Homemade Foam Indicators

Borrowing from Trout Predator’s Yarn indicator tutorial I made some foam indicators using the same techniques for the most part, with my own tweaks for a couple things.

1) Starting with some sheet foam, O rings, and scissors…

2) Cut some foam strips about 1/8 inch wide and 3 inchs long.

3)Using scissors or some needle nose pliers hold open the O ring…

4)Insert the foams strips by opening the scissor jaws (needle nose pliers work well too) and slip the ring over strip ends and then rolling it up a ways and then pull the scissors out.

5) Fold the strips over and use a larger O ring and repeat the first O ring step.

A finished indicator.

That’s the quick down and dirty way to do it. An alternative and probably more durable way to do it is to use thread instead of the last O ring and tie it off and seal the thread with head cement or something similar. I prefer these because when you cinch up on the thread it spreads the foam out more.

I used a carpenters quick clamp to hold the foam together to get my first wraps of thread started.

After that I held it in hand and made a few wraps and a couple half hitches then sealed the thread with head cement.