heads

[green 0]

How do you make the heads on your flies? Is there a tool that I don't know about? Mine are always to big

[flytire 0]

i use the minimum number or wraps of thread and 2-3 half hitches. plenty good for me

 

minimum = just enough to cover the materials

[flytire 0]

Mine are always to big

 

you dont need 367 wraps of thread for heads. stop when the materials are covered and then tie off

 

unwind untwist your thread into a ribbon to cover more materials

[green 0]

How do you unwind the thread?

[mvendon 0]

Hi green,

 

Mike Schmidt did a really good article on here a few years ago about heads on wet flies. You can apply it for streamer heads too. here's the link . http://hatchesmagazine.com/blogs/Hatches/2010/2/8/wet-fly-heads-by-mike-schmidt/?utm_source=FTFGuest&utm_medium=web&utm_content=post

 

Regards,

Mark

[JSzymczyk 0]

I think flytire means "untwist" your thread so it lays flat.

 

Use the smallest diameter thread that will get the job done. Some styles of flies, such as Bucktails, will have a somewhat large head just due to the materials used and the way they are constructed. Three tight wraps of thread will not hold a fully dressed bucktail wing, but three tight wraps will hold a hackle stem or a chenille core.

 

Depending on the fly, tiny little heads don't mean squat. Look at how many Bead Head patterns there are. If you had a thread head the size of a bead head, you'd think it was way too big and sloppy. Put a bead on the pattern though, and all of a sudden it is awesome.

[netabrookie 0]

Let your bobbin hang and then watch how it tends to turn counter clockwise. If you just give it an extra little spin then it will untwist the thread and allow it to lay out flatter when wrapping the fly. I use lacquer on my fly heads and will sometimes add an extra little drop on the top of a fly head to give it a more realistic little built up head. I can get utc thread to lay much flatter than I can get uni-thread to, but that may be just what I have gotten used to using.

[Peterjay 0]

How do you make the heads on your flies? Is there a tool that I don't know about? Mine are always to big

 

There's no tool or shortcut to making neat heads. Your entire fly should be constructed while keeping in mind where the head's gonna start and how big you want it. In the meantime, use something fine like 8/0 UNI-thread and keep the number of wraps to the minimum required. And practice, practice, practice. Pick out a pattern that's giving you trouble and keep tying it over and over until you get it right. Repetition and looking for ways to correct mistakes are essential if you want to raise your skill level. I'll say it again: there are no shortcuts.

[flytire 0]

You don't even have to tie a full fly to practice tying heads. Just tie on some materials behind the eye of the hook and tie off the head. Repeat.

[Crackaig 0]

Something not mentioned. Don't start the thread immediately behind the eye of the hook. Start it about an eye width back. That will remove one layer of thread from the head area from the start. If you watch some of Hans Weilenmann's videos on You tube it will help, many of his flies don't have a head as such.

Cheers,

C.

[utyer 0]

You did ask about a tool, and yes there is something to help make the final few wraps secure. The tool in and of itself won't do anything about the size of the head, it will only aid in making the whip finish knot. Here is a link to a hand whip finish by Hans

 

A second very useful knot is Gary Borger's double hitch follow the link.

 

Both of these methods require NO tools. The trick is to tie on and practice JUST the KNOT over and over again until you can do it without thinking about it. Even if you have to cut off several times, just keep doing it until you have it down.

 

Just learning this knot isn't going to make your heads any better, but they will help you finish off the fly. Smaller heads will come with practice.

[hairwing 0]

How do you make the heads on your flies? Is there a tool that I don't know about? Mine are always to big

 

There's no tool or shortcut to making neat heads. Your entire fly should be constructed while keeping in mind where the head's gonna start and how big you want it. In the meantime, use something fine like 8/0 UNI-thread and keep the number of wraps to the minimum required. And practice, practice, practice. Pick out a pattern that's giving you trouble and keep tying it over and over until you get it right. Repetition and looking for ways to correct mistakes are essential if you want to raise your skill level. I'll say it again: there are no shortcuts.

I totally agree with Peter...."Your entire fly should be constructed while keeping in mind where the head's gonna start and how big you want it."

 

There are two things I consider about the head of a fly, to me it's a mark of craftsmanship; and on the practical side ....it's really hard to thread a tippet through the eye of a fly clogged with material and very frustrating if it's been closed with head cement.

 

Learning how to trim materials at the head is another thing to be learned. Going in to the cut with your scissor blades perpendicular to the shank and wacking bulky materials will leave you with a hump. The hump is hard to deal with. I always try to cut materials on a taper. Peter's right ...there's no short cuts and it's a learning / experience process.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Can't resist being a bit contrary here... I'll never have the skills to tie those really good looking freshwater flies - but sometimes you want the exact opposite of "small" in your heads. Here's a pic of a pattern for tarpon that I came up with almost thirty years ago. It's still a best seller and is called a Sand Devil....

It was meant from the first to be attached to a heavy shock tippet by snelling and meant to be large enough to have a very noticable painted eye....

 

Not exactly the way things are done for freshwater at all.... The head is entirely done with flat waxed nylon thread, then super glued before the eye is painted in place.

 

Tight lines

Bob LeMay

(954) 435-5666

[Peterjay 0]

Amen to that Bob. Sometimes it's harder to get a neat-looking large head than a small one. Gotta have someplace to put those big eyes.

[RedRoverMike 0]

You know, if your like me and you like to hackle your flies very heavy for fast water or droppers, I use a half hitch tool. I just slide the half hitch tool over the eye of the hook to push all the hackle fibers back on the dry fly and make a 2-3 wraps. This makes pulling the fibers back very easy when it comes time to whip finish your fly. When I whip finish, I usually make 4 wraps, then apply a thin clear head cement. Don't use a thick head cement, because you want the adhesive to really soak into the thread wraps at the head.