agn54 0 Report post Posted August 16, 2009 When tying in hackles for shoulders along the side of the hook shank as you would do with thin grizzly hackles on some decievers, what is the best way to keep the stem of the feather from spinning so the feather lays flat against the fly rather than turned out? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Hard 0 Report post Posted August 16, 2009 flaten the stem of the feather where you are going to tie it in by using flat surfaced pliers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Futzer 0 Report post Posted August 16, 2009 What Joe said, and/or tie Matuka's with a rib of wire or nylon to hold the wing to the hook. Cheers, Futzer. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted August 17, 2009 Thanks for the help. Flattening the stem sounds like a great idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted August 17, 2009 feathers have a natural curl to them so wouldnt you want to tie in the feather with the dull side toward the hook shank and the shiny side out?? how does flattening the stem at the tie in point prevent the feather from no longer curling?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted August 17, 2009 feathers have a natural curl to them so wouldnt you want to tie in the feather with the dull side toward the hook shank and the shiny side out?? how does flattening the stem at the tie in point prevent the feather from no longer curling?? It's not the curling of the feather that's the problem, I'm tying thin hackles as flanks or sides on a baitfish pattern so there isn't much curl. The feather has a tendency to spin when I'm tying it in so rather than lay flat against the side of the fly, the top edge of the hackle juts out and it lays at an angle to the side of the fly rather than flat against it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Knisely 0 Report post Posted August 18, 2009 Another method: Clip the feathers to length, do NOT trim the barbs along the stem, hold them all together in position, take a couple loose turns of the thread, then pull up or down to tighten the wraps while holding the feathers in position. The untrimmed barbs help hold everything together and make for a durable wing. This is a Dave Whitlock type method and works very well for fishing flies. For display-type flies, where thread wraps and Spartan neatness is a concern, go with flattening the stem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mayfly09 0 Report post Posted September 22, 2009 make sure you got a good foundation to tye the feather onto. if the the stem is quite thick and thicker than the hook it seems they might be rollin if so try a better foundation, and tye one at a time with a few loosish turns, place them then tye down to house them tight lines Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
