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Bulk Fly Drying powder

8K views 86 replies 18 participants last post by  Cap'n Fishy 
#1 ·
Can anyone point me in the right direction for buying fly drying powder in bulk please? I bought a large bottle of the stuff a few years ago but can't remember where from and it's now running low.

Thanks in Advance

Andy
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
What are you doing buying that cheap bulk stuff?:rolleyes:
Instead, you should spend £8 on what is essentially 5% of the same product, but it comes in a fancy little bottle with nice writing. (y)
You should also add '... that the lid comes off in your pocket spilling the contents...'
 
#45 ·
Steve is absolutely right.

Water absorbing "drying powder" and powder floatant hydrophobic silica are often confused for each other.

It is obvious that a powder that ABSORBS and therefoe DRIES wet flies CANNOT repel water becasue the function of the material is to ATTRACT water.

It is also obvious that a powder that REPELS water and is a floatant CANNOT ABSORB water to dry flies. A floatant does NOT DRY flies, it serves to keep flies dry like the carnuba wax on an automobile surface.

For those of you who want to read about how floatants work, I wrote an article for California Fly Fisher Magazine and I covered the material in the NAFF.

 
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#22 · (Edited)
I have never understood why folk choose to use hydrophobic fumed silica to dry-out flies? It's hydrophobic, which means it repels water. Surely if you want to dry-out a soggy fly you want something that attracts water???? :unsure:

Hydrophobic fumed silica is meant to be used as a waterproofing agent. You apply it to an already dry fly to make it water-repellent. So, if the fly is wet, you need to dry the fly with something that is water-loving, not water-repellent. Silica gel is water loving. Steve (Themind) upthread pointed this out.

You can buy some mixes that have both silica gel and hydrophobic fumed silica in them, so they do both jobs at once. I think Shimazaki Dry-shake or whatever it was called was one of these mixes?

I keep my 2 materials separate, as the problem with silica gel is that, as it absorbs water, it gets saturated and won't work any more... but you can recharge it. Just put it in the oven at 120C for an hour to drive the water off. I have a few self-indicating crytals in mine - they are deep blue when dry and turn pale pink as they get saturated.

So, If I need to get a soggy fly dried out (dapping flies are a real issue for me as they only work properly when bone dry), I will give it a squeeze in amadou, followed by a shake in my tub of ground silica gel, followed by a retreatment with hydrophobic fumed silica.

(Except that I don't really rate hydrophobic fumed silica as a waterproofing agent - washes-off too quickly for my liking - and I usually use either Tiemco Dry Magic, or home-made Permaflote on dapping flies.)

Col
 
#26 ·
Hydrophobic fumed silica is meant to be used as a waterproofing agent. You apply it to an already dry fly to make it water-repellent. So, if the fly is wet, you need to dry the fly with something that is water-loving, not water-repellent. Silica gel is water loving. Steve (Themind) upthread pointed this out.

You can buy some mixes that have both silica gel and hydrophobic fumed silica in them, so they do both jobs at once. I think Shimazaki Dry-shake or whatever it was called was one of these mixes?

I keep my 2 materials separate, as the problem with silica gel is that, as it absorbs water, it gets saturated and won't work any more... but you can recharge it. Just put it in the oven at 120C for an hour to drive the water off. I have a few self-indicating crytals in mine - they are deep blue when dry and turn pale pink as they get saturated.
Must admit, although I have a bottle of the mixed stuff with me most of the time when I'm on the river I rarely use it. Most often for me flies are dried with an Amadou patch then I use one of the gel floatants, loon Aquel at the moment. I have a few others but its the gel I gravitate towards as I tend to find it works on everything (CDC included). The only time I have problems with it is when I want to treat only part of a fly, eg dubbing ball emergers, then I tend to use one of the grease type ones.

Steve
 
#48 ·
For that perfect CDC coiffure.....
I realise you are being condescending towards whose who use CDC, but I was seriously considering getting one of these...

12V hair dryer

... and taking it on loch salmon/sea trout and loch mayfly trips where dapping was going to be involved. Dapping flies really need to be bone dry to work best. Just hook it up to the battery for the electric outboard and it saves changing a soggy dapping fly. Not sure how much extra drain on the battery though... although some of the Lomond guys have their leccy battery hooked up to the petrol o/b, so it gets recharged going back up the water. ;)
 
#60 ·
For Sale.

The ultimate fly dryer. With this bespoke equipment prolonged fly drying is now a thing of the past. Five seconds in this top of the range kit that no dry fly angler should be without and your dry fly is dry, and fluffed out and ready for use once more. Suitable for all fly dressing materials and will not clog up your precious CDC guaranteed.

This bit of kit is for sale at the very modest cost of £10 or £15 for two.
 
#80 ·
For Sale.

The ultimate fly dryer. With this bespoke equipment prolonged fly drying is now a thing of the past. Five seconds in this top of the range kit that no dry fly angler should be without and your dry fly is dry, and fluffed out and ready for use once more. Suitable for all fly dressing materials and will not clog up your precious CDC guaranteed.

This bit of kit is for sale at the very modest cost of £10 or £15 for two.
I'm amazed that none of the dry fly merchants on here have even enquired as to what this wonder material is. Obviously they aren't as wedded to dry fly fishing as they try to make out. Well, that's fine, I'll keep the secret to myself.
 
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