Since I've aggervated the wife about as much as I dare for a while I decided to tie some bucktail jigs for some up coming fishing trips. I got a cheap vise, the bobbins, feathers and bucktails. Could I use 2# mono instead of the thread??? I give them a good coating of colored finger nail polish when I'm all done tying them. FRED

Long time avid fly tier. To answer your question about mono as a fly tying thread in a word. No! Trust me on this. The best thread to use for any deer hair is Ultra GSP thread. Big tip....once you get your thread initially secured on the hook, before adding any material, put a touch of super glue or the fly tying version zap a gap to permanently secure the thread to the shank of the hook. This will prevent twisting or sliding of your Buck tail bundle. Second tip....once your buck tail is finished coat the thread wraps with clear fast set epoxy to build up a protective coat over the exposed threads so the first pike you catch does not cut the tying thread and start your buck tail coming untied and falling apart. Third tip.....go light on the buck tail overall since it’s highly floatable, too much will alter the action of any lure, spoon, spinner, etc..... I usually add a little red Krystal flash and tie buck tail dressed trebles with red GSP. A little red is always a good fish attractor. Good luck. Fly tying and stream trout fishing are two of my life’s passions.

As long as you’re on the bad side with your wife, get some polyester thread from her sewing kit and use that. There is zero stretch and ties really nice. As far as fingernail polish, I would say no. Go to just about any sporting good store and buy the correct sealant. It coats and seal the thread and gives a shine on the thread.

Here where I live (River Falls, WI) there are a lot of very good fly tiers who tie bucktail flies for pike and musky. Some of them are using craft fur and other synthetics in stead of, or in some cases in addition to, bucktail. The material does not float nearly as much as the bucktail and is available at most craft shops in an amazing array of colors. I've tied flies for over 60 years but this is a new thing for me and it's been fun learning some new techniques. As mentioned above, I would stick with thread that is meant for fly tying. Also, the UV cure adhesives work well as an alternative to epoxy.

Thanks everyone who replied to my post. Good sound advice and a couple of tips to boot. As far as raiding my wife's sewing basket, not a good idea she knows where I live and where I sleep. I went to a fabric store and bought some sewing thread for sewing "heavy jackets, and outdoor furniture" it came in lots of colors and a couple of 100 yards on each spool. I don't have any special color of bucktail I use on my jigs, mix and match, contrast, gaudy, with flashabou or not, I even tied in a little short piece of red yarn in with the tail. They are really pretty, I have no idea if they will catch fish but worse case I will take my knife and cut it off and use the plain jig. FRED