"Life Hack" for Fly Tying

The fly tying material market is full of pre-made body pieces made from various materials that you can add to your fly patterns.  Some are made from Ultra Suede, some from silicone rubber, and come in many shapes and sizes.  The bodies I have most experience with are Cohen's Creatures from Pat Cohen and Jonathan Kiley's line of "Skinz" products.  Whenever I use any of these bodies and want the hook point to ride up, I pierce the hook point through the body to keep it on the proper side of the hook.  This has always caused a minor issue for me: the body inevitably ends up slightly kinked up or down, depending on the body being slightly too tight or slightly too loose over the hook.  Getting the body pierced the the most precise spot for it to lay parallel with the hook shank is very difficult for me.  A solution hit me yesterday, which I tested successfully last night.  Use a small hole punch to punch a larger diameter hole for the hook to fit through, allowing you margin of error to keep the body in the proper position once you tie it down.  I already had an 1/8" hole punch I had bought years back while making foam Trouser Worm style carp flies.  Yes, I know the handles are purple, but it was either this or pink at my craft store.

I tested last night with a Kiley's Damzel Tail and a Cohen Creature Hellgramite.

I determined against the hooks I was going to use for each pattern where I wanted the hole, and punched the hole in each body.  I then also colored the Hellgramite black with a Sharpie.  Both body materials are extremely strong, so I have little doubts that punching the holes in them will result in them getting torn up.  I fully expect to snag and lose them before that could ever happen.

The hack worked just as I had hoped.  Having the larger diameter hole meant I did not have to be super precise on aligning the body in order to get the body to lay parallel to the hook shank.  I use the Hellgramite bodies a lot, they are lethal on my local smallmouth populations.  It's a ridiculously simple fly that is quick to tie and really effective.  Lead eyes, dubbing, wire for a rib, and the body.  The Damzel Tail pattern is a variation on a new carp fly I am about to test that I have named the Drag Queen.

If you use these bodies in your tying, give this little trick a shot.  It makes life a little easier when trying to get the bodies properly aligned and tied in.