 |
| Ephemera, YLI, Pearsall's |
For years Pearsall's Gossamer silk has been the standard silk for tying spider and soft hackle flies. When I first started using Pearsall's I was impressed with how easy it was to use. Reports of it being a "pain" to work with were not even close. It's translucency when used with various dubbing material could not be achieved with any other thread. A happy spider tyer I was. Then I was told that Pearsall's would no longer be making their silk threads and that sent the buyers and hoarders into full swing. Within a short time Pearsall's was no longer available. Oh sure it could be found but not in the color you wanted or for a price you could afford.
Then I found YLI silk. Wow was this thread nice. It's uniform color and feel were very nice. I could not find any issues with it with exception of the large spool it came on. Well I found recently YLI was a bit difficult to find especially in the color orange that I use. I don't know why the shortage, but I have a few thoughts on it and I won't get into that now. Just in time I found on line a silk thread named "Ephemera"...thank you.
Ephemera a first class thread for fly tying. My first impression of it was the smoothness of the silk. This stuff flows onto the hook like butter. It has a very deep color and it is quite strong.
I can't give you a description on how it work in the water, meaning if it holds it's color, how much it darkens and so on. I plan on giving it a work out on the stream soon. Here are two spiders one tied with Ephemera the other with YIL...you can see a difference.
A spider tied with sparse dubbing...the Little Winter Brown... So far so good.
Wow, nice find Alan! I googled it and it's readily available too.
ReplyDeleteHad a nice day Thursday with lots of releases.
billp
DeleteThanks
Bill there is plenty of it on the market right now.
It's great to hear of your success with those NM trout.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThat is a fine looking thread indeed! I'll be looking forward to seeing what it looks like wet.
DeleteRM Lytle
DeleteThanks
Rowan it's smooth and I hope it's color remains true.
Love it, Alan! The Ephemera primrose is also nice and, interestingly, the purple is virtually identical to the vintage Pearsall's purple spools that Robert L. Smith pictured on his blog (https://www.theslidingstream.net/snipe-and-purple-spider/). Apparently, Au Ver A Soie has been manufacturing silks since the early 1800's, so this thread also checks the old school box.
ReplyDeleteJames
DeleteThanks
Now I remember your telling me of this thread. It's good to know of the likeness in regard to the other manufacturers thread. I use much more orange in my tying, with purple being second. I simply adore old school companies...rare in this day.
A very interesting topic Alan! I own some Pearsall's and just a couple of spools of YLI. There is a "feel" difference for sure and the YLI brand seems to lay a bit flatter than Pearsalls. Color retention....
ReplyDeletethey both seemed about the same when damp!
Dougsden
Dougsden
DeleteThanks
Doug I'm certain you would love Ephemera, it goes on smooth. It's thin but strong. I use silk thread on flies that I dub as opposed to standard threads. I feel the added "class" of silk just makes a fish want to take it.
Wise words indeed Alan! I will seek it out and give it a try! I am seeing and reading in your reply above that Ephemera brand behaves very much like Danville's 6/0 in that it's strong and when given a counter clockwise spin, it lays incredibly flat. I like that feature in tying threads and if this brand of silk (Ephemera) has these features, I'm all for it!
DeleteI have always liked Pearsalls silks and was saddened when they stopped producing it! Why didn't I take the hit years ago and buy up a master carton of both Primrose and Orange?
What a great past time this fly tying is,
Dougsden
Doug, Danville is also my go to thread, quality product.
DeleteThere is always something wonderful on the horizon in fly tying. Love it buddy.
Thanks for the knowledge; I hadn't heard of Ephemera before. A couple of folks on the Flymph board mentioned it as well. I'm looking forward to trying it.
ReplyDeleteAlan, there's a thread up on the flymph board titled "Little Winter Brown", I think you should definitely add yours to it.
ReplyDeletemike
DeleteThanks
Mike the price is reasonable so what the heck I tried it. I'll be trying it out soon.
I'll check out that thread on FF.
Good to know. I do not tie flies, but when looking online at soft hackles, there is quite a variety of threads being used. Some look to be tied with rope/cord. Thank you for explaining why that might be. Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteBill/Tully
DeleteThanks
Bill I know what you are talking about. Some threads are better suited for anchor rope as opposed to fly tying. This thread is much finer and does not bulk up.
Alan,
ReplyDeleteI have used very good French silks to form bodies in my Soft Hackles, somewhat difficult to work with but with some patience and a few tricks it works well. The best thing is that those flies were very effective.
That "Ephemera" silk you show looks great.
Good fishing with your excellent spiders.
Humberto
Anonymous
DeleteThanks
Humberto this is my first time using French silk threads. The Ephemera has worked well. My brookies love those spiders, most times.
Another silk thread to try: https://www.gunpowdercustomtackle.com/product-page/morus-silk-superfine
ReplyDeleteI bought a selection of the Morus silks based on their acquisition of the Pearsall brand and specs. Your mileage may vary but I think their colors and feel an exact match for Pearsalls. However, the price is dear, YLI the better deal for very similar silk. Gunpowder Tackle seems to have a US franchise for Morus silks. He is also an accomplished soft hackle aficionado.
Ned Zeppelin
DeleteThanks
I just checked the site. The silk from the pictures looks just like Pearsall's. The price is up there but I might try a spool. By the way his decal is awesome.