Hey fly fisher...
depending on what kind of minnow pattern you are tying there are a number of different ways to do it, but they are all quite simple. I'll assume you are tying fry patterns.
For a very simple epoxy minnow pattern, tie up a silver bodied (you can use mylar or wrap braided tinsel) fly with a mallard flank, marabou or bucktail back and tail on it. It's basically tied on over the fly at the front and back. Form a small head with the thread and put some stick on eyes on either side. Prepare some 5 minute clear epoxy ...mix it at least a minute prior to applying... and put a layer of epoxy over the head and body of the fly in a thin coat. If you use too much your fly will end up with funky proportions. Some guys use a turner but I find if I use just enough epoxy (and not too much) that I can just stick the fly in a piece of styro and rotate it every 30 seconds or so until it gets tacky and forms up enough to just leave it to dry on its own. You can get fancy with them but IMO you don't have to...simple flies work just fine.
a few tips....
use clean toothpics each time to apply epoxy.
don't try to get too many flies out of each epoxy batch. Once its "sticky" it's done...you'll just make bad flies.
tie up a bunch of flies prior to using the epoxy.
watch the head area, don't apply too much epoxy here as it can seal up the eye on your hook if you're not careful.
tie up your flies in one to one and a half inch lengths.
tie a number of each color.
tie sparse!
be prepared for some violent takes
Not too sure what's so difficult about helping a beginner, guys. Epoxy can be a pain to work with.
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Topic: epoxy minnows (Read 8544 times)