The Effective Use of the Bobbin

In our last column, we talked about thread control. Let’s expand on that a bit by going into more detail about fly tying bobbins and how to use them. Learning to use the bobbin effectively is the essential foundation upon which most critical fly tying procedures build. You should devote sufficient time to practice to ensure that you have a good command of this vital skill. 

As with any other issue in fly fishing or fly tying, you will encounter many different opinions regarding the selection and use of bobbins. I can only offer my own take on this subject, for what it’s worth. I recommend a spring steel, “Matarelli-style” bobbin with a ceramic or titanium insert. A bobbin of this type will usually retail for a cost in the neighborhood of $8 to $14 and is well worth the price. The only non-insert bobbin I can recommend is the genuine Matarelli brand. Cheaper bobbins without inserts are available, but increased problems with thread breakage make them a poor bargain. As a novice tyer, you do not need additional frustration caused by inferior tools.

You can buy very fancy bobbins, at fancy prices. Bobbins are made that are spring-loaded and will automatically “reel in” excess thread. You can also find bobbins with mechanisms that allow repeated tension re-adjustments. I certainly wouldn’t discourage you from experimenting with such things if you are so inclined, but I don’t use them and don’t find them necessary. I know several professional fly tyers who also don’t bother with these “bells and whistles.” In my opinion, so-called “adjustable tension bobbins” limit the tyer’s ability to change thread tension as needed for different steps in the tying of a fly and interfere with the development of a tyer’s touch and feel with the working thread.

From this point forward, I will assume that you have acquired a Matarelli-style bobbin and that it’s in new condition. The first thing you need to do is adjust the tension by carefully bending the spring steel arms. I’ve never seen a new, off-the-shelf bobbin that did not require significant tension adjustment. Otherwise it is impossible to feed thread from the spool without breaking it or maybe even bending the hook in the vise! 

To adjust your bobbin, first install a spool of thread between the arms. Hold the bobbin by the base of the tube, grasp the thread and try pulling gently. You may not be able to move the spool at all before the thread breaks. Remove the spool from the bobbin. Brace both thumbs against the point at which the arms meet the tube, and gently bend both arms outward slightly. As you do this, be careful not to put stress on the solder joint there. Replace the spool and test again. Repeat this bending and testing procedure until the desired tension is achieved. Go slowly, and don’t bend too much at a time. It’s better not to overshoot the desired tension and have to try to re-tighten. Once your bobbin is properly adjusted, you should never have to change it so long as you stick with standard size thread spools. My preference is to reduce the tension sufficiently that lightest thread I plan to use will feed easily without risk of breakage.

Once you’ve adjusted the bobbin, you’ll need a way to pass the end of the thread up through the tube. Some tyers use what’s sometimes referred to as the “suck method.” They will start the end of the thread into the base of the tube, then put the other end of the tube between their lips and suck madly until the thread comes through. I have done this a few times when I did not have a bobbin threader of some kind handy, but it’s not my first choice. It doesn’t always work, and when it doesn’t it’s usually because the tube has become partially obstructed with wax that’s built up from the tying thread. You sometimes you wind up inhaling particles of this wax as you try to suck the thread up through the tube. 

I used to like using the little blue monofilament loops sold in drugstores as dental floss threaders. With them, there was no worry about scratching the inside of the bobbin tube, as with the commonly available wire threaders. Unfortunately, many bobbin inserts now do not run the full length of the tube, but consist of just a plug at each end. This creates an internal ledge that the dental floss threader tends to hang up on. So I’ve been forced to resume using the stiffer wire threaders, which are easier to get past the insert plugs. Simply insert the wire loop down through the bobbin tube from the tip toward the spool. Pass the thread through the wire loop and pull it up and out the end of the tube. 

The above-mentioned wax build-up inside the bobbin tube can become serious enough to require remedy. The Griffin company, a manufacturer of tying tools, markets a set of three implements consisting of a bobbin threader and two tube cleaners. The cleaners are simply a length of stiff wire sized to be just a tiny bit smaller than the inside diameter of common bobbin tube sizes, with a plastic bead on one end to serve as a handle. Whenever I notice a lot of thread breakage, the first thing I check is to see if the bobbin tube has a wax build-up. It’s pretty amazing to pass a cleaner wire through the tube and watch it punch out a little plug of wax. Be careful with the newer bobbins, though, that you don’t punch the insert out of the end of the bobbin tube. 

