Eye Dumbbell Brass Flytying Weighted brass dumbell / barbell or hourglass eyes to get your flies down 20 per pack (dumbel)
Size (mm) | Weight (g) |
4.0 | 0.37 |
5.0 | 0.65 |
6.0 | 0.85 |
Do you tie your eye under or over the hook shank, this video compares them
Looking for Tungsten dumbel eyes? or painted dumbbell eyes , recessed eyes or nice realistic Ballzeyes. Here's a video on attaching dumbbell eyes to your hook when fly tying.
The best use for the Gold Dumbbell eye is the Steve Austen Fly..
Tying the Steve Austen Fly

Click here for step by step tying instructions
It is simple to tie with a minimum of materials. I tie it with a Ahrex SA280 Minnow size #6, using both brass and tungsten eyes. Please note the eye I have used here is too big for the hook, but facing a deadline and not having the right size hook handy, I had to make do. Lay on a base of coral thread (Danville Flat Waxed) and tie on a small bunch of white calf tail as shown. Cover it with thread as it forms the final body. Instead of calf tail, some artificial fibres or even dog hair will do.
Tie on a gold Eye Dumbbell Brass Flytying (brass or tungsten) making sure it is secure. It this stage you may want to epoxy the body and eye. I had a problem with a fish trashing the thread, so this would be a good idea, they have sharp nippers.
Turn the fly over, and tie in some rootbeer calf tail as shown. I sometimes put some white underneath the rootbeer. Pink can also be used.
I like to put some thread behind this clump to cock the calftail up a bit, but this is not essential. It does help prevent snagging. Build up a head, whip finish and apply epoxy or liquid fusion.