Dallasblues

Well said!

I tie ugly Woolly Buggers. I’ve caught some nice trout and bass on these homely things though. But when I compare mine to the kind I see at a fly shop I notice one major difference. The hackle that’s wrapped around the professional buggers look nice, proportional, and fairly uniform going from eye to the bend of the hook. Using the basic saddle hackle I find online at fly shops, mine don’t look anything at all like that. The biggest difference is the size of fibers of the feather. The fibers are so much longer! Are these nice, pro-grade, buggers being tied with something different? Or are they trimming the fibers shorter after wrapping them? Does any of this make sense? I’m just curious. I catch fish on my ugly ones but I’d sure like to tie a pretty one someday.

That’s good to know! All I have is a bag of loose Hungarian Partridge feathers... most of which aren’t very good. I kinda have to dig around to find something close to usable. Once I’m more confident in my tying skills I’d like to get a good partridge skin. I’m sure better hackle could be taken from that.

I tried this a couple nights ago and it seemed to work fairly well!

I’ll try to get some better pics of it tonight after work!

Hey folks. I tied this one up last night after seeing a nice YouTube tutorial of a Peacock & Partridge soft hackle. Any criticism... constructive or belligerent... is welcome. 😂

Hey I’m all for it! I knew it was pretty screwball when I posted it. Ha ha!

Well I’m a barber. Hair is pretty much unlimited for me anyway!

This guy looks like he has something to offer. He was kinda brindle up top. 😂

Oh I get all colors in here on a busy Saturday. There’s lots of grey and white on the floor today. 😂

Oh I wouldn’t think of selling it really. Just got my own use.

Yeah. That was a bit of sarcasm that doesn’t translate to text very well. Ha ha! Im thinking I might give it a try this weekend to see what happens.

Okay... hear me out on this one. I’m new here, new to tying, and have a cornucopia of dumb ideas and questions to ask. I’m also a barber by trade. Looking down at the floor after a day of cutting hair made me wonder... can human hair be used in fly tying? If so, I’m sitting on a gold mine of materials... or at least a few dollars worth. This could just be the ridiculous ponderings of a middle aged mad man but it’s worth asking. Ha! DB

Thank you! I’ll do that!

Yeah... I gave up on those quickly. They just couldn’t grip the fibers well enough anyway. I’ll try that method in the video. I tied a couple today that went alright. I’m sure practice will be the key.

Hey folks! I’m fairly new to tying but have tied a fair amount of woolly buggers and partridge soft hackles with some success. I’ve recently started using pheasant tail. So far I’ve tied a few of basic pheasant tail soft hackles with varying results. I’ve gotta tell ya though... pheasant tail is difficult for me to handle. I’m having a heck of a time keeping the fibers together when wrapping around the shank of the hook. Things separate or just all together come loose from the others. I can’t seem to get a good grip using hackle pliers either. And capturing it with the thread??? Oh man! Things often come unraveled there too. Any tips as to how to turn these fibers without every thing going haywire? Here’s one that wasn’t a complete disaster. Oddly enough it was my first attempt. They got worse after that! Ha! Any input would be appreciated! Thanks!

Thank you Kim! I’m very excited to get to know other fishers and to learn more everyday.

Howdy from the frozen tundra of Texas! I’ve been a fly fisher for a few years now but still consider myself a newbie. Trout streams aren’t particularly convenient to Dallas so my time on the water is fairly limited to trips that require some planning. Even warm water fishing need some forethought for me. Nonetheless I’m having a heck of a good time learning as I go! A year or two ago I decided to try my hand at fly tying to pass the time and have learned a lot so far. I’ve got some Tupperware bins full of the ugliest flies you’ve ever seen! Mangy tails... over wrapped heads... stems sticking out... disproportional dubbing... crazy looking hackle... all of its there. I’ve got one box called the “Butt-ugly Box” and totally intend on fishing those little derelicts when I can. I sure wouldn’t mind having a box of beauties though. Thank heavens for YouTube and books written by Tom Rosenbauer. But dang... they make it all look so easy! I’m really looking forward to learning tips and tricks from all of you. I’m especially curious as how to wrap pheasant tail without a flurry of profanity. But more on that later. Just glad to be here folks! DB