Beads perform two functions: get the fly lower in the water (if not all the way to the bottom) and/or add some flash to the fly. For the Effective Fly Box, I use beads in a shiny color and in a dark color. For the shiny color, I prefer gold, but copper or silver are valid choices also. A metallic pink even works for some of your more flamboyant trout. It doesn’t get darker than black, so I go with that, but I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about whether nickel or painted or matte finish is the finest expression 1.

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In terms of material, I want my anchor nymphs to get down damn quick so I use metal beads. When I don’t want a fly to go rapidly (if ever) to the bottom I use a glass bead. That adds the flash I’m looking for without really adding weight. I can tie a glass bead nymph behind a tungsten bead nymph and it’s going to ride up above its anchor for the entire drift. Color recommendations stand for the glass beads- something light and something dark. I dig gold and root beer.

The other benefit of tying nymphs with beads is that they do a great job hiding the last material you put on without the added pain in the ass of tying a perfect thread head. Always avoid doing that when you can.

Go to your fly shop and buy some glass 2 and tungsten 3 beads. Get two sizes, one for your little nymphs and one for your bigger nymphs. Grab tungsten beads in a much bigger size for wooly buggers. Get a couple colors of each type and size. Walk out with 10 bags in total [3] and don’t spend time thinking about how the quantities don’t match the hooks. Classic hot dog and bun inefficiency.

  1. That’s not entirely true, the painted beads do tend to chip for me…maybe there’s a product out there that wins the battle with the stones in the river but I haven’t found it. ↩

  2. If your shop has Killer Caddis glass beads, grab them. I have avoid brand recommendations, but these glass beads are super uniform. Most other glass beads, there’s usually no two the same size. The glass beads pictures above are another brand and for that I am ashamed. ↩

  3. At this moment in time Tungsten is on the verge of becoming Unobtainium. Don’t tie less because you have to take out a car loan for tying beads, use alternate ways of weighting your flies or maybe learn to love split shot. ↩