Hackle Help

[BennyB 0]

Okay so if this is already posted I apologies , I couldn't find it.

 

I am relatively new to fly tying , been doing it about 6 months.

I have gotten good at doing the palmated style hackle on wooly buggers. When i try things like parachutes and Adams (stuff with small nice looking collars) i can't ever get my hackle to sit side by side it just kindof bunches all together and looks like crap.

I am using the cheap Indian hen hackle from J. Stockton , what kind of hackle would be best for dry flys like that , I don't want to spend a ton of money (that's why I bought the $5 hen hackle) lol.

 

And also any tips to help it look better?

Last question ..... Should I use legit fly tying hooks or are regular bait hooks okay ?

 

Thanks

[rockworm 0]

Wrapping a nice hackle collar is an acquired skill. You have to tye a lot of them to get good at it. It is good that you are having a difficult time with this because you will encounter similar difficulties with nearly every new tying skill you attempt. Get used to it. And get used to figuring out what the problem is and how to fix it. This is how you earn your stripes as a flytyer. I have been tying since 1985 and still have problems with nearly every new pattern.

 

Now, you can tye an excellent collar with cheap Indian neck feathers. But you will find it is much easier to wrap a feather from an (expensive) genetic neck like Whiting, Spencer, Collins. etc

 

One of the problems with Indian necks is the feather stem (rachis) tends to be fat- especially near its base. A fat stem is very difficult to wrap neatly. So, strip off the barbs from the bottom third of the feather and tye in the top 2/3. (Or wherever the stem becomes reasonably thin.) You might check out a few UTube videos to make sure you are tying and wrapping in an appropriate manner.

 

I am personally a big fan of Indian necks. I like the natural colours and patterns (Greenwell, Coch-y-Bondhu, Red Game, Cree...) and I think they make great hackles. They are just more difficult to work with.. Learn how to manipulate the cheap hackle and you will be able to handle anything!

 

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As to using bait hooks... I don't see why not as long as the hook has no or little offset. When the hook is clamped in the vise, the offset makes it difficult to wrap anything around the shank. Since bait hooks tend to be heavy, they would be better for tying nymphs than dry flies.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

[BennyB 0]

Thanks, I think I will look in to some maybe whiting 100 packs for like size 10,12, and 18 (the hook sizes I have and want to tie)