Wulff wings

[Fish For Life 0]

Ive been tying some royal wulffs recently and have a question about the wings. Can you tye them in long and cut them to the right size(cutting the tips off), or is it best to try and tye them in the correct length so you dont have to cut the tips. I am asking this because i am having some difficulties getting the right size wing to come out. so does it matter if i cut the wing to the correct size after i tye it in.

Another quick question regarding the royal wulff. It is most commonly tyed with white calf body hair, how are you supposed to stack such small hair. Im using a regular medium sized hair stacker, do i need to get a smaller one or is there a trick to stacking small hair.

 

Thanks

 

[williamhj 0]

You can cut them and they'll probably fish fine but they won't look 'right' since you'll lose the taper at the tips of the hair. Best to just keep working to get the right length. Stacking calf body hair can be a pain. I often cut off a bit more than I need and hold it while pulling the longer hairs out then hold those tips and pull out shorter ones. Can also learn to hand stack it, holding the clump loosely in one hand and stacking again the palm of your other.

[utyer 0]

NEVER EVER cut the tips off natural hair wings to size them. Doing so will leave a blunt unsightly set of wings. If course you could use synthetic fiber for the wings, in which case you can cut them to length. With calf body hair, you can try and pull the hair back along the skin to even it up BEFORE you cut it off. I still prefer to use good calf tail for the white wings, but its difficult to stack it perfectly. A wing that is a little uneven (but still the proper length,) looks better to me than one with every fiber the perfect length.

 

Lee Wulff tied many of his first patterns using buck tail for the wings and sometimes the tail. The hair near the base of the buck tail is very good for these patterns. Unfortunately, there is very little white hair that works well, but you do find some.

 

For stacking the calf body hair, try and find a smaller brass tube, about 1/4 to 5/16ths. A glass tube would work as well but NOT plastic. Then just drop the hair into the tube and use a piece of heavy card stock and rotate the tube as you flick your finger against the side of the tube.

[Steiner 0]

I started tying flies about 15 months ago and just recently began to feel fairly confident in my calf tail wings. I always had trouble getting them short enough. I learned that it doesn't take a large clump of calf tail to make a good wing. Removing a bunch of the smaller hairs near the base of your clump you cut off makes stacking easier too.

[flytire 0]

Can you tye them in long and cut them to the right size(cutting the tips off),

 

no. you should not tie the wings in long and then cut them off.

 

 

or is it best to try and tye them in the correct length so you dont have to cut the tips

 

yes. you should learn the correct techniques and proportions for tying wulff style flies

 

 

ANY length stacker should be able to handle stacking calf body hair

 

personally i would use calf tail for wings on wulff patterns. much easier to stack and tie with.

[Crackaig 0]

Decide how much longer you want the wings than the hackle, ie. how much they should stick out. Get a small piece of card, Bend the hackle so the fibres stick out. Insert the card between the hackle fibres and mark down the edge the length of the hackle fibres. Make another mark just beyond this to mark the height of your wings.

 

When you come to tie your Wulffs use the first mark to size your hackle. Then use the second mark to measure the size of your wings. Until your wings are right don't go on to the next step.

 

Write the fly pattern and hook on the card and keep it. You can make many other measurements on the same piece of card. For example if you are using a dubbed body get the first one right, then undo it. Mark the length of dubbed thread on the card. (all marks need to be labelled). Then when you tie the next one dub your thread to the measured length and wind. This is the method I use for production tying to ensure consistency. If you make these cards for each fly you tie you will have very consistent flies, and soon have a big collection of the cards.

 

Once you have a card made up you will find that the model of hook you made it for will become unavailable, then you will have to make a new one for a slightly different hook. Such is life!

 

Cheers,

C.

[FrequentTyer 0]

This is the best video I know of on tying Wulff style wings. The combing tip works really well.

http://on.aol.com/video/the-basics-of-fly-tying---wolf-winging-259887187

[Christopher K 0]

I use my fingers to stack body hair, works quite well. And I agree, never cut naturals!

[Bugsy 0]

Calf body hair length varies from patch to patch. Some is barely a half inch long, while others are a full inch or more.

 

My path to making consistent, well proportioned calf hair wings (my opinion ) down to #18-20 included...

• purchasing a selection of calf body in a range of length and texture
• obtaining a small stacker with 6mm i.d.
• putting in the time & practice

[phg 0]

...Actually, you can cut them off. There's absolutely nothing preventing you from doing that. It isn't even against the law.

 

As the others have suggested, though, you won't like the results. A small stacker may be a good investment, but shouldn't be necessary. Calf-tail is sometimes kinky, and won't stack well. On the other hand, white Antron yarn also makes good Wulff wings, and it's cut straight across.

 

Oh yes, if it's just a matter of a couple of a couple of hairs that are too long, go ahead and cut them off.

[Gene L 0]

I like to use turkey flats for wings. Easy to tie and they're very white and visible.

[lucaseabass 0]

Maybe it can help you this article and video I made about this wonderful fly

 

ROYAL WULFF

 

Ciao

Luca

[Fish For Life 0]

Maybe it can help you this article and video I made about this wonderful fly

 

ROYAL WULFF

 

Ciao

Luca

HAHA, would if i could but i cant. I only read and speak English. Thanks anyways

[lucaseabass 0]

By the web there are many option to get an translation and this works also with many Youtube videos: under the Youtube screen you find a icon and if you click on it you get on the captionon, then you can select the automat translation in the language you wish