Finishing Tarpon flies

[Ray]

I have a question about the comman technique for finishing off Tarpon flies tied in the Florida Keys style.

I noticed most flies have a painted head, say orange, with a white and black eyes. My question is; is the head and eyes painted, or painted then covered in epoxy?

The flies I have sen have a smooth surface, like epoxy, but don't appear to have a coating, just paint.

If these flies are painted, is it oil-based paint? Also, what impact does the thread have on the finish? I used 3/0 thread for the ones I tied this weekend, with water-based paint and a coating of epoxy.

They came out nice but not exactly what I wanted. The water-based paint dries thin, so the texture of the thread can barely be seen.

Thanks in advance,

Ray

[DAWNPATROL]

Ray, I think I can offer you some suggestions that may help you to achieve the nice tapered head with the eyes your looking for. First I must tell you that I usually don't follow the traditional methods for doing this,so here it goes; After finishing off the wing and collar I tie on floss that has been threaded through a bobbin and now you have two bobbins hanging. Keep the floss bobbin tight up to the shank until your ready to rap it,now wrap the thread building up a taperd head and stop in front of the eye with the bobbin thight to the shank. Now your ready to work the floss toward the eye, every few wraps you may have to counter spin the bobbin to keep it wrapping nice and flat. Once you have reached the thread tie it off and whip finish. Now your ready to paint the eyes on if you choose, I often use the smallest stick on eyes I can find to speed up the proccess but if your really intent on painting get ready; First you need to prep up some tools for the job, some guys use finish nails and some use small wooden dowels or even paint markers . First the nails, you'll need to get some small finish nails of various sizes but make sure that they have a nice dimple on their head(the hole on top used for counter sinking). Dip the head in the paint of your choice, the most popular paints are acrylic or enamel based and can be found at most craft or hobby shops, I've also used colored vinyl lacquer with good results. Then apply the circle to the eye position on the fly. Next is the wooden dowel, done in the same manner but the dowel does'nt have the dimple like the nail. The dimple on the nail creats a little hole for the pupil to set into. The paint markers seem to be the easist to work with but they don't always make a perfect circle, for "fishing flys" this is'nt an issue but for "dress" flys this does'nt produce a perfect enough eye. The next step is the pupil, I have found that a common pin, the kind with the little ball end works rather well. Stick the point in a dowel and epoxy it or attach it to a tooth pick with a few thread raps and epoxy it to form a handle. Or take a common nail and round off the tip to form a circle. Both work equally well just keep in mind that the eye paint should be dry before applying the pupil, and don't put too much paint on the tip of the pupil tool. After drying you can coat the head with epoxy,vinyl cemant,hard as nails, or many of the clear head cemants now availible to us tyers at any fly shop.The traditional method requires multiple coats of plain head cemant. I think you get the idea, I would also use a drying wheel to help prevent sagging. I hope that I have helped you, Happy Holidays, MURF

[Ray]

Murf

Thanks a lot for your detailed help. I'm going to try a few differnet things. The use of floss I think is very important. I didn't have any when I tied the other day. One more trip to Orvis and I get my own parking space. Without a good base, the paint reflects what it's put on.

I'll pick up some acrylic paints too.

Thank God fish don't have eye lashes! I would have given up!

Ray

[mikeq]

Hi Ray:

Hey, here's a thought for getting a smooth finish on those long-nosed tarpon flies. You know that heat-shrink plastic tubing you use to cover the nail knot on a fly line to leader connection? I wonder if a piece of that pulled over the nose of the fly (and then heated) would work. You can get it at any fly shop, but you can get it even cheaper in the electrical aisle of a well-stocked hardware store.

[flytyer]

When I tied flies for a living, I did a lot of tarpon flies. None were painted. I used a size "A" flat waxed nylon thread in whatever color I needed.

I then took some small nails and painted on the eyes. I used an acrylic paint.

I then coated the heads of the flies with epoxy. that gave them durability and a smooth finish.

You can get a smooth finish if you want to give numerous coats of head finish.

You can mix some pearl powder into the epoxy and have a really great looking finish.

My web site, It has since changed address to this one, http://www.branhamssaltwaterflytying.com has an article on painting on eyes and also one on working with epoxies.

Some additional information - I have started using the Loon Hard Head Fly Finish in both the clear and pearlescent and have found it quite satisfactory for finishing the heads of tarpon flies.

Hope this helped.

[ckokorda]

:)
I have created the look of Tarpon flies in two different ways. Both of them include the materiels tied near the bend leaving the shank blank to then create the long tapered head. The original way I learned was to then build the head with careful thread wraps creating the smooth taper and then several coats of thick polish. Loon hard head is a more viscous type that creates this look easier and quicker. I found something even better and easier. After tying in materials at the bend, just cover the shank with one quick layer of thread wraps. Then use dimensional craft paints to build the head. Start at the collar squeeze some out and drag ir forward to the eye sueezing less as you go. Rotate and repeat around the shank. While its still wet you can carefully add eyes. It dries overnight and lasts a long time. EZ shape sparkle body is a fly tiers brand but I get mine at the craft store. There are many brands and hundreds of colors. All work similarly. Good luck.