DIY

[bjh09]

I was recently in a fly shop and complained about my 76 yo eyes having difficulty threading size 20 flies. They proceeded to show me a threader with a $99.95 price tag. Even the C&F threaders are $4.00 each. (And not very durable.) Any ideas on DIY threader. I found 32 ga wire but even this is too big for small eye flies. On a broader sense any other DIY tools for fly fishing and tying? Thyanks is advance for any tips. Bert

 

[Bamboozle]

They are cheap and there are more than a few versions out there but needle threaders come immediately to mind.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

The stamped metal and wire needle threaders might last through the first use and will put a nice kink in most leader material. There are a few knot tying tools on the market that include a magnetic threader - the magnet holds the hook eye in place and the tippet funnels through the hook eye. Pick one out and suggest to your grandkids that it would make a nice Father's Day Gift. Most are available for <$20, which is a fraction of what we spend on other things. Still, there may be a DIYer who wants to help.

 

[Bruno]

10 or 12 bucks

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

10 or 12 bucks

Or one could 3D print one for 10X that much. 😃

 

[TimMurphy]

10 or 12 bucks

The knock offs are 2 for $ 13.99 at Amazon.

 

[Kms]

Here’s a fancier one that works well

NINJA Bull's Eye - Tippet threader - NINJA Fly Fishing

ninjaflyfishing.com

 

[salmo]

10 or 12 bucks

Not very good for flies under size #16.

 

[TimMurphy]

I was recently in a fly shop and complained about my 76 yo eyes having difficulty threading size 20 flies. They proceeded to show me a threader with a $99.95 price tag. Even the C&F threaders are $4.00 each. (And not very durable.) Any ideas on DIY threader. I found 32 ga wire but even this is too big for small eye flies. On a broader sense any other DIY tools for fly fishing and tying? Thyanks is advance for any tips. Bert

Dear bjh09,

You have any plastic coffee stirrers? The ones that are like small straws? I'll bet you could make something out of one of those. Keep it short like 1 1/2 inches and cut a slot crossway halfway through the tube and split the end to draw the tippet through it once the fly is strung up. Stick the fly in the slot and put your tippet in the end that isn't split. If you hit the eye of the hook, you should be able to grab the tippet and remove a strung-up fly.

I'm buying a cup of coffee tomorrow and grabbing a half dozen straws to try it for myself!

It's worth a try to me, I have trouble running 15# fluoro through a size 4/0 worm hook at times so I figured why not try.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[tomgamber]

I knew a guy who broke the looped end of a bobbin threaded. He clipped the part of the wire that did not include the longer hooked end, off. Kept it in his vest. When he'd have trouble threading an eye, he'd pull that out, run that through the eye, lay his tippet in the "hook" of the threaded wire and pull it back through the eye. Worked like a charm. Never thought about it again until I got progressive lenses. Got it in my back pocket.

 

[ntallen]

If not for flies, then for threading bobbins. Floss threaders.

 

[Bamboozle]

Extra magnification can make the process a WHOLE lot easier and threaders unnecessary...

I still remember fishing a Sulphur hatch on the Letort one evening and blaming my headlamp for my inability to get a 6X tippet through the eye of a 16 hook.

The next day I went to Cold Spring Anglers and on a whim, I accepted my plight and bought a pair of Flip Focals. Since that evening there is a flip down magnifier on the brim of every fishing hat I wear and I've never had issues again AND...

I regularly fish flies from size 26 - 32.

 

[salmo]

Are you trying to express the theme that size matters?

 

[poopdeck]

What Bamboozle said. I am not yet 76 years old but I have flip down Carson magnifiers on my fishing hats and a hat at my tying bench.

 

[derkoberko]

I designed one on tinkerCAD and was able to print them with my classroom printer, would be willing to send if interested.

 

[Bamboozle]

Are you trying to express the theme that size matters?

Not any more since I went with magnification.

My wife uses magnification too... 😉

 

[Bamboozle]

What Bamboozle said. I am not yet 76 years old but I have flip down Carson magnifiers on my fishing hats and a hat at my tying bench.

FWIW - I use the same Opti-Visor magnifier I use at my tying bench when I use my sewing machine.

It makes threading needles a breeze!!

 

[laszlo]

Not very good for flies under size #16.

Thanks for that, I was wondering what it sized down to

 

[salmo]

FWIW - I use the same Opti-Visor magnifier I use at my tying bench when I use my sewing machine.

It makes threading needles a breeze!!

I just bough one for my visit to State College area next week!

 

[Kms]

Thanks for that, I was wondering what it sized down to

The “midge” slot in the pro version of the ninja supposedly is good for sizes 20 to 28, though I’ve not tried smaller than 20. The regular slot is good for down to 18 or so.