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The Hair Ponio Fly (a Dollar Store Experiment)

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Quentin 
#1 ·
I was on my way to the fly shop and decided to stop in at one of those dollar store places. I found a couple of items that looked useful for fly tying. One item is Fun Do's Hair Ponio. This is an elastic cord wrapped with synthetic "hair" that is apparently supposed to be wrapped around a pony tail. There are several different colors and they seem to be colorfast. When you cut the elastic and dismantle the thing you end up with a 40-inch long string (WOW!) of little bundles of flashy, round, straight synthetic fibers (check it out!). The fibers are about 2.75" long and are quite fine but rather stiff and pretty strong. The fibers hardly bend when held horizontally. They are actually twice the "apparent" length because they are doubled over where they are stitched together. The fibers are badly kinked where they are folded so you couldn't make a 5.5" wing, but you can double them over your tying thread and still have 2.75". Just for fun, I cut a small length of of the "string" and wrapped it up the hook shank (like a palmered hackle) to create the Hair Ponio Fly :hehe: It's just Hair Ponio, thread and eyes. It seems a little too full when tied this way and I'm not sure if trimming will help. I also don't know how durable the stitching is. It's probably better to just use the fibers like any other synthetic fiber. The fibers move a little in the water, but don't have lots of action. They also seem to hold a lot of water, although it may not be bad if the fly is tied more sparsley. I'm going back tomorrow to buy more :D
Q
 
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#2 ·
How creative! Well it's safe to say Quentin's got the tying bug. Roadkill will never be the same again :D

I saw some of those at the convenience store the other day in natural hair colors. The thought occurred for a moment since I have been searching for a 'sandy blond' material. I smirked and went about my appointed rounds, but after reading your inventive discovery I just might go back.

BTW - you can straighten out synthetics using a hair dryer on medium heat and a brush. Maybe it would take out the kink?

I have a little trick I use to taper synthetics; next time we get together bring some and we'll see if it works on this material.
 
#3 ·
juro said:
Roadkill will never be the same again :D
I'm gonna start carrying a shovel, some bolt cutters and some industrial strength plastic bags in my car. :D Even the cat looks a little different to me now. Hmm, a renewable fur supply!

I'll bring some Ponio to the casting clave so you can check it out. I'll also bring some of that foam stuff (see my other post about foam body material).
 
#4 ·
I just tried to straighten some and it works quite well. I stretched a few pieces taut and held the kinked part against the radiator for a few seconds (I don't have a hair dryer). Nice 6" strands. Oooooh . . . :D

Thanks Juro!
 
#6 ·
Mark,
The fibers seem pretty tough, about like fine human hair. The "string" is actually a seam that is formed when the tufts of fibers are stitched together. The seam is about 1/8" wide and maybe 1/16" thick. The thread that holds the tufts together is pretty strong and the seam creats a solid body, but I think it may unravel if the thread gets cut up too badly. It will be interesting to see how much abuse it can take (if it actually catches fish!). I probably wont tie any more flies like that, although it is incredibly easy to tie that way. I just wanted to see what the stuff looked like on a hook. I will probably just tie the fibers in like any other material. When you pull the fibers out and straighten them there is some variation in length so you don't get too much of that "paintbrush" look. Email your address and I'll send you some if you can't find any in your area. (Or if you just want to check it out before trying to find it :chuckle: )
Q
 
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