Global Fly Fisher, Eyes, beads, and cones - history, usage, tying and fishing weighted flies.
Beads are the classical way to add weight and shine to a fly.
The beads as we know them have been around for ages, and their history probably go centuries back. Many of the most common bead head patterns use the brass or gold bead, which is widely available in many sizes. Almost any wet fly can be equipped with such a bead - if not for beauty then for effective, deep fishing. Some fishers also advocate that the shine of the bead will be an added attraction for the fish, which does not seem an unlikely theory. The very common brass beads come in many sizes Most of the beads have fairly large holes through them in order to facilitate passing the bead over the barb and the bend of the hook.