todvan 0 Report post Posted December 11, 2011 Hi all, I am wondering what everyone thinks makes the best tails on small (size 16 or smaller) drys and spinner patterns when you want them to float best. Moose, elk, deer seems too big, microfibbets don't have much floatation. I have not tried paintbrush bristles. Any ideas for me to try? Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
todvan 0 Report post Posted December 11, 2011 Oops. Please move to the fly tying forum. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mickalo 0 Report post Posted December 11, 2011 you may want to try some Coq De Leon (CDL) for tailing material, seems to work great for many dry patterns and is becoming quiet popular as a tail material in many patterns. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riffleriversteelheadslayer 0 Report post Posted December 12, 2011 Mike nailed it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blakejd 0 Report post Posted December 12, 2011 I think it really depends on your application. You mentioned spinners which atleast with tricos I feel a sparse tail fish better. Also with tricos just based on most patterns the wings are as much of a flotation problem as the tails in most instances and they are often fished in calmer water anyhow. For rough water heavy hackled flies moose and elk will beat most. For standard mayfly patterns such as duns as has been mentioned I've become a bit partial to CDL. I fished most of the BWO hatches this fall with CDL fibers and loved the flotation and effect. I would put them at medium flotation and just a bit better than traditional hackle fiber tails. Another nice thing about CDL is the lenght of usable barb which allows for longer tails and are much easier to tie as split tails if you like. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McGnat 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2011 Get your hands on some spade hackle or find some chinese or imported rooster necks. The imported necks are not much for hackling a fly, but if you can look before you buy, you may find some that have nice stiff barbs of good length that are great for tailing material for dries. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
perchjerker 0 Report post Posted May 3, 2012 FYI: tapered white nylon artist paint brush fibers and Micro Fibbetts are one and the same! Just different "packaging" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted May 12, 2012 Hi all,I am wondering what everyone thinks makes the best tails on small (size 16 or smaller) drys and spinner patterns when you want them to float best. Moose, elk, deer seems too big, microfibbets don't have much floatation. I have not tried paintbrush bristles. Any ideas for me to try? Thanks! I use microfibbets. Use a thread ball tying technique that spreads the microfibbets into a fan tail and they work fine.http://www.garyborger.com/2012/01/14/parachute-adams-fan-tail/As noted above, microfibbets and artist paint brushes are identical. Note the tiny parachute fly below with the fan tail of paint brush fibers. Also note that I have cut fibers off the left side of the paint brush. Since the fibers are lined up on the brush, there is no need to "stack" the fibers before tying them in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KCcarp 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2012 I really like using deer mask hair, or microfibbets. They both provide decent "flotation" however, the microfibbets work much better for tiny flies (sz22-) as they are smaller in diameter. Also, microfibbets seem to be much more durable. The deer mask works quite well and is stiffer than deer body hair but still provides some flotation, as well as adding some realisim with the dark dips of the hairs. It can be a little on the brittle side though... Hope this helps ya a bit! -Ben Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Randyflycaster 0 Report post Posted August 14, 2013 Still not sure: Do microfibbets float? Are they better on dries or nymphs or both? Thanks, Randy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phg 0 Report post Posted August 15, 2013 What you want is a fine, light weight, moderately stiff material that will resist breaking the surface tension. Dry fly hackle barbs used to the the standard (Indian and Chinese necks). Microfibbets also fall in this category. It's not how buoyant the material is, but rather how well it can spread out the weight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted August 25, 2013 Surface tension is what floats a fly. Few "dry" flies, other than foam flies, float because they actually weigh less than water. As PHG says the float because the tail fibers spread the weight along the entire length of the fibers lying on the water surface. For stiffness and thinness, I think micro-fibbets are great for small flies. It is the surface tension, the trampoline effect of the water surface to bend but not break, that floats the fly. Still not sure: Do microfibbets float? Are they better on dries or nymphs or both?Thanks,Randy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
williamhj 0 Report post Posted August 25, 2013 If you don't like microfibetts (what I usually use) then I'd just use the dry hackle you'd use on a dry fly. Great use for larger feathers with stiff enough barbs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dlinkered 0 Report post Posted August 9, 2016 You may want to try some Coq De Leon (CDL) for tailing material, seems to work great for many dry patterns and is becoming quiet popular as a tail material in many patterns. Nicholas ________ my blog Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sandan 0 Report post Posted September 20, 2017 Microfibbets or CDL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites