Sparkel Body....any tips ?

[Mark Dougherty]

Just got a few bottles of sparkel body and it looks good......I have never used any epoxy type stuff....so any tips would be helpful....

[Jim Royston]

Mark, a fly shop guy in Albuquerque, who fishes saltwater only (go figure) showed me a very cool little crab pattern using this stuff as the underbelly. He tied in tan McFly Foam and shaped it into a nickel sized crab and them atttached the legs and made the belly out tan Sparkle Body. I've made a few but have not had occasion to use them.
BTW, we slayed the bonies last friday south of the border.

[lemaymiami]

I use the stuff occasionally. It's basically fabric paint... My favorite use is for finishing out dark colored clousers. After touching the thread with super glue and allowing the glue to dry, I use it sparingly as a final thread finish in a color that contrasts as much as possible with the rest of the fly. A purple or black clouser with a fl. chartreuse nose really stands out.... Down here the fish in winter conditions are eating very small minnows in quite clear water that's stained dark, like weak coffee... A small sparse pattern that's hard to see, except for the head will get jumped if it's worked slowly around structure in the backcountry. To get as bright a color as possible I like to use the sparkle body over white thread. Hope this helps

[albacized]

I think it's best if you put in on in layers, especially if you're building up full bodied minnow type flies, sort of like candy flies but made with this stuff. The reason is because this stuff shrinks as it dries. Therefore, if you build up body of your liking, it'll change form to your dislikeing after it dries. So I take this into account when I make flies with this. Also, for further tying tips, contact, Chris Windham thru his site (I think it's listed on the bottle). I'm sure he'll give you a few tips.
Rich N