Cone heads are commonly used to finish the head of a tube fly. They can also be used to finish the head on shanks or hooks, or as a support for wings. Cone heads are usually made of brass, and thus add weight to the fly. For additional weight cone heads made of tungsten can be used. Cone heads can also be added to a fly while fishing, by sliding it on the leader, thus allowing the angler to increase depth.
At Skeena River Fly Supply, cone heads are classified in 4 categories: 1. Standard recess cone heads, 2. Deep recess cone heads, 3. STOUT profile cone heads, and 4. Large hole cone heads.
1. Standard recess cone heads. These cone heads are made of brass and have a “standard” amount of recess. The recess allows coverage of materials and thread at the head of the fly. Some inferior cone heads will have a recess that is very shallow and poses issues with the coverage of the thread and materials. It can be very frustrating to find out that the cone head does not fit after finishing a fly. Make sure that you use cone heads with ample recess to cover your needs. Of further importance in cone heads is the quality of the paint job. Many cones will flake and loose their paint fast. A good quality cone head should have a long lasting paint cover. A clear protective layer can be applied to make the paint last longer, but this will be extra time spent behind the vice and is not an alternative for a paint with good metal adherence. The standard recess cone heads have a 2mm centre hole. This will fit our 1.8mm tubes, hooks and shanks.
2. Deep recess cone heads. Also made of brass, these cone heads have a deeper and wider recess. These deep recess cone heads are ideal for covering very bulky heads and for covering bottle type tubes that have a flange. The deeper and wider recess will nicely fit over the flange and create a very strong, durable finish. Like the standard recess cone heads the deep recess cone heads have a 2mm centre hole to fit 1.8mm tubes.
3. STOUT profile cone heads. These are a custom design cone heads with a wider shoulder and shorter height, thus giving it a stouter appearance. They have a fairly deep recess, but not as deep as the deep recess cone heads. They were designed to give a more appealing appearance to flies with bulky front wings, or heavy tapers, such as the Franc ‘n Snaeldas, Temple Dog style flies, Francis, etc. It is a very elegant looking cone head. The centre hole is 2mm.
4. Large hole cone heads. These cones were designed for use with our widely used 3mm plastic tubes. The centre hole is 3.2mm rather then 2mm. The obvious advantage is that there is no need to insert a 1.8mm tube in order to finish the fly. The materials can simply be tied on and finished with a large hole cone head, straight on the 3mm tube. This result in a very strong fly. For those who fish flies near the bottom regularly this is a great advantage. The cone heads of flies tend to get wedged under rocks at times, and flies tied on a 1.8mm tube will have a much higher rate of failure then flies tied with a large hole cone head directly on the 3mm tube.
