Balsa Frog
Hook: 1-1/0 Eagle Claw gold Aberdeen hook
Body: Balsa wood, painted with top coat of epoxy
Eyes: Painted, red with black pupil
Thread: Yellow monocord, 3/0
Tail: Yellow crimped nylon and 4 chartreuse saddle hackles (tied splayed)
A cylinder of balsa wood 3/4" diameter by 1 inch high was punched from balsa wood using a sharpened brass tube.
The cylinder was split lengthwise down the middle using a small pocket knife. A small rectangle of 3/32" thick balsa wood
3/4" by 1" was cut. A groove to accept the hook shank was filed down the middle of the half cylinder. The hook
was then place in the groove and the the 3/4" by 1" rectangle of 3/32" balsa wood was epoxied on using 5 minute epoxy. The half cylinder and
rectagle were held together with masking tape until the epoyx cured. Once the epoxy cured, the masking tape was removed and the
body shaped using a rattail file and a wood rasp. Final sanding and smoothing was done using emery boards. The
body was then painted in the color scheme desired and the eyes painted. The body was then topcoated with 5 minute
epoxy and the body put on an epoxy wheel while curing. After the epoxy had completely cured, yellow crimped yellow nylon and 4
chartreuse saddle hackles (tied splayed) were tied on to make the tail.
Mark Delaney
.
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