How do I tie a good hackle ?

[flynnboy]

Can someone please tell me where on the web I can find a good illustration of how to tie on a hackle, maybe even a downloadable video

I can get them on but I am far from satisfied with the result and yearn to be able to tie a fly like some of the examples I see on this forum

While I am at it, my flies do have a tendency to come apart after a few outings, is this normal or am I simply crxp at it ?

[F]

Hi Flynnboy

Tying in a nice neat hackle requires a feather of a decent quality. So often, the packets of hackles contain ones with thick stems and this is where the problem starts. You need a hackle with a thin stem, and a decent cape should provide these. Catch the hackle in in front of the wing with sufficient room for your two or three turns so the hackle does not start climbing the wing, otherwise this will result in a bulky head. Wind the silk back to the eye of the hook through the hackle, ensuring you don't bend down any fibres in the process. I then use a paper covered wire wrap, the type for sealing a plastic bag, to smooth back the hackle fibres prior to making the head. The wrap is placed around the silk and a small loop is made and this loop is then slid up and over the eye of the hook and pressed back to hold the hackle fibres away from the eye. This loop hust be a firm fit otherwise the hackle fibres just pop up. The wire wrap is most useful for small hooks, particularly trebles, as it saves the fingers getting speared. A neat head is made and finished with a whipping tool, and finally varnished.

Some fly tiers say, "why use two turns, when one will do". I tend to use three to ensure my flies don't fall apart.

[Bogyoch]

My time logged in had expired whilst writing the above reply, so I seem to have posted as a guest.

[salmondan]

While we're on about hackles , I always have a difficult time when doubling them over. They never seem to "sit" right, ie some fibres fold over in one direction and some in a completely different direction which doesn't help when winding them on. Is there a knack to this that I just haven't got yet?

[Sloggi]

salmondan said:

While we're on about hackles , I always have a difficult time when doubling them over. They never seem to "sit" right, ie some fibres fold over in one direction and some in a completely different direction which doesn't help when winding them on. Is there a knack to this that I just haven't got yet?

With you there I try to keep the hackle "tight" between both hands while rubbing one side down next to the other. In a post above someone mentions using good quality hackles and think this helps with all aspects of hackle work.

[ibm59]

salmondan said:

While we're on about hackles , I always have a difficult time when doubling them over. They never seem to "sit" right, ie some fibres fold over in one direction and some in a completely different direction which doesn't help when winding them on. Is there a knack to this that I just haven't got yet?

See page 2 of Curry's Red Shrimp in step by step tying for some good advice on doubling. Stick with it , it does work.

[Deveron loon]

What type of cape would all you experienced fly tyers out there consider as a good cape suitable for all sizes of salmon fly. As Bogyoch pointed oot, the packets of hackles do have thich stems which results in excessively large heeds.

[splash]

rossco4000 said:

What type of cape would all you experienced fly tyers out there consider as a good cape suitable for all sizes of salmon fly. As Bogyoch pointed oot, the packets of hackles do have thich stems which results in excessively large heeds.

Low grade genetic saddles are great for tying salmon flies and have much thinner stems than for example Chinese cock capes. You can pick these up from the likes of Artifly, beautifully dyed for under a tenner which is not much more than the cost of a Chinese cape. When you do have hackles with thick stems, try tying then in by the tip and double (fold the fibres back to one side) the hackle as you tie it so as not to trap any turns as you wind. This sounds more difficult than it is and becomes relatively straightforward in practice. I tied the enclosed fly (Cascade) using yellow Chinese cock and red Indian hen hackles and was still able to keep the head relatively neat using this approach
cheers
Splash

[colliedog]

Genetic saddle capes give you nice quality hackles but I find many of them are too one sized (ie most of the feathers have similar fibre length - often too small for larger flies). I prefer good quality chinese capes with a range of hackles that will tie flies from 14 - 4 templedog style tubes too.

I'm with Bogyoch regarding hackling technique - wind the hackle back from the eye to the wing and bringing the thread back through the hackle for durability - give me durability over aesthetics any day.

I also find that for modern cascade type flies it helps to tie the wing in slighly further back than might seem to be obvious - this leaves plenty room for the hackle and a neat head.

CD

[mark]

Hi Flynnboy
I run a website which is available for anyone who wants to learn. There are a number of videos and sequential photos of tyings of both salmon and trout flies. The home page is www.gwentanglingsociety.org/ the site is run for the benefit of all anglers and if you want to down load any of the information you can. Hope it helps.

[splash]

mark said:

Hi Flynnboy
I run a website which is available for anyone who wants to learn. There are a number of videos and sequential photos of tyings of both salmon and trout flies. The home page is www.gwentanglingsociety.org/ the site is run for the benefit of all anglers and if you want to down load any of the information you can. Hope it helps.

Nice site and good video clip demonstrating how to double a hackle. Anyone looking to learn this technique should check it out as there are nice, clear, step by step instructions on the video