by Pudge Kleinkauf
Many people believe it is impossible to attach dubbing to the tying thread without using either dubbing wax or a dubbing loop, but here is an easy method for quick and effective dubbing. Just follow these steps:
1. use a good quality dubbing material that contains both fur and guard hairs such as Hareline Dubbing's Hare's Ear Plus, which contains Antron;
2. pull four or five inches of the tying thread toward you with your non-dominant hand and keep it taught;
3. dampen the thumb, second, and third fingers of your dominant hand slightly with a little spit;
4. pick up a very small bit of dubbing (the secret to this method is to use tiny bits of material to help the dubbing adhere to the thread);
5. press the dubbing to the underside of the tying thread with your second and/or third finger (distribute the dubbing along the thread if the clump is too large);
6. with the thumb on top of the thread, press the dubbing between the three fingers and roll it tightly onto the thread, rolling it only in one direction, not back and forth;
7. carefully slide the dubbing up the thread toward the hook and wrap onto the hook;
8. repeat the process, continuing to use small bits of dubbing until the desired amount of dubbing is on the hook.
As the dubbing is wrapped on the hook, you can wrap more dubbing on top of an already dubbed area to achieve a thicker body or thorax, rather than trying to use larger bits of dubbing. Once your fly is complete, use your bodkin to carefully pick out the guard hairs to simulate legs. Dubbing adheres very well to the thread and the hook using this method, and, since many dubbed flies are also ribbed using hackle or wire, the result is a very durable fly.
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