Sometimes a wrap of thread will slip off the spool and get around the arm of the bobbin. Many people pull the thread back down and re-thread it, or remove the spool to get rid of the offending wrap. Neither of these things is necessary. All that’s needed is to take the loop of thread down off the arm and take a turn around the spool to put it back in the proper orientation. 

How to hold the bobbin is another important issue. I’ve watched many beginners simply ignore the bobbin, grasping the thread with their fingers and allowing the bobbin to dangle uselessly below. As intuitive as this may seem, it’s not a good approach. You should use the end of the bobbin tube to guide the thread onto the hook. Thread placement is much more accurate, and rough fingers will not fray the tying thread. I like to let my index finger rest in the little notch formed by the wire of the bobbin arms where it joins the tube. The thumb then falls naturally on the opposite side of the tube. Allow the thread spool to rest in the palm of the hand. Use the middle, ring, and pinkie fingers to hold the spool and stop it from turning when you want to prevent thread from feeding out. When you wish to feed thread out, simply relax the grip on the spool with these fingers and pull gently allowing the spool to rotate. 

Once you have adjusted your bobbin to proper tension, a good drill is to grasp the thread with your off-dominant hand and gently pull down with the bobbin allowing thread to feed out. When you’ve fed about a foot of thread, grasp the thread spool and rotate it against the tension of the thread, reeling the thread back onto the spool. Repeat this exercise several times. This is a very good way to get comfortable with the bobbin and work toward having proper handling become second nature. 

Best control of the thread while tying is achieved when there is about one inch distance between the hook and the tip of the bobbin tube. As you make your thread wraps while tying, develop the habit of periodically feeding thread out to maintain this approximate distance. You should not be making huge circles with the bobbin around the hook, nor should you wind the tip of the bobbin tube right up to the hook. 

While tying, you will always hold the bobbin in such a way as to either feed or not feed thread. There is no middle ground, it’s either yes or no. The amount of tension applied to thread and materials is determined by how hard you pull against them with the bobbin hand when the spool is held firm and not allowed to rotate. Generally, you will want to bind materials to the hook as firmly as possible without breaking the working thread. You will quickly learn to judge appropriate tension. 

Using this method allows you to have precise control over how much tension is applied to the thread at any step of tying a fly. I hope that this information proves useful to you. Good tying!

