Russian Wasp
Russian fly tyer Dmitri Tseliaritski from St. Peterburg ties some mean looking imitations. Here's an example of his foam wasps
I have been connected with Dmitri on Facebook for some time, and have been thoroughly impressed by his skills as a fly tyer. He generously posts long and detailed step-by-step photo series and also posts fly tying videos on YouTube.
I wanted to expose Dmitri's tying to more people and approached him about publishing some patterns here on the Global FlyFisher and he agreed. Most of Dmitri's posts and his videos are in Russian, and even though fly fishing and fly tying is an international language, having an English text and list of materials will probably help the many of us who aren't fluid in Russian. There's also a video in the bottom of the article showing the tying with Dmitri's comments in Russian.
...an impressing imitation of a wasp
The foam wasp
The post from Dmitri that spawned this article was a Facebook post which he simply called Wasp SBS. The first picture showed an impressing imitation of a wasp, but in spite of being very lifelike, it looked fairly simple. Dmitri had added about 30 step-by-step photos showing the tying sequence, and these are the photos, which you also see below in the tying instructions.
I have also added a materials list, which Dmitri has approved. The glue is obviously Russian, and not easy to get for us westerners, but contact cement or thin neoprene glue should to the trick. Use it sparingly. A little goes a long way. The legs are broom bristles, a material that has been mentioned before here, many years ago in this ant article.
Glue
|
Foam
|
Antennae
|
Antennae done
|
Head foam strip
|
Glue on hook
|
Push to the front
|
Foam block
|
Trim to shape
|
Tie in abdomen
|
Abdomen tied in
|
Yellow marker
|
LCR
|
Abdomen done
|
Front and hind legs
|
Front legs in position
|
Middle legs
|
Varnish
|
Legs ready
|
Bend back foam
|
Tie down
|
Add dubbing
|
bend forward foam
|
Trim foam
|
Shape the head
|
Color the head
|
Select hackles
|
Tie in wings
|
Whip finish and trim
|
Read more about why you should register.
Related content
More content from the front page
Since you got this far …
The GFF money box
… I have a small favor to ask.
Long story short
Support the Global FlyFisher through several different channels, including PayPal.
Long story longer
The Global FlyFisher has been online since the mid-90's and has been free to access for everybody since day one – and will stay free for as long as I run it.
But that doesn't mean that it's free to run.
It costs money to drive a large site like this.
See more details about what you can do to help in this blog post.
Comments
foam
Can you please let me know what size foam and where you got it from? also, what type of glue are you using to hold the foam together please.
Sources
Shane,
You can use a variety of foam types, as long as they are closed cell and will float. I have used inexpensive craft foam, which is widely available and inexpensive.
Rainy's Flies has a ton of different special foam products for fly tyers, also sheets:
http://www.rainysflies.com/foam-products/cross-link-sheet-foam
They also have a ton of pre-shaped foam products, which might be useful:
http://www.rainysflies.com/foam-products
You can glue the foam with good, old fashioned contact cement - also cheap and easy to find. Thin layers on both surfaces, let dry, press together is the method. Super glue can also be used.
For the wasp bodies you make a stack of yellow and black from about 1-2 mm foam, let it dry and then punch out cylinders with a small metal tube, maybe filed to have a sharp cutting edge in one end. Simply punch the tube through the foam with a hammer over a wooden board.
You can also opt for finished bodies like these:
https://www.lurecraft.com/Bee_Wasp-Foam-Bodies-1_4/productinfo/13X1203/
Martin