Extended Body

[Digger]

Digger...one method is to put a nail or needle in the vise, lightly tie in seer hair to cover the entire nail/needle...lightly wrap with thread to cover all of the deer hair and coat with Dave's Flexment..let dry and ta-da! you have an extended body...you can color it with water proof pens. Hope that gets you started. Thom

So this is not glued to the needle, right? You just slide it off and then tie it in somehow to the hook, yes?
And the tails should be put on first before the deer/seer hair?
Sorry, I'm a slow, self taught tyer.

[Digger]

Oh , yes .... extended bodies -

Take some Antron , Z-Lon , or like stuff (Lon Chaney ??) , put one end in your vise , and start twistin' .

When it's good and wound-up , put your bodkin or head-cement needle in the middle of said material (underneath , pushing UP-) and relax the tension - it should twist back on itself , forming a furled body . Pinch off as much as ya need , and tye in .

David

David, sorry I'm having difficulties visualizing this. Can you give me another shot at this method with more detail? Thanks

[David Lee]

Hi Digger , no problema ....


Don't visualize it ... just do it - Take , say , 6 inches of antron yarn - put one end in your vise and clamp down .

Grab the yarn by the end NOT clamped , and start twisting the yarn . After you twist for a while , the yarn will want to twist back on itself .... the bodkin or needle is to make sure the furled body is long enough .

Try it and let me know if you understand .

David

[DonCooksey]

I just remembered this extended body dragonfly that I tied as a whimsical fly for my 3-yr-old granddaughter. My wife asked me to tie something colorful to use as a broche to pin on the kid (after cutting off the hook at the bend, of course!). I used a strip of foam as a foundation for the extended body and some sort of chartreuse "streamer hair," that I picked somewhere, to wrap over the foam. It was remarkably durable for at least two days, as the kid dragged and swung it around by the tail and wings. Anyway, I'm suggesting that foam can make a good foundation under an over-wrap of natural/synthetic material for extended bodies.

[Adam Grace]

Good sugestion!

[Rick J]

Don't overlook extended bodies for tiny dries - I use micro chennile and slightly singe the end to create a tapered body and tie in a short piece that extends just past the hook bend; then small bubbed thorax - tie up in size 20 to 24 to imitate trico and blue wing olive spinners - very deadly on Silver Creek. Don't need tails on the pattern though when industrious I will crazy glue fibbets on each side and flair out - looks better to me but fish don't seem to care