Things that add weight to a fly such as metal eyes, beads or cones, have a tendency to loosen over time. Here's how to avoid that.
If you need some added weight on your fly in the form of metal eyes, a bead or a cone, you will probably experience that they can work themselves loose once you start fishing the fly. Water and the load of the weight will sometimes make the heavier element move on the hook shan, compressing the materials to the rear of the hook, and sometimes even down the hook bend.
Suddenly you fly is half its original length and has a bare bit of shank in the front.
Here's how to avoid that.
Securing eyes
If your fly calls for bead chain or dumbbell eyes, make sure that these are securely tied in. The eyes have enough weight for them to work loose as the fly is cast repeatedly, and should sit well from the outset, not being able to rotate or slide.
Ensure this by tying them directly to the hook shank or onto a very thin foundation of thread, and by making sure that the first wraps in particular are as tight as you can make them without breaking the thread. Use the “pull method” mentioned in an earlier article in this series to ensure this.
If you glue the eyes, add a tiny amount of super glue to the hook shank before mounting the eyes. This will fuse the two metal parts very securely together.
Crisscross wrap between the eyes, and also make some horizontal wraps over the shank but under the eyes to tighten everything up. You can add some varnish or glue after the first couple of wraps for extra security once the eyes are in the proper position, and you can also varnish or glue when you are done. But again: almost no amount of glue or varnish can hold eyes, which are badly tied on from the start. They will loosen and can even move as a big lump with the glue sliding on the shank, once things break up.
Do generally not tie the eyes on top of materials like dubbing or yarn, and make sure the thread base isn't too thick, because the loose base will increase the risk of the eyes working themselves loose once the underlying material gets wet and soggy.
Kasper Mühlbach
Bead or cone on a hook
Beads have been very common on many flies for a long time, and the number of nymph patterns including a bead probably surpasses those without these days. The advantage of the added weight, making the fly sink fast, can convince most people to use beaded flies.
A far majority of the beads pass over the hook point, past the bend and up behind the hook eye. Because the hole needs to be fairly large to do this, the bead will have a very loose fit on the shank, and if you don't do anything to counter this, if will very likely move at some point during the life of the fly.
One method for securing beads has been described already in Adding weight to a fly. You can of course also secure it with materials tied in behind the bead, and pressed into the hole in its rear. Som tyers simply use superglue and nothing else, but my experience is that it dissolves slowly in water, and some day doesn't hold the bead anymore. I still prefer building a thread base and using glue or varnish between that and the bead.
You will also find slotted beads, which have a better fit, and use an oval slot rather than an oversize round hole to enable them to pass over the hook bend. These will typically sit much tighter on the hook shank and be less prone to loosening, but will still need some kind of securing to keep them from sliding on the shank.
If you use cone heads in the same way as beads, in the front of a hook, slipping them onto a hook before tying, the method is the same as for securing beads as described already.
Scuffing
If you rely on glue and direct contact between the eyes or bead and the hook shank, it can be an idea to scuff the shank a bit using a small file or some sandpaper.
The abrasions in the metal help the glue or varnish bite, and the metal-to-metal connection is better when the surfaces are a little rough. You need a fin file or high grit sandpaper to do it. You don't want to weaken the hook, just scratch the surface.
Adding cone heads to tubes
Adding cone heads (or discs, “hats” or even round beads) to tube flies is a different matter, and here the method is nothing like when tying in beads on hooks.
The key to a durably mounted cone head on a tube is to get one that fits the tube. Tubes for tube flies come in a wealth of diameters, and if you want something to sit well on the tube, you need the tightest possible fit that will still allow you to press the cone over the tube. The looser it sits, the bigger the risk of it coming loose.
Many tube flies are tied on compound tubes, a thick outer tube and a thin inner one, and in that case, the cone mostly sits on the thin inner tube.
Many tube fly tyers will “melt it in place”, meaning that they finish the fly with a suitable bit of tube sticking out in front of the fly. They then press the cone over the tube and over the last materials tied in, trim the tube a bit in front of the cone and melt a collar with a lighter. Some tyers add a bit of glue or varnish before mounting the cone, but the collar should essentially be able to hold the cone securely by itself.
If your tube fly is tied on a thick tube, you can add a cone by passing a thin tube with a collar through the cone and the glue this thin tube into the thicker tube with superglue. Make sure that all fits are as tightly as possble: inner tube in outer tube and inner tube inside the cone, disc or bead. Any slack between the parts increase the risk of them working themselves loose because they wiggle and move.
Martin Joergensen
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