Foam is a versatile, buoyant material that helps flies float and hold up through repeated fishing. This selection covers sheets, cylinders, bodies and heads from top brands including Hareline, Montana Fly, Rainy's, Semperfli and Wapsi: everything you need for dry flies, terrestrials and creature patterns.
Fly tying foam is the go-to material for buoyancy and durability, helping flies float high and survive repeated fishing. Foam's buoyancy makes it useful for imitating insects that ride the surface, such as mayflies, grasshoppers and other terrestrials, while its toughness helps flies hold up to repeated takes.
Working with foam
Closed-cell foam resists water absorption, making it the choice for buoyant dry flies.
Foam cylinders are easy to work with at any level and come in many sizes and colors.
Foam can be cut and shaped to imitate crabs, frogs, ants and beetles, secured with adhesive or simply with thread.
This collection brings together sheets, cylinders, pre-formed bodies and heads from Hareline, Montana Fly, Rainy's, Semperfli and Wapsi. Whether you are building a high-floating hopper or a foam-bodied terrestrial, you will find the right foam to match the pattern and conditions. For technique, see our post on why foam and flash work so well together and our guide to foam, flash and rubber legs for bass bugs.
What kind of foam floats best?
Closed-cell foam resists water absorption, so it keeps dry flies and terrestrials floating high even after repeated casts.