--Mary S. Kuss--


Panfish Identification 101

Once the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission hatchery trucks stop rolling in late spring, it doesn’t take long for their maladjusted cargo to disappear from our Philadelphia area “trout” streams. The vast majority of stockies that aren’t taken by anglers soon fall victim to natural predators like herons or starve to death, unable to make the transition from being fed to foraging. At that point, the vast majority of fishermen desert these “fished out” streams. What remains are the streambred warmwater fish that are the natural inhabitants of these waters, and the relatively few anglers who understand and appreciate them. 
A fascinating variety of fish species live in our local streams, including various minnows, chubs, shiners, carp, bass, sunfishes, and on and on. This article would be far too long if I attempted to list and describe all of them, so I will limit this discussion to the sunfishes and the Rock Bass, which is actually also a sunfish but not usually grouped with them due to its common name. 
We have four common sunfish species in our area. They are the Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Redbreast Sunfish, and Green Sunfish. Many anglers are perfectly content to lump all of these creatures together and call them “sunnies” or “bluegills.” If you are one of those people, go with my blessing and be happy. But for those who are curious about the possibility of actually being able to identify them, we offer these tips.
It’s very helpful to have some good reference materials. For many years I have relied on the excellent color illustrations in McClane’s Standard Fishing Encyclopedia, by Al McClane. I believe that this book is now out of print, although you might find a copy at a yard sale or through a used book dealer. When buying any field guide, I suggest choosing one with paintings rather than photographs. With fish, as with birds and wildflowers, there can be a fair amount of variation both regionally and between individuals. A photograph shows a single individual at a single moment in time. On the other hand, a painting is an idealized representation of the species in question. The key field marks needed for a positive identification are emphasized, sometimes even with arrows to call your attention to those features. Most naturalists would agree that this approach is more helpful than the use of photography. 
Colors can vary between males and females within a species, and this is most pronounced during spawning season. Sunfishes can nest repeatedly throughout the summer, but this activity is at peak from mid-spring through early summer. The markings are similar between males and females within a species, but generally males have darker and/or more intense colors overall.
A very significant feature in distinguishing between the various sunfish species is the “ear flap,” a fleshy projection at the rear edge of the gill covers. This flap will vary in shape and color from one species to the next and tends to be quite distinctive once you know what to look for. Colors present on the body and fins, and the distribution of these colors can also be important. But the ear flap, its shape and the colors present on it, is the single most important key to sunfish identification.
One rather large complication in identifying these fish is their tendency to hybridize naturally in the wild. I have seen hybrids that simultaneously exhibited recognizable features of at least three different species. But once you are familiar with the key field marks of the species involved, it’s easy and rather interesting to recognize those features in any hybrids you may encounter.
The Bluegill is sometimes referred to as “The Prince of Panfish.” It attains the largest size, and gives the strongest fight. My personal best Bluegill was eleven and a half inches and 13 ounces, from a pond in New Jersey. Typically an 8-incher is considered a good-sized specimen. The Bluegill is rather round in shape as viewed from the side. The ear flap is half-round, not elongated at all, and is solid velvety black in color. On very large specimens, the ear flap can deform in shape a bit, becoming more uneven, and large males can develop a hump on the back immediately behind the head. The cheek is unmarked. The male has a brick-red breast, and this color is deeper during the spring spawning season. The males can become rather blackish overall at this time of year. The female’s breast is more yellowish, and she tends to be lighter in color overall. There is often a faint turquoise-blue flush along the lower gill covers, hence the name Bluegill. There are usually several indistinct vertical bars on the body. Fins are usually a clear gray, sometimes with a bluish-green tinge. 
The Pumpkinseed is what a lot of people really mean when they say “sunnie.” It’s the most colorful member of the sunfish clan found in our area. The “P-seed” is the only of our local sunfish to have red on the ear flap. The Pumpkinseed’s ear flap is half-round, like the Bluegill’s. It’s mostly black, but the trailing edge is lighter in color, with a bright red spot centered on the margin. The cheek is strongly and evenly streaked in burnt orange and turquoise, and the same colors are speckled over the body. The fins are clear, sometimes tinged with yellow to orange. P’seeds don’t get quite as large as Bluegills, but I have caught them up to 7 inches in length. 
The Redbreast Sunfish is the most common in the rivers and streams of our area, and is less common in lakes and ponds. It’s not as deep-bodied as the Bluegill or Pumpkinseed. The largest specimens I’ve seen in our area run 8 to 9 inches in length. The most striking feature, as you’d guess from the name, is the brilliant breast of the males, which is actually more orange than red. During breeding season the males take on colors nearly fluorescent in intensity. The body is greenish, sometimes with some orange speckling on the lower flanks. The ear flap of the Redbreast is markedly elongated, with some lighter streaking over a blackish background. There will be a few uneven or broken turquoise streaks on the cheeks. The fins can be strongly tinged with orange, especially in the breeding males. 
The Green Sunfish, as the name would imply, is predominantly dark greenish in color. It is similar in shape to the Redbreast. There may be just a few flecks of turquoise on the cheek or body. The ear flap is just slightly elongated, not nearly as much so as for the Redbreast, and is somewhat blackish with a lighter margin. The soft dorsal, pelvic, and/or anal fins may be edged in cream to yellow, particularly in the larger males during spawning season. The Green Sunfish’s mouth is proportionally larger than that of the other sunfishes. All of the sunfishes have a sort of “velcro” lining on areas of the lips and inside the mouth to help them catch and hold prey. This is very noticeable on the Greenie. These features are in keeping with its diet, which includes a higher proportion of minnows than for our other sunfish species. 
The Rock Bass, Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass are, along with the sunfishes described above, all members of the family Centrarchidae. But we don’t call them sunfish, we call them bass. Don’t ask me why. The Rock Bass is shaped like a typical sunfish, although not as rounded as the Bluegill or the Pumpkinseed. The ear flap is black in color, but smaller and less distinct than that of the other species described here. The fish is overall greenish in color, with some black speckling over the body. Bright colors are absent except for the most noticeable feature, the oversized, red eye. This gives the Rock Bass one of its other common names, “Goggle-eye.” The fins can be edged in black, especially on the males during spawning season. Like the Green Sunfish, the Rock Bass is a minnow-eater. And, also like the Greenie, the Rock Bass is a very aggressive feeder. 
I hope you will enjoy your attempts to recognize and put a name to some of these sporty little fish that give us so much summer fishing pleasure. We should all try to remember our friends’ names!

--Mary S. Kuss--