Tails on A. K. Best dry flies

[dawgvet 0]

Hello,

I've been a fan of A. K. Best for years and have always wondered how the gets the tails on most of his dry flies to sit with a slightly upward angle? Does anyone know his trick for this? Does he use a bump of tying thread to kick the tails up a little? Any help appreciated.
Thanks,

Jed

[FIN-ITE 34 0]

Put a wrap of thread under the tail after tying it down and pull it slightly between the tail and hook shank till you get the lift you want. Then lock the thread back down over the top of the tail.

[Steven Wiersma 0]

I achieve lift; using a bump, tying in tail wrapping backward toward hook, increasing tension close to bump, then a couple wraps under tail catching bump and angled slightly toward eye.

[rockworm 0]

In his books Production Fly Tying and Advanced Fly Tying Best describes how he tails dry flies.

 

For flies with only 2 or three tail fibers he makes a thread bump of 2 turns (for a fly smaller than about #18) or 3-4 turns for a larger fly to separate the tail fibers. For the larger flies he ties the tails on individually- one on each side of hook shank. When tying a three-fiber tail he will tye the center fiber before making the thread bump.

 

Best doesn't use a thread bump when tying in a clump of spade fibers. Instead he says to "bend the tailing clump upward at about a 45-degree angle" as you take the first two or three turns of thread "with heavy tension." "This will permanently set the tail at a slight upward angle."

[johnnyquahog 0]

For any fan of AK - you may want to purchase a selection of flies tied by the man himself. They are just a bit over 3.00 with a minimum of a dozen. Seems like a bargain. Having the fly as a sample goes a long way to getting the proportions correct. Many likely know already but Southcreekltd is the site to order them.

[flytire 0]

the first wrap of hackle quill is behind the tail to lift it up. no bumps required

 

[Randyflycaster 0]

Is it necessary for tails to point upward?

Randy

[flytire 0]

nope

[vicrider 0]

Ya' know, there's something about the "In the Riffle" videos with the guy with the scraggly beard and rubbery lips so close to the vise and camera that makes them hard for me to watch. As for the lifted tail, I'm with flytire. What purpose served other than looks?

[rockworm 0]

Ya' know, there's something about the "In the Riffle" videos with the guy with the scraggly beard and rubbery lips so close to the vise and camera that makes them hard for me to watch. As for the lifted tail, I'm with flytire. What purpose served other than looks?

AK Best (since he's sort of the topic here) says the purpose of the lifted tail is to help prevent the fly from falling on its side as it lowers the center of balance below the line from eye to tip of tail. He also notes that the tails on most naturals (except some of the spent wings) curve upward.

[flytire 0]

if you look at the flies in his book "a.k.'s fly box" the dry fly tails are virtually parallel to the hook shank

 

still not necessary to be lifted up

[rockworm 0]

if you look at the flies in his book "a.k.'s fly box" the dry fly tails are virtually parallel to the hook shank

 

still not necessary to be lifted up

You must have a different edition than I do. In mine (dated 1996) the tails of most of his mayfly imitations are distinctly lifted up from the center line of the shank. The exceptions are his parachute flies and some of the spinners. Even his Green Drake duns, which use a bundle of elk hair for the tail (and use a different technique), appear to be lifted.

[flytire 0]

Is it necessary for tails to point upward?

 

as i answered above

 

nope

[mikechell 0]

Tie one with the tails straight off the hook shank, tie one with them angled up. Fish them both on the same day on the same water. If one of them gets hits, and the other doesn't, then you have a definitive answer from the "fish survey".

As far as the "human survey" ... it's all opinion and preference.

[phg 0]

On a dry fly, the tail helps support the weight of the fly on the surface film. Even though many real mayflies float with their tails distinctly lifted, as fly tyers, we usually tie them straight back, (and somewhat shorter than the natural) for this reason. Of course, you are free to do whatever you like, or whatever you like the looks of. As Mike suggested, let the fish decide which they like better.