Wetting bucktail

[smbeck 0]

I'm reading through "Fleye Designs" and Bob mentions wetting flies a lot. The end result is a nice looking tapered fly. I am wetting my flies with warm water and hang drying them, but the fibers don't lay back nicely like Bob's. Is there something I'm missing? Should I be soaking the flies? I just run them under hot water for a few seconds.

[Flicted 0]

I don't do show flies much anymore. I wait and soak them when I fish them.

[flytire 0]

I've never seen the need to wet flies at the vise.

 

Fishing them usually does the trick

[Philly 0]

I'll wet a fly, usually a bait fish pattern and I'm going to take a picture of it. For example I wet this one, let it dry and then took a picture. All I did was wet it under the spigot and laid it flat to dry.

 

 

The same with this one.

 

 

You can do it with buck tail also, though I don't have a picture of a buck tail streamer.

 

All wetting a fly does is give you an idea of what it will look like in the water or if you're taking a picture. If the material isn't laying right, it may be how you're tying it in. Post a picture and maybe we can give you some suggestions.