Foam has become one of the most ubiquitous synthetic materials in the fly tying world. It is everywhere. Foam is often considered when tying terrestrial fly patterns like hoppers, beetles and ants. But it’s also commonly used in bass poppers, saltwater flies, mouse patterns and more. From big streamers to tiny tailwater flies like the Foam Back Emerger, foam can be incorporated into fly patterns a variety of ways.
It’s buoyant. It can be used to bulk up a fly body. And it can be shaped or colored to achieve almost any look. With so many colors, shapes and sizes available, foam is a fun and versatile material to work with.
“It’s so versatile when it comes to shapes and colors,” said Anglers All crewmember Collin Heyerdahl. “You can tie it in on top of the hook or sandwich the hook between pieces of foam. Each adjustment changes the way a fly floats in the water and looks from below.”
In addition to his favorite hoppers, Collin has used foam to tie extended bodies on big green drakes and hex mayfly dries. “There is some form of foam in every fly box I carry,” Collin added. “Caddis, ants, hoppers, mayflies…you name it.”
In fact, Collins says that if he had to fish one fly all summer, it would be the Charlie Boy Hopper in yellow. Convinced yet? As you explore the possibilities of fly tying with foam, here are a few ideas to keep in mind…
TYPES OF FOAM
Sheet Foam
Sheet foam is the original and most versatile way to purchase foam for fly tying purposes. It can be cut, shaped or glued to fit almost any pattern you can think of.
Sheet foam comes in a variety of thicknesses, from the bulky 6mm sheets, down to the standard 2mm sheets, even thinner 1mm sheets and then ultra thin Micro Foam and Razor Foam.
Most sheet foam is available in solid colors. Fly tyers can use permanent marker or even paint to add patterns to their sheet foam. But it’s also available in printed patterns, like the mottled Foto Foam from Montana Fly Company.
Sheet foam is most often cut with a razor blade and a straight edge, or with premade foam body cutters.
Foam Cylinders
Cylindrical foam shapes are excellent for creating things like poppers and a variety of insect bodies. Wapsi Foam Cylinders are available in several sizes and colors. Tyers can also find foam ant bodies, wasp/bee bodies and dragonfly bodies. Finally, cylinders can be used to create parachute posts on dry flies. Wapsi Foam Parachute Posts serve this very purpose.
Foam Strips
Of course foam sheets can be cut into strips. But when lots of thin and very consistently sized foam strips are necessary, pre-cut strips are an excellent solution. Fettuccine Foam is a perfect example.
One of our in-house tying gurus, Johnnie Trujillo, says that he uses Fettuccine Foam as a cool alternative to deer hair on big streamers and bass bugs. Check out Wise’s Knucklehead as an example.
“It’s very buoyant, it adds bulk and it rides high in the water column with awesome action,” Johnnie explained. “You can tie it in like deer hair, tying in clumps, folding it back and then trimming it to length and shape. But it’s much easier to work with than deer hair. And it’s easy to use different colors and combinations.” He goes on to add, “its floats so well, and doesn’t saturate, that you will need a sinking line or a sink tip to properly fish streamers tied with it”.
Foam Shapes
Finally, fly tyers have the option to purchase foam in a variety of factory cut shapes. A few examples include EP Permit Crab Bodies, popper heads, popper bodies, and foam bug bodies. This can be a time-saving option when you want to quickly tie up a bunch of the same pattern with a very consistent size and shape.
TIPS FOR TYING WITH FOAM
Recommended Threads
One of the biggest hassles when tying with foam is securing it tightly onto the hook shank without cutting through the foam with your thread. Starting with the right fly tying thread will help.
Try using threads that have a naturally flat shape, like GSP or UTC 140. The flat nature of these threads allows you to apply more pressure without cutting through the foam, unlike threads with a more cord-like shape. Alternatively, with any thread you can spin the bobbin (clockwise for right-handed tyers) to open up the thread and achieve a flatter tie-in that won’t cut the foam quite as easily.
Keeping Foam in Place
Foam tends to have a slick surface, which doesn’t like to stay put on a steel hook shank. When tying in a piece of foam, a common point of frustration is having that foam slip to one side or the other. There are a couple of easy things you can do to help prevent this.
First, add a solid thread base to your hook shank before you tie in the foam. Foam is much more likely to go sliding away on a bare hook shank than it is on a base of thread. Second, try adding a small dab of glue to the tie-in point. This will help anchor the foam in place as you tie it to the hook shank.
Cutting Foam
Sheet foam can easily be cut or sculpted using a pair of scissors. But for our OCD friends who would be driven mad by the sight of haphazardly shaped flies in their fly box, we recommend using a cutting tool for consistency. For cutting strips, use a paper cutter. Don’t have one at home? Use the one in the copy room at your office or at your kid’s school. We won’t tell.
For cutting insect bodies, foam body cutters are a great option. And if you’re the crafty or handy type, you might consider making your own form or jig to create consistently shaped foam pieces. What to do with the scrap material between cut bodies? Collin says he uses those for legs on patterns like the Thunder Thighs Hopper.
“Take that material in between the punched hopper bodies, and work them with a razor blade and straight edge,” Collin told us. “Just taper them down to the correct thickness and height.”
One more tip for efficiency – cut your foam in bulk. Pre-cut pieces of foam can easily be stored in a divided tackle box or organizer. Then you can easily sit down and tie a bunch of flies without going back and forth between cutting and tying operations.
Stacking Foam
Some fly patterns call for stacking pieces of foam together. This is a great way to create a two-tone appearance. When using three colors, tyers can even achieve an ombré or color-fade look – think of a grasshopper with a dark brown back and a pale tan belly. The ever effective Morrish Hopper is a great example.
An easy way to give yourself a headache (or to torture our OCD friends) is to cut your shapes out of each color and then try gluing them together. Instead, take entire sheets of foam and superglue them together. Once the glue is dry and the two layers are bonded, then proceed with the cutting. This will produce much more consistent-looking bodies and shapes.
Have questions? We can help!
If you have questions about working with foam (or any other tying materials for that matter), please let us know. We’d be happy to offer advice or round up the materials you need to tie a specific pattern. Stop by the fly shop in Littleton. Or call us at 303-794-1104.
For more help with fly tying materials, check out some of our previous articles:
· A Quick Guide to Chicken Feathers
