Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2021 - 29

Tapered bead body

Not only do glass beads create a uniform body, but glass
beads also provide segments just as real aquatic creatures.
Using a variety of different sized beads, tiers can create a
tapered effect and segmented body on the hook shank.
Thread the larger bead on the hook shank first, and add
smaller beads on it to create the taper.

Tailed bead body

Manufacturers generally base glass bead sizing on the number
of beads per inch or measure beads in millimeters.

Combining natural materials with beads makes a glass
bead fly pattern even more realistic. Try taking a familiar
trout pattern like a Pheasant Tail Nymph, Prince Nymph,
or Hare's Ear and substituting glass beads in for the body.
After your tier places the beads on the hook, a tail using
pheasant fibers, goose biots, or Marabou feathers can be
tied in. Not only do the organic materials bring natural
movement into the pattern, but these materials also bring
realism to the static glass beads.

Feather-gill bead body

By using various sized beads, young tiers can taper the fly
pattern body to create realistic segments.

hook size best. Shop your local fly shop, craft store, or online
to find glass bead assortments.

Glass bead body

Lastly, mimic other insects and bring fly patterns to life
with feathers and synthetic materials that move within the
water. Locate a feather with a thin stem, so the beads will
move freely over it. Tie in the feather, wrap to the eye, and
knot it by whip finishing or half hitching. Then, by removing
the hook from the vise, your tier can add glass beads on the
bend of the hook, and move the beads up to the hook eye.
Free the trapped fibers of the material with a dubbing needle.
These freed fibers between the beads will act as the gills of
the insect. Lastly, remount the hook in the vise, and wrap
the bobbin thread behind the last bead. Mound up a thread
bump, so the beads will not slip off. Half hitch or whip finish,
and your feather-gilled creation is complete.
With the options of transparent, metallic, pearlescent,
opaque, silver-lined, or translucent, allow your tier to
experiment and tie flies with glass beads. Then, try your
spring fly patterns on the stream together.

Glass Bead Caddis
Hook: Nymph hook sizes #12-18
Thread: Chartreuse 6/0
Body: One black, one brown, four green glass beads
Head: Black Ice Dubbing

Start your tier with an uncomplicated glass bead pattern
simply by adding seed beads on the bend of a #8 or #10
debarbed hook. I choose larger hooks to start on
since young tiers can carefully thread the glass
beads on the hook using their fingers, tweezers,
or forceps. Prepare for many dropped glass beads
Size
that tink, tink, tink across the floor.
After inserting the hook onto the vise, the tier
Midge
can push the beads up to the hook eye. The last
Small
step requires wrapping thread behind the beads,
Medium
making a thread mound, and half hitching. This is
perhaps the simplest of all glass bead patterns and
Large
is surprisingly effective with many fish species.
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Glass Bead Size Chart
Diameter

Hook Size

Seed Bead Size

1.5 mm

#18-24

15/0

2.2 mm

#12-18

11/0

3.0 mm

#8-12

8/0

4.0 mm

#2-8

6/0

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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2021

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