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Tying off hackle with wire on EHC

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I was curious if there is anything you guys or gals do when you tie off your hackle with wire after palmering the EHC. I worry a little that the hackle might come out when a fish takes it and partially come un wound. maybe iI'm over worrying. Does anyone have problems with this happening?

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If you tie in the ribbing wire at the tail end, dub your body, then tie in the hackle at the front then palmer it back to the tail, THEN counter-rib counter wind the wire forward through the hackle there is no way for the hackle to come loose because it is secured twice for every turn.

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If you tie in the ribbing wire at the tail end, dub your body, then tie in the hackle at the front then palmer it back to the tail, THEN counter-rib counter wind the wire forward through the hackle there is no way for the hackle to come loose because it is secured twice for every turn.

 

+1 definitely the way to do it!

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If you tie in the ribbing wire at the tail end, dub your body, then tie in the hackle at the front then palmer it back to the tail, THEN counter-rib counter wind the wire forward through the hackle there is no way for the hackle to come loose because it is secured twice for every turn.

Good advice that's how I have been taught to do it. Looking at it again It is bound down pretty good. I just felt like the tag end might get ripped out with a trout munching on it. I guess I am used to binding things down and covering them with thread.

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The thread end is good on small patterns where you don't want the weight of wire. Anything over a #14 I don't think a fine wire makes a great deal of difference.

Mr Weilenmann has some good patterns where he splits the tag end thread, inserts dubbing and then winds forward and the effect looks great.

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I don't use hackle on my EHCs.

 

Hackle is not needed unless you are fishing very fast water or you are going to skitter your flies. If fish are feeding on caddis and they refuse your traditional EHC fly, cut the bottom part of the hackle off flush with the hook shank and you will catch more fish. Look at caddis on the water, they are not propped up but flat to the water.

 

Look at the natural caddis flies below and then at the EHC and you tell me whether the EHC looks more realistic with the hackle as is or cut flat to the hook? If you think as I do, that a better fly would lie flatter to the water, don't use hackle.

 

caddisfly_alaska_tj.jpg

 

caddisfly.jpg

 

caddisfly.jpg

 

caddis.jpg

 

 

Elk-Hair-Caddis-Tan-side.jpg

 

One of the best flies during a caddis hatch is Craig Mathew's X caddis and it has no hackle, and lies flatter than the EHC.

 

x-caddis_side.jpg

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Agreed Silver, I think the advice given is good for ribbing hackle in general but the caddis don't need it unless the waters rough and even then I cut the bottom off.

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If you do want to counter wrap the hackle, I prefer the tread method of SBPatt. It has two advantages over wire.

 

Wire adds a bit if extra weight that is not needed on a dry fly, so you save weight on a dry fly. If you doubt the extra weight of the wire makes much difference; tying in a wire is still an extra step that is not needed when you can use the tag end of the thread to counter wrap the hackle.

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I use wire or a long tag end of thread, as the mood suits me. The original post was asking about wire. Down to size 16, the very fine wire I use has not had the slightest bit of effect on sinking the fly. The amount of mass added by the wire could more than be made up for in the different styles of hooks people use to tie the same flies. I haven't had a need or desire to tie them smaller than 16.

 

Also, I agree about the hackle not being "needed" on an EHC, so I tie them both with and without. I just LIKE them with hackle, even though the real insect is not bushy like that. Neither are mayflies, but we continue to catch a boatload of fish on mayfly patterns with a big brush of hackle on the front.

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Take two touching wraps of wire at the rear of the fly, to tie off the hackle, before wrapping the rib forward. Probably not needed but is a little extra security. I find the weight of a fine wire rib to be insignificant.

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