as to the slotted. problem is when ordering the retailers don't always state which type of bead (slotted or drilled through).
Despite the bead ending up of center, the flies do still catch fish, well for me anyway.

[dartmoor navigator]

Well I am glad that it isnt just me, I shall drop Joel a line.

Ta fellas


DN