Here comes the sticky part

This is a trick that you won't want to miss. Remove the cotton cord from the Mylar tubing. Place a towel on a counter top or ironing board. With a warm iron flatten the material with the iron so that it is shaped like a long and narrow stick of gum. If you push the point of the iron towards the tubing it will cause the material to broaden as it flattens out. Holding the tubing with one hand and pushing the iron away from you will cause the tubing to stretch, resulting in a narrower flattened body.

Tie the tubing on the hook just past the keel. It should be reassuring to know that once tied the tubing can be slid along the hook's shank with relative easy. Last minute adjustments before the epoxy hardens remain an option.

With the keel assembled and the hook point turned down on the vice secure the thread where the tie in will occur. Gently squeeze the flattened Mylar enough to force it open and push the tubing over the hook. The hook shaft should be inside the tubing. While holding the bobbin straight up and away from the hook bend move the tubing slightly from side to side in order to cause the braided strands that make up the tubing to part and allow the thread to slip into the tubing about 1/8 inch. It is while attempting to tie the tubing to the shaft that many faint hearted consider defeat. A good friend and a great fly tier, Tom Trippy, taught me the following trick. He taught me to tie in one side of the Mylar at a time. This will result in the Mylar being tied in evenly on both sides of the hook and eliminated the problem of having the material spin on the hook while snugging down the thread. With the thread coming out of the tubing around 1/8 inch from the end make a single soft loop around one side of the material. Squeeze the material on both sides of the thread on the same side that you made the soft loop with your index finger and thumb fairly tight forcing it to conform to the final shape of the fly. Slowly and firmly pull the thread, which will force the tubing (on one side only) to the hook. While holding the first side snug, make a soft loop on the other side and then repeat the process on the other side. With practice, the process becomes relatively simple, and your results will be outstanding.

Now for the gooey part. Place the hook in the vice with the eye pointing up towards the ceiling. Mix a small amount of Five Minute epoxy. With the thumb and index finger gently squeeze the Mylar at the untied end and cause it to open. Swab the inside of the tubing with a tooth pick dabbed in the epoxy. It doesn't take much but make sure that there is enough to firmly glue the insides completely. Hold down the tubing to expose the shaft of the hook near the eye and lash the thread back on the hook about 3/16 inch from the eye. Like the initial tie in hold the thread up and work the Mylar so that the thread is inside of the braid about 1/8 inch. With a soft loop pull one side to the shaft and then repeat on the other side. Whip finish.

With the epoxy loaded into the tubing and both sides of the Mylar tied off you'll start the molding of the flies into the final shape. Use the thumb and index finger of both hands to firmly squeeze the tubing together on both sides of the shaft. Press as hard as you can. Not only are you shaping the fly but squeezing the tubing and glue together removes the air bubbles that are trapped inside. Believe it or not, as heavy as these epoxy flies are they tend to rise to the water's surface if any air is left trapped inside.

Improperly built flies have 2 flawed characteristics

• They don't wobble/flutter with the slightest move
• They keep breaking the water's surface

•  The Spoon Fly
•  The Bare Hook
•  The Mylar Body
•  Crowning the Fly