Question about reverse (hollow style) tying.

[kimjensen 0]

Hi.

 

Do you think that tying flies reverse (hollow style) saves materials in the end?

[shoebop 0]

I've not heard of "hollow style" before. Who introduced this method? Do you have a link to a website explaining this method?

[mikechell 0]

Are you asking about "Popovic's Hollow Fleye" fly? It's tied with reverse direction material, folded back over the fly ... but the style's got nothing to do with saving material.

[tidewaterfly 0]

Shoe, don't know who introduced it, but Bob Popovics uses the method frequently with some of his flies. Basically it's primarily done with hair or synthetics and as Mike has said is tied forward & folded back. Similar to how a Thundercreek series is tied, but the hair is not tied down to keep it close to the hook shank. The idea is to get the appearance of size without bulk.

 

It could save on materials, if you have a limited amount to work with, but again as Mike has indicated that's not the primary intention.

[Peterjay 0]

Yeah, it's yet another method that's always being reinvented, this time by Bob Popovics. I fooled around with it years ago for making big bunker flies, but using a spreader instead of a reverse tie works equally well. I can't see any advantage as far as saving materials goes. If you want to save on material, just use less.

[kimjensen 0]

Yes i'm thinking were you tie materials in forward to spread it backward so it goes around the Whole shank of the hook. Many people tie both over and under the hook.

[mikechell 0]

In the method, Kim, is the fact that you can get a larger profile, without using a ton of material. So, yes, it would save material in the long run. I didn't understand, reading about the process, how it would reduce fouling of the materials on the hook, but I did see that it would flair out, making the fly look larger when strip/stop retrieved.

[BuzFly 0]

The Hollow Tie is something that Bob Popovics developed. If you read his book carefully on this technique you will see that it is a lot more than tying the material forward and pushing it back. It's about how to generate the appearance of bulk with primarily Bucktail and how thread control and picking the proper type, taper and amount of bucktail. It is these latter aspects that make the Hollow Tie work. People have reverse tied materials for ages, but in my humble opinion Bob was the first to tie it all together and make it consistently work. He does not wrap the thread back over the material, but builds up a dam of thread that pushes the material back. You have to see it to truly understand how it works. His new book will go into more detail about it when it comes out at the end of the year.

 

Also, since we never trim the tips of Bucktail, this method forces us to develop a proper taper when we tie it so selecting the proper length, amount and type of Bucktail is very critical to this technique. You can do multiple colors on top and bottom but you have to make sure that the bucktail you pick from both tails is the same type and consistency for the material so they will lay back properly and be distributed around the hoop evenly. The fibers should be almost perpendicular to the shank after they are tied in and before you run the Fleye under hot water.

 

You have to be willing to tie at lease a dozen or more Fleyes using this technique to just start to see how it works. Once you get it, you will see how simple it is and the many different ways you can use the technique in many of the flies you tie. Just when you get the Hollow Fly down try the Bulkhead Deceiver.......

 

Brad

[Piker20 0]

Its a little similar to temple dog wings in salmon flies. Folding the wing back over the hook before forming a head does help keep the profile in the water.

[agn54 0]

I believe the primary benefit of hollow tying is ease of casting, not saving materials. As others have said, it is used to create the illusion of bulk, which allows for a transparency to the fly and makes it easier to cast. These I think are the primary reasons for the technique

[Betty 0]

The one good thing is that you use the bottom of the bucktail, the big hollow hairs plus you use very little. In fact the Hollow Flye is almost see through when tied correctly, the hairs really have movement and flys can be made to be huge using the long shank 6/0 hooks.