Glue Help

[Curtis King]

I would have to consider my tying skills intermediate, and have a favorite bunny leech pattern for steelheading. When I tie them, I use zap-a-gap at the base tie down point and at the head tie-off. I wrap the shank near the bend with thread as well as the head area, tack the fur down with zap at the bend, palmer forward, then zap the head area before locking down the fur with thread and whip finish. Then I coat the head with standard cement. Even so, sometimes these flies come apart in the head area. Any suggestions on a better glue and/or cement that is FAST DRYING?

:confused:

[Nooksack Mac]

There are any numbers of glues and cements that are useable in fly tying. Five minute epoxy, if you can work fast enough, is certainly strong enough to hold a fly together. I frequently use Seal-All, an all-purpose contact adhesive and sealant, available at most hardware stores. It's clear, waterproof, will hold in 2-3 minutes and reaches full cure in 2-8 hours. And it's cheap.

The use of glues in ordinary fly construction is less common than it probably should be. Many materials in a fly are fragile, such as peacock herl and stripped feather stem bodies. A bit of cement spread along the thread-covered hook shank (not too much, or it will squeeze to the surface) will make these materials rock-solid without compromising their appearance. A dab on the head before tying in hair, feather, or quill wings likewise makes them much liklier to stay permanently attached.