Fly Tying Tip, Creating Dubbing Noodle with Dry Hands

With winter well underway, our hands can endure some serious battering from the cold weather.  As a nurse who has been avidly fly fishing through this winter, my hands will snag onto anything soft.  It was a long time bumbling blunder with me trying to make good dubbing noodles with fly tying.  Dubbing noodles often unraveled, or snagged on my dry fingertips.

I tried the suggestions from licking my fingertips, to applications of dubbing waxes.  It wasn’t until one evening I sat at my fly tying corner applying O’Keeffe’s Working Hands hand cream before fly tying.  My hands felt revitalized, not oily, and a feel of tackiness I knew would be helpful with my fly tying.

I was astonished to find myself creating some beautiful noodles!  It is the application of O’Keeffe’s Working Hands hand cream on my hands, and a generous amount on my cracked fingertips that was my answer!  I use different hand creams to try to help heal my cracked hands, only to find myself returning back to this particular hand cream before fly tying.

Apply a generous amount on hands and particularly you finger tips and rub in well before tying.  Place dubbing onto thread, pinch tight, and twist dubbing on your thread.  I am simply amazed each time how easy and beautiful dubbing noodles come out.  Happy fly tying to all!

This Fly Tying Tip is featured at United Women on the Fly