lid wrote...
The BR may not be the size.

Yes, it is the size. The BR stands for "brassie" which just so
happens to be the right size for brassies IMHO. Go figure... ;-)

Mine are marked small med and large.

The wire comes in several diameters and it varies from manufacturer
to manufacturer. For example, Danville makes a "medium fine" and I
have some of their "very fine" as well. IMO, UTC has the better
sizing system and a pretty impressive array of colors as well.

You cannot use too small of wire. You just have to have patience to use the
small on a large hook. You probably put on more weight with the larger
wire on the small size hook, so you have to decide what you want. the wire
has two purposes: one to add weight, the other to look segmented, at least
to the fly fisherman. It's debatable as to whether,the fish notices it.
according to books, the fish first sees the size, second the shape, and
thirdly the color. Somewhere after that comes segmentation


Personally, I would not use a very fine wire to tie #16 brassies.
Unless of course you happen to know of certain species of insects
with a thousand body segments, which of course the fish may never
notice. The finer the wire, the more time it takes to tie the fly.
IME, the "BR" size adds just enough weight without excess bulk and
makes the fly much quicker to tie than using a finer gauge wire.
YMMV though.
--
Warren
(use troutbum_mt on either yahoo or earthlink to respond via email)