Homemade Silkies

[FishGut]

I hear the Clam Silkies are sold out most everywhere this year. Decided to make my own with glow beads and silk thread. What do ya think?

[hardwater diehard]

Good Job ..detailed list of materials and the process you used to make them.

[FishGut]

Silk thread from fabric store, $5; 60 soft glow beads from the tackle component section, $3; dental floss threader.

Loop the thread around a couple fingers ten or twelve times. Put about 1/4 of the looped silk into the floss threader, and and pull it through the bead. Trim.

Good enough, diehard?

[appleye]

Great idea. I’m going to try with some fly tying krystal flash. Thanks for sharing

[Ole Polanski]

I bet fine maribou would work as well as thread!

[slipperybob]

Back when I was a kid, there were these soft fiber nylon ties that when you unravel them, the make for a nice jig skirt trailer.  I was always saving them thinking of tying them onto some jigs but never did. 

Just like how marabou worked so stuck with that.  Then again found out that wet fibers and metal hooks tend to rust...so I gave up on that for ice fishing.

[esox_xtm]

Nice work FishGut! No reason you couldn't use sliced rubber, silicone skirt pads, flashabou, krystal flash,  no shortage of materials...

Some soft glow beads and a threader (bought or home made) and you're there!

 

[RapShack]

I just did a test with flashabou and it's not really supple enough to get the right effect when it's cut that short.  It would probably still catch fish, but I think something more limber would move better.

[trapper2000]

you  guys  have  good  luck  with those?  do you  use   bait with them?  i myself  question  everything that  clam makes  as i have not had good luck with their  products ....

[kayl]

These look good, too bad I already grabbed a couple of clam ones. The action looks great, now I just need ice!

[FishGut]

They work! First ice outing, first fish on a experiment. I have confidence now.

One thing I'm gonna do is cut back from the 12 strands to about 6 or 8. The threads seemed too bunched up and not  "buggy" enough. Once I used nail clippers and thinned 'em out, they looked a lot sexier in the water

[river_scum]

those look great good job!  you mite try cutting strands different lengths too.  give it a feathered/winged profile. thanks, going to try some.

[esox_xtm]

@FishGut: Did you use the #100 weight thread? The #100 silk I picked up is very thin. I did 14 wraps around a 3/4" piece of thin plastic and cut them open to match the 1.5" overall and 28 threads of the Clam product. Only did a mock up with a hard bead just to see the process. Silicone beads should arrive tomorrow.

[manning1987]

Scheels must have found some sitting in the back. They are back in-stock!

https://www.scheels.com/p/clam-silkie-jig-trailer/19921-15622.html#q=silkies&lang=en_US&start=1

[hawg]

Old thread, new question. I used #100 silk thread. Zero fluff/undulations. I’m searching for super thin size A thread, anyone try it? Clam calls theirs “secret silk”. 🤷

[jtc]

Looks nice. Where are you finding the soft beads?

[Sylvanboat]

Looks nice. Where are you finding the soft beads?

. Check Amazon. They have a bunch.

[hawg]

. Check Amazon. They have a bunch.

Do your fluff out like the real ones? You used #100 thread right? Mine suck.

[hawg]

Does anyone know what the thread is they use on the real ones. JTC, those soft beads are available most real tackle places in the component section.

[jtc]

Yep, got it. On my Christmas shopping list. ( if the girls don’t gift it to me, I do. Wife and I stopped getting gifts for each other several years ago. We got tired of returning 😀)