Trimming Hackle

[wrc2121 0]

Hello all,

I'm am new to the site as well as brand new to tying. My question is.. with the whole hackle issue with the hair feathers deal, can you trim hackle down to the appropriate size. I quess what I mean is if I hold my hackles to the guage the smallest I have is a size 10, and I'm trying to tie a size 16. can I just do a little hair cut (so to speak) of the hackle after it has been palmered, Or do I have to pay a ton of cash for the appropriate size, if I can even find them. Any insight is very much appreciated.

 

Rob

 

p.s here is a picture of my first fly. I didn't use a pattern or anything just kind of used the fundamental techniques in order and my mind and this is what I came up with.

[famill00 0]

You absolutely should not "trim" the hackle either before or after it is palmered. It will take away the natural look of the feather. If dry flies are what you are after, you should look for one of the intro packs that whiting makes or get the one that has a half brown and half grizzly cape. You can find the capes right now, if you call around and ask. The hair trend is dying a slow death, so you still wont find any saddles.

 

Hope this helps!

-Forrest

[flytire 0]

its always good to tie with the correct size hackle but fish dont seem to care if the hackle is trimmed on the bottom of the fly to allow it to sit lower on the water so i'll bet they wont care if you trim the rest of the hackle that they dont normally see anyway

 

pretty flies are for the fisherman. ive caught fish when the hackle came completely unwound from the fly. boy do they hammer those!

[skidoosh 0]

Hello all,

I'm am new to the site as well as brand new to tying. My question is.. with the whole hackle issue with the hair feathers deal, can you trim hackle down to the appropriate size. I quess what I mean is if I hold my hackles to the guage the smallest I have is a size 10, and I'm trying to tie a size 16. can I just do a little hair cut (so to speak) of the hackle after it has been palmered, Or do I have to pay a ton of cash for the appropriate size, if I can even find them. Any insight is very much appreciated.

 

Rob

 

p.s here is a picture of my first fly. I didn't use a pattern or anything just kind of used the fundamental techniques in order and my mind and this is what I came up with.

 

Hey Rob,

Welcome. Usually if clipping the hackle is not advised for two main reasons. The first is aesthetic- you eliminate the natural taper and it doesn't look very good. There are exceptions - for instance on Dave's Hopper but usually the hackle is not clipped. The second reason is function. When you eliminate the taper the fly does not float as well on the surface tension.

You can find packs of smaller hackle- for instance the Whiting 100's. I would also recommend looking for Indian Dry Fly Necks which can be had from Jann's net Craft- they have hackles of all sizes on the neck. In this day and age many think you can only use genetically refined hackle which is bunk.

These rules primarily are for dry flies. For streamers like wooly buggers your hackle would work well.

Hope this helps

Mark

[utyer 0]

John Barr does a series of nymph patterns that use over size hackle. The hackle is then trimmed to the lenght he wants on the nymphs. Check out Barr Fliesfor some good patterns using trimmed hackle. They work great, and its a good way to use up oversized hackle.

 

I agree that for looks, trimmed hackle is not as pleasing to the eye, but (especially for sunken flies,) I don't think it will effect the fishability. Dry flies are more of a problem, since the tips of the properly sized hackle will flex against the surface film somewhat, and thereby help support the fly. Trimming the hackle and leaving blunt points won't result in the same look or floatability.

 

For dry flies, try tying patterns that DON'T require any hackle at all. Comparadun stlye patterns work very well, and require NO hackle. Elk Hair or Deer Hair Caddis patterns can be tied without hackle ant still work and float just fine. Find some instructions for both the Comparadun and the X Caddis on Google.

 

I have quite a lot of fine dry fly hackle, but I tie most of my dry fly patterns without hackle at all.

[perchjerker 0]

The earlier statement that "You absolutely should not trim the hackle" is a myth. There are any number of dry fly patterns that call for the hackle to be trimmed. HOWEVER; in these cases, it is NOT trimmed all the way around! Trimming all the hackle off the bottom of the fly is a very old technique for creating dry flies that float flat on the water In fact, many of the older fly angling literature advocated carrying a small pair of scissors afield to perform this function with, should the day's activity warrant it. In other cases, they author advocates cutting a "V" notch out of the bottom hackle for a similar reason. If you pay close attention to a living, crawling fuzzy caterpillar, you will note the the "fuzz" consists of very short, stiff bristles; NOT long filmy hairs. Thus, the best way to mimick them on a wooly worm (the original tie to mimic them) or a Woolybugger is to tie on and palmer an oversize hackle and them trim it. "Utyer" hit the nail on the head! Flies tied thus WILL catch fish; as well as there being specific ways to tie dry flies that float like a cork and that have no hackle at all. In fact; one such style is know as a "No Hackle."

 

True, most dry fly fishers do not trim the hackle at all; but, there is a time and place for everything.

[primitivepete 0]

check out the Coq de Leon flies tied in Spain on a google search...they frequently trim the hackle on dry flies. Unless you are really tying tiny dry flies, I would not think using oversize hackles or triming them would make a lot of difference to a fish, although it seems to be a cultural thing among tyers to trim or not. Most tyers in the US do not trim. One of my best summertime patterns is something like your picture...I was trying to tie a stimulator but only had large saddle hackle. I've caught many fish on that same fly. The more I use it, the uglier it gets, but you can't argue with results.

 

Since the hair extension craze hit, I haven't really tied many hackle flies, except with the cheap, oversized stuff you can get at craft stores. Sometimes I trim it, and most of the time, I either leave it long or tie flies that don't use it. Hoppers, humpies, and sometimes caddis still catch many fish with oversized hackle. Just try it and see...the fish will tell you if they like it, and that's all that matters.

[trez 0]

J Stockard just got some new stuff in from Whiting Farms....

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?&category=75000&start=0

[Spitsdr 0]

On 11/6/2011 at 7:39 AM, famill00 said:

You absolutely should not "trim" the hackle either before or after it is palmered. It will take away the natural look of the feather. If dry flies are what you are after, you should look for one of the intro packs that whiting makes or get the one that has a half brown and half grizzly cape. You can find the capes right now, if you call around and ask. The hair trend is dying a slow death, so you still wont find any saddles.

 

Hope this helps!

-Forrest

I started trimming the bottom after hearing Kelly Galloup mention it.  I started with the Goober Midge and Cluster Midge and it was a success

[flyflinger 0]

As in many fly tying philosophies, there are traditional ideas . . . and notable exceptions.  Generally, dry fly hackles are not clipped unless (as noted above, the bottom is trimmed to allow the fly to sit lower in the surface film).  The untrimmed hackle barbule has a gentle taper that not only looks aesthetically pleasing, but also functionally provides a fine tip to sit gently on the water.  However . . . some flies are designed to achieve a certain look and/or function.  John Barr who is an incredibly successful fisherman and fly designer, clips the tail (and legs) on the Barr Emerger, and I guarantee you that fly catches many fish .  Dave Whitlock clipped the palmered hackle on Dave's Hopper to achieve a certain look.   

It is so much easier in these modern times to find good quality dry fly necks with many sizes of feathers . . . and at a fairly reasonable price.    

Regards,