Tying With Foam
Bart Lombardo

Bart's Home Page

  Closed-cell foam is a material that has long been used for fly tying. This versatile material is readily available and can be found in many forms. It is the ideal material for the fly tyer as it can create a wide variety of flies and bugs for warm water fly fishing. Foam sheets are the most common type of foam, and they available in a wide range of colors and thicknesses. Although a relatively easy material to find, sometimes finding the right color or thickness can be challenging, especially if you are looking for thicker foam or earthy tones like olive.

Foam is the perfect material for creating durable floating flies for all species of fish

Foam sheets come in a wide variety of colors

Foam is foam, right?

​  Is there a difference between the foam you see marketed as "fly foam" in your local fly shop and the stuff you find in the isles of your local craft store or Walmart? In some cases, yes! While the foam available in craft stores will usually work fine in most fly tying situations, there seems to be some foam that performs better than others at the vice. I did not pay much attention to the differences until I started mass producing bodies for my Triangle Bug pattern using a machine designed to cut material like sheet foam. Some foam sheets (denser ones) cut better than others, and sometimes one particular color performed better than others. Perhaps this was a result of the manufacturing process. If you look through the stacks of foam in your local craft store, you will see the differences for yourself. Over time I have learned to pick out foam sheets that suit my needs as a fly tier. 

  The foam available in most fly shops is explicitly selected to meet the needs of a fly tyer. It seems to be denser and a little more durable than some of the stuff found in craft stores. But as I said before, most craft store foam will work just fine for your fly tying needs. One benefit of patronizing your local fly shops is you can also find foam of varying thickness from 1mm sheets of Razor Foam to big blocks used for popper bodies. The only way we can keep these places around is to spend a little money in them from time to time! If you decide to purchase these products in your local craft store, inspect it closely to be sure it meets your needs.

  Foam sheets are not your only option when it comes to fly tying. Pre-cut bodies for ants, bees, spiders, and bugs are available. These products make tying great-looking flies a breeze. Pre-formed popper bodies are also available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

The Triangle Bug is an example of a fly pattern that works well with ordinary craft store foam.

Tips for Fly Tying with Foam
  Foam is a versatile material that is easy to work with, but there are a few things that make your fly tying go a little smoother when working with it.
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  Thread: All thread is not created equal when working with foam. Some threads work better than others when it comes to working with foam. I prefer a thread that I can flatten out to reduce the possibility of cutting the foam. When you untwist the thread, you flatten it increasing its surface area and reducing the thread's potential to slice through the foam. Fine corded threads can cut through thin foam like a hot knife through butter. 

  If you don't have a thread that will flatten, you can reduce this risk by using a heavier thread. Fortunately, when tying warm water flies, we are not concerned about bulk and build-up when tying trout flies. 

  A thicker thread has other benefits besides not cutting through the foam. A heavier thread will allow you to compress the foam easier and with fewer thread wraps. Also, the thread will not break as easily when applying the tension necessary to do this.

Thread Control: When working with foam, the proper use of thread tension is essential. At times light thread tension is needed to softly compress the foam, increasing the pressure with subsequent wraps. Doing this coaxes the foam into position without cutting or distorting it.
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Use of Glue:  Superglue (Cyanoacrylate adhesive) and glues designed explicitly for foam are useful in fly tying. Superglue works well for fusing pieces of foam and setting various components of the fly in place. Both thin liquid types of glue and gels have their uses when fly tying with foam. 

Pre-shaped foam bodies make tying foam flies quick and easy

Proper thread control allows you to compress the foam without cutting it with your thread.

My custom-made glue holder is no longer pretty but it is functional

Use a high-quality cutting mat to protect your work surface when cutting foam

I had River Road Creations design a cutter to stamp out perfectly formed bodies for my Triangle Bug pattern.

  When creating stacked foam bodies made of different foam colors, I will use glue designed specifically for foam. It is easier to apply over a large surface and dries a little slower. I find it easier to glue entire foam sheets together then cut them to shape rather than layering the foam on the fly. If you are not tying dozens of flies at a time, it may make more sense to eliminate this step and stack your foam on the fly as you build it. 

  I prefer to use superglue in a bottle with a brush applicator when working with foam. I use so much of the stuff I had a friend of mine make me a wooden holder that prevents the bottle from tipping over (which makes an awful mess) and allows me to open and close it with one hand. This holder was once a beautiful looking accessory on my fly tying desk, but it looks pretty gnarly these days as it is covered with dried specks of super glue!

Choosing the Right Foam:  As I mentioned earlier, all foam is not created equal. Look for foam that is dense and harder to compress. This type of foam will produce better floating, more durable flies. Recently I discovered the foam currently being offered by a company called Semperfli. This foam looks and behaves a little differently than your basic craft store foam. At first glance, it appears to have a more open cell structure and seems somewhat fragile. This is not the case!  While the foam is lighter than other foam of comparable thickness, it is tough stuff! It compresses easily and is a real pleasure to tie with. It has an interesting texture that creates some cool effects when you use permanent markers to color it.

Cutting Foam: A quality cutting mat is essential for cutting out foam shapes for fly tying. I use a large one on the surface of my fly tying desk. A simple Exacto-style knife and a straight edge such as a thin metal ruler are the best tools for the job. However, if you are cutting a lot of foam, a paper cutter from your local office supply store works great for making uniformly sized strips of foam.

  I often use custom foam cutters to create different shapes for fly tying. In my opinion, the foam cutters made by River Road Creations are the best out there. They produce foam cutters in a wide variety of shapes and sizes available. 

  There are cutters available that will stamp out intricate insect body shapes and wings, even legs for hoppers. I had River Road Creations create a foam cutter to make the diamond-shaped body for my Triangle Bug pattern that works like a charm.

  One of my favorite cutters from River Road is the Gary Krebs Popper Body Cutter. Using foam cylinders, this cutter makes perfectly formed popper bodies. Each cutter set produces three different-sized poppers, and there are three sets available that will create poppers sized for bluegills to bluefish.  

Coloring Foam:  If you can't find the exact color of foam you what for your flies, the good news is that you can easily color it with permanent markers. The color may wear a little thin with repeated dunking in water if you don't lock it in, but I doubt the fish care. I use Loon Soft Head Finish on flies where I want to preserve the color. It dries transparent and flexible and will not cause your colors to run if you have drawn an intricate pattern. 

  Foam allows you to create an endless variety of flies, bugs, and poppers. Foam is a versatile material that is easy to work with and can be found almost everywhere, from fly shops to crafts stores to the padding that protected your last order from Amazon. If you're not tying with foam, you should be. What are you waiting for!

You can add details to your foam flies such as spots or dots with permanent markers