Hackle Barbule Tip

[Steven]

John Rhoades wrote the following:

"Where I have more difficulty is getting hackle barbule tips even, for example when I mix grizzly and brown hackle barbules together for the tails of an Adams. However, even though I try to get them even, and like the looks of my flies tied with evenly paired hackle barbules, I doubt that it matters one way or the other to the fish."

So here's a tip I saw on a video. I think it was a video by Charlie Cravin tying an Adams.

Here goes:

Tie in one set of barbules in the tail position with two snug, but not too snug, wraps. Take the second set and place them atop the first set so that the tips are even. Pinch together both sets with the left thumb and forefinger.

Undo the wraps. Now you have the barbule tips even and ready for tying.

[ScottP]

For tails, I make sure I get feathers with very long fibers. Charlie Collins tailing feathers work great; not actual spade hackle, but scapular feathers with very long, stiff barbs. I pull them off the stem, trim off all the webbing on the butts of the fibers, put the brown & grizzly fibers between thumb and index finger and rub together to mix, then put them in a hair stacker to make sure the tips are even.

Regards,
Scott

[Byron haugh]

Scott,
I do the same thing except I don't trim the butts of the fibers. Not a bad idea to do so though, I'm sure.
I appreciate little tips and think they are very worthwhile - especially if new tiers might learn techniques that help them produce better looking flies. I, personally, think there is merit in the tier having pride in his flies looking the best he can produce even if the fish might not care.
Thanks for the trimming idea. Will try it.
Thanks,
Byron

[AlanB]

What I've always done is line up the two hackles after stroking the fibres to stand out from the stem, pinch them together and pull off. Roll the fibres into a bunch and carry on as normal.

The big mistake people make is to pull the fibres from the stem. Clamp the fibres (between finger and thumb) and pull the stem off. It doesn't sound very different but it is. The same goes with golden pheasant tippet. Don't take the fibres from the feather, hold the fibres you want trim along next to the stem and pull the rest of the feather away. On most of these flies you will never need more than 1/2 dozen fibres, so the grip becomes the pinch and loop grip. Not moving the fibres means they can't misalign.

Cheers,
A.

[John Rhoades]

Thanks for starting this thread, Steven.

While I've used each of the mentioned techniques, and others, to tie tails, I think my primary problem stems in many cases from using feathers that have barbules that are too short. Or, at least too short for me to grasp them easily (and, I'm probably transferring them from hand to hand too, Byron!).

I'd love to find a nice big supply of super prime, stiff, long spade hackles, but in the meantime maybe I'll take a closer look at those Collins tailing feathers. (Thanks for the heads up, Scott.)

As an aside to this discussion -- I gave my best fishing friend one of my Parachute Adams - one that probably had uneven tails - to fish late one evening this past summer on the Yellowstone River. I soon saw the largest brown trout tail that I've ever seen (at least 10" across) finning in very shallow water right beside some shoreline willows. We were in my drift boat that I had anchored out in the river not more than 15' from the fish. I very excitedly told my friend to cast there, and his first drift was probably short by about a foot. Nonetheless, the fish took that fly as it floated past, and the fight was on! All my friend could do was to hold on, and when it headed downriver, I pulled up the anchor so that we could follow it. After we went some way down river, the fish slowed and started to head back toward us so I took the boat as close as I could to shore, and anchored it again as my friend fought the fish from the bow of the boat. He finally got the fish pretty close to the boat and I grabbed my boat net but unsure if it would be big enough to hold that fish. Just as he started to bring the fish's head toward the surface -- that DAMN fly pulled out of the fish's mouth and we never got a good look at him before he disappeared into the depths, and the evening's impending darkness. - - for perspective, we catch a number of fish over 20" every year, and my friend caught a 28" brown not far downriver from that encounter the summer before last -- but this trout was BIG!

John

[JohnScott]

John -

Have you considered CDL for tailing material ?? I think it would meet the criteria you mentioned.

Whiting used to put out CDL packs in three color ranges with three clumps per pack - about a lifetime supply for a casual tier, and most likely still does. As I recall, a pack runs about $14-15. You can also use it as a substitute for quills or biots for the bodies on very small flies. Tough stuff, and pretty easy to work with.

John

P.S. Enjoyed your anecdote about fishing the Yellowstone and playing with that big brown. Reminded me of a lot of days I spent on the South Fork of the Snake when I lived down in SE Idaho. And a big brown that I caught, and lost, downstream of St. Anthony on the Henry's Fork. But I lost that one quickly - one of the great ten second memories of my fly angling experience.

[Byron haugh]

Great fish story John

I second the other John's suggestion of CDL for tailing material.