Shadow Boxes

Hey everyone,

So lately I have been doing up some shadow boxes with some display flies for presents this Christmas

They make a great addition to a fly tying area. Its also a great way to track your progress as a tier.

This post will give you a Step by Step instruction on how I mount a fly in a shadow box

Here is the final product, all of these flies are freestyles except for the Jock Scott in the small frame

Basically all you need is a shadow box, knife or scissors, something to punch a hole through the back of the box (I use a tailors awl), some duct tape, some small tubing ( I use tube fly tubing), some fine thread, and of course your fly.

1: First I get my tubing set up with the fine thread going through it to create a loop

 ( shown in step 3).

2: I also like to cut a small notch in the tubing to give the fly something to sit in.

3: Here is a closer picture of the loop and small notch.

4: Choose the fly that you would like to mount, this is a freestyle that I tied up the other night.

4: Take your awl or needle and poke a hole through the back of the shadow box  in the approximate centre. Then slide your tubing with the thread through the hole you just created, I use a smaller tubing stuffed inside the large tubing for this part so that the tubing will fit through the hole.

5: Slide your fly into the loop that is sticking out of the tubing. try to choose a colour of thread that is the same colour as the fly so that it will not be noticeable.

6: When you pull the thread tight through the back of the shadow box it will tighten up on the fly and it will straighten out and it will appear to be "floating".

7: To secure the thread and tubing I just fold the tubing that is sticking out the back of the box flat and tape it and the thread with duct tape, this way you can still adjust the fly if it ever shifts.

So that's all there is to it, its pretty simple and they really look neat, 

Hope it was easy to follow, if you have any questions just shoot me an email or leave a comment and I will help you out!

I will be heading out on the water tomorrow to chase some Steelhead, I will be sure to let you know how I do.

Thanks

Chris