what have i got myself into??

[ryan666]

well i got around to picking up a fly tirein kit,and have sat playing with it and tied some thing that resembles ...well some thing lol now i am having a few problems,the main one being the thread keeps breaking as i wind it onto the hook,no matter how gentle i am? what am i doing wrong guys?

and i would alos like to say that theres deff some skill to this lark

[Wee Jimmy]

Originally Posted by ryan666

well i got around to picking up a fly tirein kit,and have sat playing with it and tied some thing that resembles ...well some thing lol now i am having a few problems,the main one being the thread keeps breaking as i wind it onto the hook,no matter how gentle i am? what am i doing wrong guys?

and i would alos like to say that theres deff some skill to this lark

Nae worries Ryan everyone busts the thread at first.It just takes a wee while to develop your touch.I wouldny jump into the deep end straight away with 8/0 or finer though.Break yerself in gently (no pun intended) with 6/0 first......You wont regret tying your own......good luck...

PS Make sure that you mask the hookpoint in the jaws of the vice,you may cutting the thread on it.

[haddock]

Try getting a ceramic or ceramic lined bobbin holder if you haven't already, metal tubes can be a bit rough and damage the thread. I got a veniards one for around £7 that does the job fine though I still need to give the legs a bit of a stretch now and again as they grip the uni size spools a bit tightly, could also be the problem with yours.

Other than that, I always end up having to either start again or perform a recovery operation after catching the point of the hook halfway through tying!

[ryan666]

Originally Posted by haddock

Try getting a ceramic or ceramic lined bobbin holder if you haven't already, metal tubes can be a bit rough and damage the thread. I got a veniards one for around £7 that does the job fine though I still need to give the legs a bit of a stretch now and again as they grip the uni size spools a bit tightly, could also be the problem with yours.

Other than that, I always end up having to either start again or perform a recovery operation after catching the point of the hook halfway through tying!

cheers ill pick one up and see if that helps some.

[farmerblob]

try not to have too much thread out at time so that you keep having to pull off the bobbin otherwise the end of the tube is rubbing the same place on the thread all the time if you see what i mean

[oddgitt]

Ditto to all of the above.

And in my limited experience, I'd also recommend Turrall products, for your marabou particularly, rather than Lureflash, and always use less dubbing than you think.

My nymphs so far have been reet fatties!!

Hoping to see some of your flies down at Cleatham soon Phil!!

[ryan666]

Originally Posted by oddgitt

Ditto to all of the above.

And in my limited experience, I'd also recommend Turrall products, for your marabou particularly, rather than Lureflash, and always use less dubbing than you think.

My nymphs so far have been reet fatties!!

Hoping to see some of your flies down at Cleatham soon Phil!!

lol i know what u mean about the fat nymphs just tryed one and it looks like it ate a trout
been some good dry fly action at cleatham m8,u need to pop over

[ickypimp]

Life will never be quite the same again, family pets and kids toys take on new perspectives, you will find yourself in haberdasheries, craft shops and routing through tins of sewing stuff at car boot sales for forgotten cards of 477 or "that shade" of embroidery thread . there doesnt appear to be an effective treatment... you are doomed...

[iamasmith]

In the meantime try unrolling the thread from the bobbin with your hand rather than pulling it off under tension as you tie. Many bobbins are quite tight and my first one wasn't particularly great so I got into the habit of doing this.

I actually prefer the tighter bobbins now because I have better control over the tension of the thread... maybe that's not strictly right but it works for me.

The other thing that is easily done is when winding past the point of the hook you can get micro snags on the thread by slightly grazing it on the point which often fatally weakens it as you notice later. Just be mindful of this when you are wrapping and possibly even try repositioning the hook in the vice (if small enough) so that the point isn't prominent until you get used to avoiding it.

Good luck anyway mate, very satisfying to catch on a fly you tied yourself ^^