Fly Tying Tuesday: DIY Rubber Legs

Various sizes and diameters inside as well

The insides of my old bungee cord

As a novice fly-tyer (and very frugal individual), I often struggle to justify spending $4.00 for a pack of rubber legs.  I know, it's not that bad.  But if you are purchasing a number of colors along with many other tying material required, that can be a pretty big expense as a newbie.  For that reason, I've been searching for ways to "cheat the system" while getting fly-tying materials for little or nothing.  That is why I was so pumped to stumble upon a great source for rubber legs while cleaning out the garage last weekend.  

I use bungee cords all of the time.  Whether I'm strapping down the boat cover, securing camping supplies on the trailer, or filling a tube-less tire, bungee cords are convenient, cheap and readily available.  The elastic material of a bungee cord is usually made of natural or synthetic rubber strands bound together by a fabric covering (we're not talking about the thick black cords here).  These strands are in large number, extensible (great stretch factor), durable and exist in varying diameters within a single bungee.

Extraction was relatively easy.  I was in my Spouse Approved Location (SAL) to remove the nylon cover.  This was a messy process with a knife.  I'd use an exacto next time around.  While I've yet to utilize these while tying, I can't wait to explore the possibilities.  I'll be dying them next week and using them in some articulated streamer patters I'm tying for the Bighorn River in April.  I'd be interested to hear if these have worked for you in the past, or if there are some other ways you've "cheated the fly-tying system" to create effective patters with unconventional materials.  My unconventional list of materials is growing all the time.  I'll post it when it gets large enough so we can all compare notes.  What is your favorite?