Sili skin...best place to get it or alternative?

[Polite]

I'm looking to have a crack at 'tying' up some gummy minnows, which I've never done before, as they seem really expensive to buy. That said, sili-skin doesn't seem cheap either! Has anyone got any pointers as to the best place to get some or are there any alternatives? By the time you've got a few colours (silver, olive, greensplash, and pearl) the cost mounts up! Any advice greatly received

[arkle]

It's stocked by Deer Creek - Flash Intro

[Polite]

is this stuff any good? Big price difference (which is great if it's ok! )

[arkle]

Haven't tried it, but Nick; who owns deercreek reckons it's very good indeed as he's tried both versions & prefers the newer one.

[Polite]

Well, for the sake of a couple of quid it's got to be worth a try! I'll get some and post the results!

[stevekale]

What colours are you after? I have a bunch and may be able to help you out. It's a b*tch to work with.

[Polite]

Well I guess the principal colours would be silver, pearl and then a colour like olive or green splash (to give the dorsal colour). Sounds like it could a challenge for a 'fingers and thumbs' guy like me then!

[stevekale]

Let me have a look around tonight.

It should be called stupid skin.

The problem with managing the material is that it is highly elastic and very sticky. It sticks to everything - at the wrong time. Because it's elastic, if you have even the slightest stretch on one side of the material when you try to marry the fold then you will get a curled minnow body. I think that's why many people now use it for the front of the body only and use flash for the tail end. See Steve Farrar's sili skin bait fish here:

http://www.aswf.info/images/ASWF_TYI..._SILI_SKIN.mov

[Chris Reeves]

Go and watch Theo Baakalar tie Gummy Minnows at Spring fly fair. He makes it look very easy and to be fair his techniques work but you do need to practice them.
I found it too soft to use it for saltwater fish as it only lasts for 1 fish, most of the guys I know only use them for False Albacore which have a reputation for being fussy feeders.
It works OK for Pike but again is destroyed with every fish . Not tried them on trout but they should last longer.

Cheers

[dale rushby]

Got to agree with Chris on the softness of this stuff and sharp teeth do damage it quickly...But watch Theo Bakelaar use it at the The Spring Flyfishing Show and it all makes sense...like all types of tying...practice makes perfect...I've used it on a couple still waters and had some mad takes...good fun to use though...hope this helps Dale