After spending some time on the water learning a specific nymphing technique, my dad asked me to build a 10' 5wt for him. So I was thinking of different ways to make this rod unique and I came across the follow pic in the gallery:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Anyway, I love that effect, I would love to learn how to do this to the same level that Terry has. But I got to thinking about it, why not tie bugs into the thread wraps like tying flies on tubes, except keeping them only on one side of the blank instead of havnig them encompass the entire blank.. I'm not sure how exactly it would be done, I put a bit of practice into it the other day and didn't get too far in the 10 minutes I spent on a practice stick. Has anyone ever seen this done or have any advice on this? I figured I could put different nymphs into the blank at measurement points above the grip.

That's a cool idea.
I can't help you with how to do it, but it looks neat.

you need to be able to tie something that doesn't have much height from the blank. otherwise you will end up with a large amount of epoxy to cover and protect it, you may want to try a fly or real bug and dry it flat like putting leaves or flowers in a book to flatten them. you could use something like a dowel to get them to dry to a concentric shape. i don't know if this would work on real insects and i am sure to do it with a fly might limit what materials you use to get the best effect. i have done some inlays in polyester casting resin for reel seats and handles, but never tried real insects or flies.

good luck with your endeavor and let us know what you come up with. if you really put your mind to it you will have fun with both successes and failures as you learn how to work with different materials

I was thinking of something small and flat like you mentioned john, getting the height right I don't think will be too much of a problem. I tried putting a phesant tail into the wraps. Feathers for the tail are not a problem. The body on the other hand has still eluded me from a good solution. To get the phesant material twisted and with the right taper and silver wire wrapped and keeping it flat.....that's the hard part for me so far, the thorax, wing case, and legs aren't hard as I put the peacock just under the wing case on the edges to give it the look that it's profiled.

As far as the body goes, are there any problems using starched products under epoxy? I figurd maybe just tie the phesant tail on a straight pin, but tie it longer than needed, starch it, iron it flat, remove the pin and iron it again, wrap it in and trim the ends as it's wrapped. I may experiement with different things until I get it right, you guys know better than me about attaching things under epoxy with the feather in-lays and such, your suggestions are more than welcome.

[www.rodbuildingtutorials.com]

Here is a how to.

hope it helps

A picture lies flat. Get closeup photos of his fly collection and create a collage that you can print onto decal paper and mount in place of a butt wrap. Individual flies can be printed out small onto the same decal paper and epoxied in with the guide wraps. You can even get waterslides cut down small enough to mount onto the tip top...

[www.rodbuilding.org]