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3. uv glue substitute.

I have been wanting to tie up some streamers for fall fishing, I saw a new version of the little brown trout streamer. The tier used deer creek uv glue to build up the body, which really looked cool, but I'm wondering if I could use a superglue and wait longer for the body to setup? The deer creek stuff looks great, but kind of pricey for a retired guy. I can get it from my local flyfishing shop, but you have to the uv light also. I have Sam Slaymakers book also, I might just follow his pattern.

Mike.

Super glue is not the same as the UV coating used for tying "epoxy" type flies since SG is a "glue" and not a clear coating.

I do tie a lot of saltwater patterns and sometimes use the UV coatings when tying just a few flies at a time.

An alternative to using the UV coating and light is use clear 30 minute epoxy instead. I use epoxy when tying and coating a dozen or more flies at time. I coat each fly with epoxy and attach it to a foam disc mounted on a drying motor that I have for rod building.

Aleene's Fabric Fusion. Has its good and not so good points for this sort of application, but I've used it on a lot of Pike flies and it is more than satisfactory, IMO. It ids a reasonable alternative if you don't really want to make the $100 (or whatever..) investment in a UV set-up.

https://caseysmartt.com/2010/02/24/aleenes-fabric-fusion/

Thanks guys, some things good opitions to consider My local fly shop doesn't list the price of the glue with light, only buy both and save which is code for man this is expensive for what you want to do. I'm going to reread Slaymakers book tonight, I just might use his patterns and skip the modern stuff for now.

Mike.

Thanks, Lee. I want to try it for coating Iron Lotus nymphs and zebra midges. It looks very useful.

Afishinado wrote;



There is another alternative to UV clear coat or 30 minute epoxy. I use a product called Liquid Fusion. It is sold at Michael's craft stores. The viscosity is very thick. It comes in 2 ounce bottles. After a little practice you can become proficient in applying it to streamer heads on hooks as small as #10. I apply a little drop to each side and just rotate the fly in my fingers for a minute or two. I use it primarily on flies I tie with 3D eyes.

Love your streamers Wbranch, I considered my choices, and ended up going with Deer Creek Uv and there light. My wife hasn't seen my credit card bill yet, so I'm good for a while! But I have to say, using this stuff and the light is awesome! Hit the glue for a 15 to 30 seconds and all is good and dry.

BONDIC. This is going to sound like a commercial, but I assure you I get no price break or free stuff from the company. It is without a doubt the way to go.I have tried them all. Much much less expensive than Deer Creek, Loon, Tuff Fleye or Clear Cure Goo. Loon, Tuff Fleye, or CCG may be a better choice for building up bodies on larger patterns like Surf Candies, but I have certainly made them using BONDIC. For reinforcing quill bodies, adding some depth to a wingcase, or simple eye attachment and head build up on flies such as Clouser Minnows or Deceiver-style flies, BONDIC is the way to go. Very easy to control and has an integrated light. I use it all the time. great to coat quill-bodied flies. Even dry flies if used sparingly. It is a plastic so it's not too heavy. But you can certainly add bulk and a little weight if that is what you want. I should say that in the years before UV adhesives, I used 5 minute epoxy. It's ok, but bondic will not sag excessively if used in small amounts and allows you time to shape it the way you want and then hit it with the UV light and instantly it is set. For larger applications (like surf candies) Ifind it best to work in stages, building up bulk. I use it on foam flies like beetles, and ants as well as Crease flies.

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Surf Candies made with BONDIC:
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Articulated Sculpin with BONDIC head:
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Rusty Spinner

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Thanks for sharing, Eric. You always have something to teach. Nice lookin' flies as always.

Thanks Louis. Hope you are doing well.

Helluva nice sculpin there, Eric! And Matt's streamers are always nice. It's lake-run brown season, bust out the streamers!

