Spirit River Swiss Straw

Raffia, or "Swiss straw", or Swiss Straw, is very widely used in fly-knitting material.

Basically it is used like any other film material - the backs of the most diverse flies are made, the rudiments of wings, the breasts and the bodies of fly fishing flies.

From the Swiss straw it turns out very beautiful and realistic segmented bodies - wind the body, having previously twisted the straw with a flagellum.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the use of raffia to create wings of dry flies. Keep in mind that this material, after wetting, changes its properties, absorbing water and becoming more plastic, soft and non-rustling. That is, the classic, sticking up, wings mayfly from it are unlikely to be obtained. They will be more precise, but when fishing, they, as a rule, will have a completely different look.