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| Better Way to Wrap Hackle; info | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 20 2009, 10:41 AM (22 Views) | |
| Final | Jan 20 2009, 10:41 AM Post #1 |
Salvelinus namaycush
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A Better Way to Wrap Hackle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hans Weilenmann Traditionally, the following methods of hackling are recommended: After completing the body of the fly, tie in the dry fly hackle by the butt and wrap it in touching turns forward toward the eye. There, trap the tip of the hackle with the thread, and whip-finish. For hackled wet flies, especially soft-hackled flies, the traditional method is to tie the feather in by the tip, make a few turns toward the eye, catch the butt of the feather, trim it, and finish the head. There are several problems with these traditional hackling techniques: When tying a dry fly in this fashion, the stem and hackle fibers have to be tied down at the eye, making for a bulky, larger than necessary head. When tying a wet fly, the problem becomes even more obvious, as a thicker stem has to be tied down, especially with body feathers like partridge or grouse. The natural taper in a feather's fiber length (increasing from tip to butt) means the longest fibers are closest to the body, shortest ones closest to the eye. This reverse "cone" effect is far from ideal. If the stem breaks under the rigors of fishing, the whole hackle unravels. I suggest a better way to hackle flies which eliminates these problems. Attach the thread tight up against the eye of the hook in three partly overlapping turns. Tie the hackle in by its butt on top of the shank with the tip extending forward over the eye of the hook. It will be secured as thread is wound toward the bend. Trim the hackle butt and tag end of the thread one-third of a hook-shank length from the eye. Tie in the tail, ribbing, body, and thorax as usual, leaving space for the hackle. Leave the thread where the body and hackle will meet. Wind the hackle in touching turns toward the body. Then catch the hackle tip with the thread and wind the thread forward through the hackle being careful to bind down the stem but none of the fibers. Making a slight zig-zag motion with the thread will help move the hackle fibers out of the way. Finish the fly with a three-turn whip-finish. When you are finished, you should notice some advantages to this method: As there is no material to secure near the eye of the hook, you should end up with a small, barely present head. The thread wound through the hackle crosses the hackle stems, making the fly more durable. Because the hackle is wrapped away from the eye of the hook, the hanging bobbin is not in the way, removing the need to 'hand over' the hackle pliers. As a result, it is much easier to maintain even tension as the hackle is wrapped around the shank. |
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1:46 AM Nov 30
