Tying the Brassie

Hi -

I am a beginner fly tyer with about 6 months experience. I have a
question about the size of copper wire I should be using when
attempting to tie a Brassie. I have three spools (UTC) two of which
are marked *SM* and the other is marked *BR* - the latter appears a
tad larger. Is there a particular size I should be using? The
illustration in the manual is rather large, and the wire looks thicker
than what I am using. I am using a Mustad Caddis Curved 1X Short Size
10. The recipe calls for a 12 - 20 hook. Just don't have any on hand
right now.

Appreciate any advice from those more knowledgeable than I.

Thanks,

Dick Williams

It depends on the size of the brassie. I use the SM on 16-20 and the BR on
the larger ones . . .

wayne


"hermit" wrote in message
...

Hi -

I am a beginner fly tyer with about 6 months experience. I have a
question about the size of copper wire I should be using when
attempting to tie a Brassie. I have three spools (UTC) two of which
are marked *SM* and the other is marked *BR* - the latter appears a
tad larger. Is there a particular size I should be using? The
illustration in the manual is rather large, and the wire looks thicker
than what I am using. I am using a Mustad Caddis Curved 1X Short Size
10. The recipe calls for a 12 - 20 hook. Just don't have any on hand
right now.

Appreciate any advice from those more knowledgeable than I.

Thanks,

Dick Williams

The BR may not be the size. Mine are marked small med and large. 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

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"hermit" wrote in message
...

Hi -

I am a beginner fly tyer with about 6 months experience. I have a
question about the size of copper wire I should be using when
attempting to tie a Brassie. I have three spools (UTC) two of which
are marked *SM* and the other is marked *BR* - the latter appears a
tad larger. Is there a particular size I should be using? The
illustration in the manual is rather large, and the wire looks thicker
than what I am using. I am using a Mustad Caddis Curved 1X Short Size
10. The recipe calls for a 12 - 20 hook. Just don't have any on hand
right now.

Appreciate any advice from those more knowledgeable than I.

Thanks,

Dick Williams


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Thanks to you and the others that responded. At least I know that I
am not using too small a wire. The illustration in the tying manual
was blown up to about an inch and a half size pic, and of course I
realize that the size of the wire will be exaggerated - just that the
segments were also exaggerated.

Thanks again.

Dick

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 14:20:32 -0700, "Sierra fisher"
wrote:

The BR may not be the size. Mine are marked small med and large. 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

hermit wrote in
:


Thanks to you and the others that responded. At least I know that I
am not using too small a wire. The illustration in the tying manual
was blown up to about an inch and a half size pic, and of course I
realize that the size of the wire will be exaggerated - just that the
segments were also exaggerated.


As a rule of thumb, H, you can always refer to the hook thickness to gauge
wire (and other materials) thickness from an inflated image.

Steve

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)