NAFF Fly Tying - Stanek's Skimmer Dragonfly Naiad 3

PHOTO #2 "STANEKS" SECRET. FORMULA

"GORILLA GLUE" foams and expands as it cures making very tight and strong joints. When "GORILLA GLUE" is allowed to free foam the foaming is erratic with uncontrolled cell size. After many experiments, I found that I could control the foaming of "GORILLA GLUE" by adding micro-drops of water. By adding 4 to 5 drops of water to a 3/8 inch diameter drop of "GORILLA GLUE" and lightly mixing, thousands of very small bubbles are formed. The foaming rate is increased, the expansion is increased to approximately 5 to 1, but the cure time remains the same.

PHOTO #3 PREPARING THE BASE PLATE (SINKING)

STEP #1 Base Plate

Fold a strip of "3M BRAND" #422 lead foil tape in half and cut a pear shape piece as per "A" in Photo #3. Un-fold and flatten. The length of the pear shape should be 2/3 the length of the hook shank. Remove the liner and place the adhesive side up on a flat surface. Embed two short pieces of brown "MAXIMA" monofilament on each side of the center of the pear shape as shown per "B" in Photo #3. Strip a short piece of brown hackle stem and place it on the center groove as shown. These points will be trimmed after the base foam has cured.

Since this fly rides hook point up, open the gap slightly. Wrap a solid double thread base from the eye to the bend of the hook. Press the hook shank firmly into the adhesive of the pear shape on the center line, be sure the hook is perpendicular to the base plate as shown per "c" in Photo #3. Set with a drop of head cement.