Dressing Gray's Needle Tubes
To dress the
needle tubes, the tube should be secured in a pin vice (widely
available on the internet from tool suppliers) or on a
needle of suitable diameter held in a standard vice . The pin vice will hold the needle
more securely, while securing the tube on a needle will allow
more room to work on the fly.
The tube
body may be dressed in the normal way or left undressed to give
a simple, very slim silver fly body, as shown in the examples
below.
A short
length of silicone tubing is then used to connect a hook of
appropriate size, treble, double or single.
If a fly
longer than 40 mm is required, two tubes may be joined in tandem
by a length of the silicone tubing provided to produce a fly of
anything up to 8 cms in length.
The new Needle
Tubes can be dressed to create a range of flies, from a short
and very slim micro tube of only 10 mm in length, perhaps for
summer grilse in a low water, through the whole range of 15, 20,
25, 35 and 40 mm tubes, dressed for salmon fishing throughout the
season. The longer tubes, or a pair of tubes linked in series,
dressed sparsely, make very attractive sea trout lures, more
easily dressed, and just as slim as the popular sea trout snake
fly for late night sea trout fishing. The fine stainless steel
tubes, while being fairly light and easily cast, will sink more
readily than a plastic or aluminium tube but will fish less
deeply, and perhaps more attractively, than the heavier copper
or brass tubes.
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Gray's Needle Tube in pin
vice |
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Needle Tube secured on
needle |
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