Jonathon

Hello Eric,

Thank you for sharing your success with the Bondic product. I tie many flies with eyes and steelhead nymphs where I like to epoxy the wing case. I ordered a kit from Ebay immediately after reading your thread. $20 for the applicator, UV light, and two cartridges of product. I'm excited to try iy on the heads of my emerald shiners.

Eric,

REALLY nice ties, and I especially like the articulated sculpin- does it have a Fish-skull under the glue or is the head packed/trimmed deer hair, then glued over and smoothed?

Either way this is some good stuff to hear about, and try!

Roguerat

'Less is more...'

Ludwig Mies Vande Rohe

I hope you like it Matt. I find it very easy to work with. If you don't, I'll buy what you have. I feel an amount of responsibility here ;)


Thanks. No it is just spun and clipped wool. Then I stick on the eyes and apply the Bondic. There are red lead dumbbell eyes on top of the hook shank so the fly will ride hook point up and provides the action I am looking for.

Eric,



I received my Bondic kit today. It arrived in a nice metal case with two tubes of liquid plastic and the UV light mechanism.

I went up to my tying room and took down a nymph box with many large and smaller nymphs in the #8 - #14 size ranges. I really like the very small orifice from which the product exudes. You just apply a slight pressure with your thumb and index finger and a very thin line of material comes out. It is probably less than 1/16" wide.

I'd say the viscosity of the material is perfect for applying to fly heads, wing cases, or building up heads. It is not runny nor is it too thick. I was able to use the tip of the applicator to move the material around the head of a couple of salmon flies very easily.

I would recommend re-installing the cap on the product tube before activating the UV light so as not to accidentally squeeze out any of the liquid plastic on your tying table. At $20 for two tubes and the UV light this stuff isn't cheap but imo still less expensive than a UV light from Bass Pro and the liquid plastic.

You can either just squeeze the area above the UV light with your thumb and index finger or you can move a little orange switch to leave the light on constantly. I preferred to just "pulse" the UV light for 4-6 seconds and it cured quite hard. Hard enough to touch immediately. The wing cases I did look great. I use woven pearl Mylar for many of my wing cases. After an application of this material it looks like an opal. I have no idea if it will account for more fish but it really looks neat and is very easy to use. I especially like the no mess. I hate getting epoxy on my fingers because then it winds up on my pants, or shirt, and all over my tying area.

In case anyone is interested you can buy a pretty good sized tube of Loon "Knot Sense" UV material for $8.50 and the tube has at least three times the amount of product as one tube of the Bondic UV material. Admittedly the orifice in the Knot Sense tube is somewhat larger but you can just squeeze out a little drop and using your dubbing needle move the UV product around the fly head. Actually the bigger orifice would be better if you are tying larger flies where more product coverage is sought. A couple of seconds with the Bondic UV light cured the fly I had tied.

http://www.lurepartsonline.com/knotsense.jpg?resizeid=-1&resizeh=70&resizew=200

UV lights can be spendy, a buddy of mine bought the loon outdoors one for sixty dollars!

I bought this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Vansky-Flashlight-Detector-Batteries-Included/dp/B01A5KLUG2/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1480206053&sr=8-13&keywords=vansky

It works on the loon products and the bondic product as well. Nice side effect is with that uv light I take it to the fly shops and can see what materials are uv reflective. It makes a difference trust me on this.

This summer my Dad and I were in a rental boat and were using same sinking line and tippet material and we were using the same flies. I tied all of our flies, one with UV materials and one without. The UV flies caught fish, the non UV didn't.

https://www.amazon.com/Loon-Outdoors-CLEAR-FINISH-Flow/dp/B00NI49W40/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480209146&sr=8-1&keywords=loon%2Boutdoors%2Buv%2Bfly%2Bfinish&th=1&psc=1

This is the one I use the most and it makes a bunch of flies. I have tried a few different of brands. Bondic is good for larger flies and it is more Gel-like. Clear cure goo is good for medium sized flies 10-14 and loon is great for small it is very liquid like and you can build it up. All of them can be built up for a greater size if you want.

Jman6ft,

Thanks for all the helpful info on the UV products.