Hackle Help!

[ed hodgson]

I'm relatively new to Fly Tying, but I love it! Nothing better than catching a fish on a fly you've tied yourself, whether it's your own creation or a copy of another fishermen.
More to the point it stops me going mad during the gap between the end and start of the season.
I've been tying for about 10 months now, on and off, but have really got into it this season.
Not just because I'm getting more accustomed to fishing and tying, but because during my first season, I didn't know you could actually tie flies from home (Only been fishing since I was 16), and I bought a mountain of them (needless to say I've managed to work through most of them... ) and are in need of a re-stock.
Now to the point. Occasionally, on a lucky day, I can tie a good hackle that I'm both pleased with and happy with how it looks
However the majority, as always, turns out in a mess.
They're either too thick in the center of the hackle and there are very few fibers on the outside, or the hackle is too long for the body of the fly.
This applies to both Dry and Wet flies, such as Hoppers and March Browns.
If someone has a solution to this I'd be very great full.

Thanks alot,

Ed

[salmonfly51]

Originally Posted by ed hodgson

I'm relatively new to Fly Tying, but I love it! Nothing better than catching a fish on a fly you've tied yourself, whether it's your own creation or a copy of another fishermen.
More to the point it stops me going mad during the gap between the end and start of the season.
I've been tying for about 10 months now, on and off, but have really got into it this season.
Not just because I'm getting more accustomed to fishing and tying, but because during my first season, I didn't know you could actually tie flies from home (Only been fishing since I was 16), and I bought a mountain of them (needless to say I've managed to work through most of them... ) and are in need of a re-stock.
Now to the point. Occasionally, on a lucky day, I can tie a good hackle that I'm both pleased with and happy with how it looks
However the majority, as always, turns out in a mess.
They're either too thick in the center of the hackle and there are very few fibers on the outside, or the hackle is too long for the body of the fly.
This applies to both Dry and Wet flies, such as Hoppers and March Browns.
If someone has a solution to this I'd be very great full.

Thanks alot,

Ed

Hi Ed

Ref measuring a hackle to fit the fly that your tying, there are variuos ways such as.

1. Run your thumb and forefinger down the stem of the selected feather/hackle, this will make the hackle fibres stick out at 90 degrees to the hackle stem. You can then gauge the length of hackle you need, by placing the hackle stem just behind the eye of the fly. Once you have the required length, disgard the remainder and tie in at that point.

2. You can also hold either end of the hackle and bend it in half until it shows you the length of its fibres, then again sit the hackle at the stem just behind the eye until you get the required length. Remember on both occassions you are only measuring one side of the hackle. (See page 36 of the book "Fly Tying for Beginners" by Peter Gathercole) Its for a collar hackle but the first picture will help you. A very good book for wee things like that. Also page 23 of the "Fly Tying Bible" again by Peter Gathercole.

3. Also try leaving enough space for tying the hackle in, so that you can finish the fly. Try tidying up after every turn, your hackle pliers should still hold the hackle and if any fibres that go forward of the eye pull back when required. If you don't, you'll find that you end up tying off and the fibres that are too close to the eye get caught up and are murder to trim off. If your using soft stem hackles such as Metz etc, these hackles can be broken off once your happy with the hackle and it is secure. Hold the thread and move the piece of hackle you want to discard from side to side and it should break off. Don't force it.

Other forum members may have better ways, but these work for me. I have explained them as best as I can.

Hope that helps M8

[krazzed_maggot]

watch Davie McPhail he explains everyting

Kendo

[in the surface]

Ed, if you post some of you're flies whose hackles you aren't happy with, that might help us see exactly what the problem is.
Salmonfly51's advice is very good.

[chris68]

A lot depends on the feathers, if you use a genetic cape then you tend to get better feathers and more consistency than using an Indian cape.

I always found that there was only a few usable feathers on an Indian cape in relation to using a better cape, it would help is you post up some of the flies though and we can help after seeing the evidence

[bill1]

It sounds as if you are winding the hackle on top of previous wraps.
As an exercise, measure your hackle as advised above and then strip off the fibres from one side of the hackle (You have to work out which side - can't really explain in words)
Then wrap the hackle carefully in just touching turns avoiding trapping any previous hackles. Don't try and cram too many turns in.

As suggested. Post a photo of one of the flies you aren't happy with.

[Steve Walker]

It's a relatively expensive way of going about it, but Whiting 100's are a pretty foolproof and convenient way of getting consistently sized good quality hackles in a selection of colours without forking out for huge quantities at once.

They come sized for a particular hook size, and although buying capes will work out cheaper in the long run, if you only really tie flies in a couple of sizes and want a few colours, a couple of packs of these will get you going with no wastage. I bought a couple of packs last year, a 14 and an 18, both containing a mix of ginger, grizzle, black and cream. I meant to pick up some capes when I saw some good deals, but I still haven't got round to it and I've still got some of these feathers left.

[horses50]

If you want to be tying quite a few flies then i would splash out and get either half or full genetic cape i use whitings [not cheap but worth every penny imho] and it will last you years.

[ed hodgson]

thanks alot guys! not had access to the computer for a while due to internet problems, so sorry for the late reply ill try and get a few pictures loaded up tomorrow of my successful hackles on some wet hoppers i've been trying, had a massive amount of success with them when the fish have been high up, especially in orange
Also while i'm on the same problem solving situation, when tying a wingcase, on both dries and wets, what is the best way of doing so? given it ago and kind of got to grips with it but i'm still abit unsure! Again ill post a picture of them up as well for assistance