Published Jan 9. 2000 - 24 years ago
Updated or edited Mar 11. 2023

Bead chain eyes

You will see that many of the Danish saltwater flies - The Magnus, Bjarke and Grey Frede are prime examples - have bead chain eyes. These eyes serve two purposes: weight and imitation. The eyes will add quite a bit of weight in the front end of the fly and the beads obviously look like eyes. Their shiny surface even adds an attractive feature that will glimpse and get the attention of the fish.

Bulging eyes

bead chain eyes on hook
bead chain eyes on hook
Bead chain eyes

You will see that many of the Danish saltwater flies -- The Magnus, Bjarke and Grey Frede are prime examples -- have bead chain eyes. These eyes serve two purposes: weight and imitation. The eyes till add quite a bit of weight in the front end of the fly and the balls obviously look like eyes. Their shiny surface even adds an attractive feature that will glimpse and get the attention of the fish.

Doing it

The eyes are made from bead chain. This is the type of chain that is ofte found between bathtub walls and drainage plugs. It can also be bought in hardware stores in different sizes. I have a variety of sizes and use them depending on hook size and weight.
I've seen plastic bead chain eyes too in a few tackle shops, but never used them. What I have used is pearls and copper wire, a technique I'll explain later.

No big deal

Tying in the eyes is no big deal. A couple of tips though:

  • I normally tie the eyes in under the hook shank. Putting them on top can sometimes tip the fly over, making it swim upside-down.

  • Don't cut the set of eyes you want to use from the chain before they are secured with a couple of thread wraps.
  • Adjust the horizontal position of the eyes perpendicular to the hook shank with criss-cross (figure-of-eight)wraps.
  • Secure the eyes with horizontal thread wrappings under the eyes but over the shank (when tied on top of the shank).
  • Secure the eyes with a drop of super glue or varnish while tying or after the fly has been finished.
Sections: 

Comments

great idea. just st...

great idea. just starting to tie flys and have been reading and trying different tips i read. it is amazing how hard you can make a project when if you just sit back and think about it you can see all kinds of options. thanks for the tips and hope to see more.

hi tim, is that you?...

hi tim, is that you?

I have a length of b...

I have a length of bead-chain that I was thinking of using on my freshwater Clouser's in place of the barbell eyes. I think that these will be more effective whenever you dont need the weight centered at the head.
If I were to put the weight on the shank, instead of just the head, I would have a more even action to the streamer. The barbell eyes make me feel as though I am Jig fishing. I don't know what I am doing to provoke a take with them. Thanks for reminding me that chain beads are a great option.

this is the best tip...

this is the best tip i've had in ages.I've been checking every sink since. Many thanks

.

Log in or register to pre-fill name on comments, add videos, user pictures and more.
Read more about why you should register.
 

Since you got this far …


The GFF money box

… I have a small favor to ask.

Long story short

Support the Global FlyFisher through several different channels, including PayPal.

Long story longer

The Global FlyFisher has been online since the mid-90's and has been free to access for everybody since day one – and will stay free for as long as I run it.
But that doesn't mean that it's free to run.
It costs money to drive a large site like this.

See more details about what you can do to help in this blog post.