bugger hackles

[troutchaser30 0]

Hey gang,

 

any suggestions on how i can get my woolly bugger hackle/saddle tips to point 45% back toward the bend of the hook rather than straight up?

 

Thanks.

 

TC30

[Frank G. Swarner III 0]

If they are already tied you could try running them under very hot water out of the tap.

 

What type of hackle are you using?

 

Dry fly hackle is hard to get to lay back and not really the preferred hackle for buggers.

 

As you make each turn of hackle, use you thumb and forefinger to "fold" the hackles around the stem. Look around on the internet for "folding hackle."

 

Frank

[Inconnu 0]

You may already be doing this, but I'll tell you what I do.

Tie in a wire ribbing at the tailposition, then do your chenille thing. When chenille is done tie in a long fairly webby (I use somewhere between really webby and dry fly quality) feather at the other end where the chenille body is finished. Wrap your feather back towards the tail and when you get there, hold it in place and wrap your wire rib back around your hackle to hold it in place. When you tie in your feather, make sure the concave side is facing the tail of the flie so the hackle lays back naturally.

[Faster Fish 0]

Nice tip

 

Randy

[Gregg A 0]

Along with the conclave side facing the tail, tie the tip in the feather first. Depending on the feathers your using sometimes you can get away with spreading your hackle wraps out a little bit, and sometimes you will have to make tighter wraps with your hackle.

[Inconnu 0]

If you are wrapping from the back to the front, the tip should be tied in first, but if you are going from the front to the back, you tie it in butt first to get the correct taper.

[boba 0]

This is based on classes with Gary Lafontaine and Jack Gartside, backed up by a discussion with Dave Whitlock at a fly show, plus about 30 years of subsequent experience:

Strip one side of a webby hackle (not dry fly neck hackle - use saddle or hen hackle). Tie in near (not at, unless you like breaking hackle) the tip with the concave side at the 45 degree angle you want near the hook bend and away from you. Counterwind the hackle to the way you wound the chenille. As you wrap forward, stroke the hackle fibers backward toward the bend.

After tying in the tip at the rear, I like to let the thread bobbin dangle until I'm almost finished with winding the hacke forward, then I counterwind the thread to the hackle (wiggle the bobbin as you wrap the thread forward while you do this to avoid trapping the hackle fibers under the thread) forward to the head. This creates a nearly indestructible wooly.