Some things in fly tying just belong together—like bucktail and a classic Clouser Minnow. Woolly Buggers would not be the same without Marabou.
When it comes to the salt and tying for surface action, nothing beats foam and flash. They're best mates. Bass love them too.
It's beautifully simple: One keeps your fly afloat, the other makes sure fish see it. It’s a combination that’s deadly for poppers, flippers, NYAPs, and crease flies.
Whether you're chasing bass in the shallows, striped bass in the surf, or trevally on the reef, these flies bring out the kind of aggressive strikes that makes surface fly fishing what it is. Wild!
But to get them right, you need to know how to work with foam and flash effectively. Read on for some tips:
Foam for Buoyancy, Flash for Attraction
The beauty of foam is that it floats like a cork and takes a beating. It makes poppers pop, sliders glide, and crease flies ride just right on the surface. But foam alone isn’t enough—it needs something to bring the fly to life. That’s where flash comes in. A little shimmer suggests movement, signals distress, and grabs attention from fish that might otherwise pass up a meal.
If you’re tying poppers, flippers, NYAPs, or crease flies, getting the balance between foam and flash right is the difference between a fly that moves like a stunned baitfish and one that just looks like a chunk of foam.
How to Make Foam and Flash Work for You
Poppers and flippers work because they get noticed—whether that’s from a loud, slapping pop or a soft, fleeing ripple. You don’t want them sinking, and you don’t want them too flashy—you just want enough to imitate a struggling baitfish.
• Foam Choice: Rainy’s Foam Popper Bodies make popper construction easy. Pre-formed bodies mean you can focus on perfecting the placement and the amount of flash in the tail.
• Flash Tip: Use Krystal Flash sparingly in the tail—just enough to suggest movement. Too much, and the fly looks unnatural.
• Tying Tip: Secure the foam body with super glue and thread wraps before painting or sealing it. This keeps it from twisting on the hook after a few violent strikes.
NYAP (Not Your Average Popper)
The NYAP was originally designed by fly tyer and legendary Indian Ocean guide, James Christmas to target giant trevally in the Seychelles. Its simple yet highly effective (and easy to cast) design proved deadly on aggressive saltwater predators. This fly is as basic as they come: A strong hook, a pre-shaped, aerodynamic foam body, a tail made from stiff natural fibres and then some flash.
• Foam Choice: The pre-shaped NYAP body is best, but you need a strong hook like the Gamakatsu SL12S Big Game Hook to handle big fish.
• Flash Tip: Depending on what species you're tying for, few strands of Flashabou, or krystal flash, or lateral scale in the tail add just enough shimmer to make the fly stand out.
• Tying Tip: Use Nano Silk to secure the foam without adding bulk—this keeps the fly lightweight and easier to cast.
Crease Flies
Crease flies are a perfect mix of popper and baitfish imitation. They float high but create a subsurface disturbance, making them deadly for stripers, bluefish, and even largemouth bass.
• Foam Choice: Use 2mm Foam Sheets, cut and folded over the hook shank to create a keel effect. A small cylinder inside the head goes a long way to shaping the fly and adding floatation. Step-by-step coming soon.
• Flash Tip: Less is more. (As usual with fly tying...) Make a tail of Steve Farrar Blend or bucktail and a bit of Krystal Flash.
• Tying Tip: Finish with stick-on eyes and a coat of flexible UV glue of your choice, such as Wapsi Flex Seal to add durability and realism.
Working with foam and flash isn’t hard, but like anything in fly tying, getting it just right takes some trial and error. The best way to learn? Tie a few, fish them, and see how they perform. You’ll quickly figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what needs tweaking. Of course foam has many applications across smaller, freshwater patterns too. More on that in a separate blog, soon.