Basic information about one of the basic fly tying material - tungsten beads - and couple of tunsten bead patterns from Jiri Klima.
Tungsten beads (tungsten heads) are about 1.7 times heavier than lead. That's why they are a very desirable article for loading the flies for catching in deeper waters. Tungsten beads appear in our market in many colors - gold, silver, copper, black, white, fluo orange, fluo-yellow-green, fluo-green, fluo pink. Each color has its merits and is suitable for a certain period. The size of the bead is also very important, as the small balls too quickly pull the fly to the bottom.
In addition to classic tungsten beads with continuous holes, which are suitable for loading flat hooks, gammarus and pupa hooks, sloted beads are also available on the market, where the groove is designed for simplier threading to more complex hook shapes (e.g. jig hooks). These beads are also available in a wide color spectrum.
Another product is a so-called faceted bead with a groove, where there are planes on the sides of the balls to increase the luminous effect of the fly. For these beads, the most effective are the gold and silver colors, as the other color variants are no longer as effective as the light effect and can be replaced with conventional tungsten beads.
Other shapes of tungsten beads, which consist, for example, of a ball-shaped ball and a second part of a matrix shape, are no longer so effective. Another tungsten bead variant is the phosphorescent tungsten bead suitable for fly fishing at night. They are not as widely used as classic beads or grooved beads.
Fly Tying with tungsten beads is very simple - depending on what fly we want to tie and where the fly we want to get. Tungsten beads are received by fish very willingly. Especially for crystal clear waters, black balls are used with great success, as they do not spook the fish with their shine. These beads are also used successfully on rivers that are fished intensively.
