Thanks to all the advice and help I have recieved from this forum I am about ready to tie my first fly, but I am confused about hackles, I will be tying mostly dry flies so cock hackles will come into the flies I tie, but on Utube the guy tying a dry hackle skinned some of the actual feather sides off then pushed all the hackles back against the grain so to speak and caught the hackle in on thickest bit of the stem, then he finished off cutting off the actual feather tip that he was holding with hackle pliers, , but I have seen in my bible that you just tie the hackle in with the thick end of the feather and wind it round holding the top of the actual feather, so it is wound on with the feather sides going on the way that is started, Well I am sure that is a right mix up so can anyone tell me maybe a photo even how to tie a dry hackle, do you push the feather back against the grain or use it as it comes. I will stop there as I am even more confused now . . . .

As with most things there is more than one way to tackle a job!

Simplest advice if you're starting out by tying a simple hackled dry is to -

1. Choose a hackle of the correct size for the fly you're tying - again a personal choice but say 1.5 or 2 times the gape of the hook.
2. Strip any softer webby fibres from the base of the hackle - depends on the quality of the hackle you're using.
3. Strip a few extra fibres from the right side of the feather (assuming you're right handed and wind the hackle clockwise) - this helps prevent trapped fibres 'splaying' with the first turn or so.
4. Make sure that what you're going to be winding the hackle over has a level thread base.
5. By all means stroke the hackle fibres back to make them stand out at right angles to the stem.
6. Tie the hackle in with the shiny side toward you / facing forward.
7. Grip the tip of the hackle in your pliers and wind the hackle forward - remembering that in the majority of cases, 'less is more' in fly tying.
8. Tie off and whip finish ..... simples!


Now, there are many variations of this that are completely acceptable or desirable depending upon what you're trying to achieve - for instance, tying ther hackle in by its tip, tying it in behind the eye and winding backwards then wind the tread through the hackle for extra security etc. etc.

Give it a go, try as many techniques as you can ... lots of ways to skin a cat!

(PS - Maybe best to post in the Fly Tying section of the Forum.)

__________________
[I]"I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish, except that we like it and it makes us think and feel."[/I] Roderick L Haig-Brown

[url]www.wildfly.net[/url]

[url]http://www.gameanglinginstructors.co.uk/[/url]

With dry fly hackles the perceived wisdom is to tie in the hackle by the thicker end of the stem fairly close to the eye of the hook after having stripped off the softer rubbish. The shiny side of the feather should face forwards. Take the tying thread back to the start of the body. Wind on the turns of hackle using hackle pliers or your fingers, whichever is easier, until you reach the tying thread. Secure the tip of the feather with a couple of turns and then wind the thread back to the eye in open turns - three or four is the most you'll need. If you haven't already trimmed off the tip and butt of the hackle stalk do so now using fine sharp scissors. Wind another three or four turns at the head and whip finish. Trim off the tying thread plus any stray hackle fibres.

The alternative is to tie in the thick end of the stalk at the point at which you complete the body with the shiny side facing forwards. Wind the thread up to the eye followed by as many close turns of hackle as you need to achieve the desired result. Tie in, trim off and finish as before. The only disadvantage of this method is that you don't have those three or four turns of thread through the hackle for additional security.

For flies down to 18, you can strip off the fluffy stuff simply by pulling it off.

For flies smaller than an 18 you might prefer to snip off the fibres leaving a rough comb of stubble to tie in the hackle.

For fore and aft hackles you can simply treat the rear hackle in the same way you would the one at the front.


richard

__________________
Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

Thank you very much and I see what to do a daft question for you do you wind the feather round the hook shank so the feather is side ways to the shank and catch it it on the side.
I never realised there was a fly tying forum and thankx for that I wanna advertise for someone to give me some one to one for a few hours think I could learn a lot from actual seeing, thankx for the reply and this will help me no end . . Jack PS- I have written down hor you explained to do it.

Thank you Bob and I can see what to do and I will have a go, I am amazed how much help and advice one gets on this site, no one seems to think you Ought

to know how to do things, the first method sounds the best and I can see a few turns on the hackle will help a lot. Many thnkks for your help. Jack