Dry fly hackle

[HookedOnFish! 0]

What is the trick to getting dry flies to sit properly on the water as opposed to tilting to one side. Tying some Griffith gnats and they want to “fall over” when resting on water. May not be a big deal but want proper presentation. Thanks. 

[flytire 0]

a griffiths gnat is tied "in the round"

so i dont see how it would "fall over"??

maybe your leader tippet is the problem

on a dry fly with wings, the wing height can be a problem

 

[cphubert 0]

agree with flytire's comments the only other possibility I can think of is the hackle is oversized not allowing the hook to keel it would be helpful to post a picture of the fly.

[Poopdeck 0]

I can barely see a griffiths gnat let alone know if it’s leaning. Perhaps you’re simply watching it roll until the hook point is facing down which is what the extra weight of the hook point will do. Regardless, I’m envious of your eyesight. 

[SilverCreek 0]

14 hours ago, HookedOnFish! said:

What is the trick to getting dry flies to sit properly on the water as opposed to tilting to one side. Tying some Griffith gnats and they want to “fall over” when resting on water. May not be a big deal but want proper presentation. Thanks. 

What size are you tying?

[Bryon Anderson 0]

This is the primary reason why I tie almost all my dry flies parachute style (with the hackle wound around an upright "wing post" of either calf tail hair, deer hair, or synthetic yarn so that the hackle fibers radiate out from the wing post and lie parallel to the hook shank). Collar-hackled (or Catskill style, as they're sometimes called) dry flies are things of beauty, but I always had a terrible time getting them to alight on the water correctly. Like you said, they seemed to always want to list to one side, or sometimes even alight completely upside-down. Very frustrating. 

Parachute dries land correctly for me about 99% of the time. I also believe that they more accurately represent the profile of a mayfly when viewed from below -- at least to my eye, they do. 

The few dry flies that I do still tie with the Catskill style collar hackle are mainly patterns like the Humpy, "Wulff" patterns with divided hair wings, and a couple of caddis patterns; on these, I trim the hackle tips flush with the hook point. This helps significantly with getting them to land and float correctly, and the fish don't seem to mind.