Semperfli Dirty Bug Yarn

 I really like tying with yarn, I always have. I've still got some yarn that my Grandfather gave me way back in the early 1970's. He liked yarn for flies too. 

I have found that yarn body kebari, particularly wool yarn, cast easier for me. The wool yarn absorbs water readily, making the fly heavier in the air and makes it easier to cast and turn over. Water saturated wool yarn does sink, as wool has a specific gravity of 1.31 (slightly denser than water), but for all intents and purposes a water saturated wool fly is mainly helpful when casting. 

For the past many years I have preferred multicolored wool yarn such as Jamieson's 2-ply Spindrift. This yarn, introduced to the tenkara world by Chris Stewart of TenkaraBum and then popularized by Tenkara Guides, LLC of Salt Lake City, Utah, makes a superior fly tying material. But recently I have started using a new tying yarn, Semperfli Dirty Bug Yarn. 

As stated by Semperfli, "We call it Dirty Bug Yarn because it has the multiple colors found on insects and invertebrates, whether you are tying shrimps, baetis nymphs, caddis nymphs it does not matter. We decided to blend multiple color materials into Dirty Bug Yarn creating a 2 ply yarn so that you can tie larger nymphs or split the 2 ply yarn for smaller flies." 

I picked up some spools from DRAGONtail Tenkara and have been tying with it since. Dirty Bug Yarn handles really well. It's easy to tie with, making body profile shape easy to control. It can be split into two plies making it ideal for tiny wool body flies. And it can be carded out into fibers to be used as dubbing. Dubbing wool fibers works really well, and if you haven't tried that techniques, you should!

Dark jun kebari. Abdomen tied with Semperfli Dirty Bug Mottled Chronomid yarn. 

Gnarly Fly variant. Abdomen tied with Semperfli Dirty Bug Caddis Pupa yarn. 

Are there any downsides to Dirty Bug Yarn? Well, yes, cost. Compared to the overall cost of larger skeins, Dirty Bug Yarn is modestly expensive for the amount to get, 5 yards. But then again, it being on small spools makes it easier to store and if you only want enough of one color you don't have to buy more than you need. 

Will Dirty Bug Yarn replace all my other wool tying yarns? Probably not. But there are some colors that Semperfli has that I really like (like Caddis Pupa, shown above) and I'll for sure be using those!

If you like tying kebari or traditional soft hackle flies with yarn too, then get yourself some Dirty Bug Yarn. I think you'll be as pleased as I am!