So just about everyone I know in central PA is excited about the Brood X cicada hatch that is supposed to happen late spring this year. I've been tying up some of Curtis Fry's "Project Cicadas" which is a pattern I really like because it is not overly large, looks realistic, is fairly simple to tie, and has a wide hook gap, which is key to being able to hook fish on some of these large foam patterns. Several guys I know have been tying the same or similar patterns and I have been in a few conversations on how to create eyes for the Project Cicada or other patterns. If you watch Curtis's video (linked above) you will see he singes 40lb mono and colors with a Sharpie. This works great but I have slightly modified the method to include the use of UV resin. With all the colors of UV resin out there now, you can get pretty creative.
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| Two tone eyes using plastic bead and UV resins. |
Here is a short video showing what I do to make the eyes for these cicadas. I like to use a sharpie to create a two tone eye. I've also done the same method in the video but then added a small plastic bead to the back end and coated with clear UV resin. This gives a cool effect, but I feel those eyes end up being a bit large for this pattern.
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| Click Image for Video |
