Prepare all your foam cutouts by folding them and putting them into a clip as shown.
Put a reasonable amount of superglue along the sides of the hook,
open the clip and position the foam as shown. Make sure it is aligned correctly on a vertical plane.
Leave them all to dry overnight. In the morning, remove them from the clip so that the impressions from the clip on the foam are gone by evening.
Coosing your marker colours to suit your tail, put a thick line on top of the fly, then using your fingers, rub it down to create a shaded background. Turning the marker slightly, make the vertical markings by pressing hard and then lighter as you go towards the bottom.
Practise this on a piece of foam before you do your flies. Finish up with some dark lines along the top and in the front of the fly. Leave overnight to dry.
To make the crease fly stay open in front and increase its popping ability, I push some foam into the gap above the hook.
In the morning, apply some Liquid Fusion onto the fly using your fingers to spread it. Make sure you get a decent amount on the front. Don't apply too much, just enough to cover.
Do not use epoxy, as it goes hard, you need a pliable finish.
To let it dry overnight, put a sheet of foam on the edge of your bench, and hook the flies so they are head up, tail down, so that any runs will not clog the eye.
The next day, finish your fly by putting on the eye of your choice, and then another layer of Liquid Fusion. Dry it and you are done.
If you are too lazy to do this I have tied some up for sale.
I like to do some flies using Ice Dub Shimmer Sheer as it really makes it look realistic.
Once the foam has been glued on to the hook, I make a permanent marker line at the the top. You can also smear it down like the other flies. Cut out an appropriate sized piece of Ice Dub Shimmer Sheer, apply a liberal amount of Liquid Fusion to the foam, then fold the sheet over the fly and secure with a clip as shown. You need to add a little Liquid Fusion to the top as well.
Once it is dry, trim the sheet with a pair a sharp scissors, add the eyes and a thin layer of Liquid Fusion over the eyes. It is not necessary to layer it over the whole body as the roughish finish is realistic.
High Density Foam Sheets
- 4mm
- 6mm
- 10mm
- Black
- White
High density Foam, floats well and cuts neatly.
The 4mm is 13 x 20cm, 2 in a pack. SPX33
The black 6mm is 9 x 13cm, one per pack SPX45
The 10mm white is 13 x 20cm, one per pack. SPX33
The foams are Sondor SPX
SPX is fully closed-cell, and will not absorb water even if the material is cut open.
Superior tensile strength, elongation and weathering capabilities.
Sondor’s foam is a fully cross-linked closed cell expanded polyethylene.
The SPX number indicates the density in Kg/m3
Crease Fly the easy way Step-by-Step
Captain Bladen's crease fly has always been a winner for me, catching some big elf (shad) and leervis (garrick). People tend to shy away from tying it as it looks difficult, but that is not the case if you follow these easy steps. It is easiest to do a whole batch at once.
My hook of choice is the Mustad 34007, not the sharpest hook in the bunch, but with a quick stoning, it can be as sharp as all the others.
Put some superglue on the hook shank and lay down a base layer of thread, this can be quite untidy.
Select some SF Blend, fibre of choice or feathers and tie on as a tail that is about as long as the hook shank. I prefer to use fibre, as it is tied on top of the hook from just behind the eye, which gives the foam a good flat surface to bond onto. Make sure the hook is well covered with thread. I use Danville B-monocord, as it builds up quickly and is not waxed so it takes glue well. This is followed up with red permanent marker under the hook.