What it is
Hareline Evazote Foam is a sheet of closed-cell, cross-linked ethylene copolymer foam for fly tying. It’s very buoyant, tough for its thickness, and because it’s closed-cell it doesn’t soak up water like open-cell craft foam. At the bench it cuts and shapes cleanly, and you can draw on it with a permanent marker without the ink bleeding out.
What to tie with it
Use it for cut-and-stack bodies on dry flies and terrestrials, and for shaped bodies on hoppers and other big floating bugs. It’s also a go-to for popper and gurgler-style bodies where you want a lot of flotation with a clean silhouette. Common tying moves are stacking sheets, trimming to profile, and forming a smooth top with careful cutting and shaping.
Flies and the fish they're for
This foam shows up in hopper-style and other terrestrial patterns that get fished for trout in rivers and freestones when bugs are falling or getting blown in. It also fits gurgler-type surface flies that are fished for bass in lakes and rivers, and for saltwater fish like redfish when you want a floating baitfish-ish wake on the surface. For popper-style surface bugs, it’s a natural material choice for largemouth and smallmouth bass anywhere you’d normally throw a popping bug.