Streamer head - awful

[flytire 0]

one other trick is to refrain from making 637 wraps of thread to build the head of any fly.

 

you already have a pile of materials at the head area (butt ends of this or that) that will help with the shape. all thats left to do is cover it up with minimal thread wraps

 

2-3 wraps of thread will usually hold most materials to the hook

 

flatten your thread by untwisting the thread from a rope to a ribbon before the final wraps to cover any exposed material and then make only the wraps necessary to make a smooth head. keep the thread in a ribbon while making the whip finish

 

one more tip: cut the butt ends of hairs at an angle. this will provide a tapered base to create a tapered head

 

exercise thread control to the maximum

 

hans weilenmann videos are excellent examples of thread management

[mikechell 0]

one more tip: cut the butt ends of hairs at an angle. this will provide a tapered base to create a tapered head

 

Learn this ... do it as much as possible when tying in material anywhere on the hook shank.

If you're not comfortable, if you think the material might slip out, put a small drop of head cement on the ends after trimming, then wrap over that.

[fshng2 0]

I use 210 Denier Flat Waxed Nylon for my bigger flies and streamers.

Flat thread ties with less bulk and leaves a smooth finish (can be smoothed with finger nail too). You can build a shape quickly if needed.

Try a spool, I guarantee you will love it (get white as it can be colored with markers).

[JSzymczyk 0]

I tie a lot of bucktail / hairwing streamers. Many years ago I discovered a tip which helped the neatness of my fly heads immensely. Measure and cut your wing to length BEFORE you go to tie it in. Hold the bunch of hair tightly when you cut it to get a clean end. I put a small drop of head cement on the butt ends of the hair, then tie them in. It's the only way I do it any more. Tying in THEN trimming makes the hair bunch move and twist, flatten out, and otherwise do things you might not want it to do. Making the hair move around under the thread wraps also loosens the connection.

 

When you tie in a pre-measured bunch of hair, make your first wraps at the REAR of the head, and wrap forward. If you try to start your wraps at the hook eye, each wrap will just push the hair back and it will frustrate you.

 

On flies such as bucktails, a tiny thread head like you see on a dry fly just is not possible. A rather large head on a bucktail probably isn't going to make any difference at all to the fish-- but a small tight neat head does display your skill. If large heads on these types of lures mattered, nobody would catch fish on jigs.... and look at the billions of fish caught on jigs with big fugly lead heads.

[Rocco 0]

Try switching to a smaller diameter thread for the head. Use the stronger stuff to tie down material that might pull loose w/o some strong friction and use the lighter stuff to avoid bulk for the finishing touches. Pre-planning the head space also makes a lot of sense.

 

Rocco