Minor Problem with Golden Tippet to Hook
I am having problems tying a #12 Black Pennell. All goes well with the exception of the tail. The pattern calls for tippet feathers from the neck of a Golden Pheasant. I can tie in the tail, but sometimes it rolls into a nice shape but with the bright, colored outside, rolled in to face each other rather then the other way around. How to I fix this on future ties that have golden tippet of a tail?
When I look at photos of tails with GP Tippet on line I am often struck by how excessive they are. For a trout fly 6 fibres will produce an effective tail on a size 10 or 12. That really is all you will need. Usually I don't bother too much about the feathers rolling about so long as they don't roll around the hook shank. If they do roll around the hook shank then the problem is with your pinch and loop technique. (I'll not go further that way as that isn't the problem you stated).
If you want a really first class tippet tail then there is a technique that can be borrowed from classic salmon fly tying. Simply take a section of the stem of the feather, fold it in half, pinch and loop it in. You can get lots of these sections from one tippet feather.
Black Pennel_0001.jpgBlack Pennel_0002.jpgBlack Pennel_0003.jpgBlack Pennel_0004.jpg
Hopefully that will address your concern, though I doubt the trout will be bothered.
Cheers,
A.
As Alan suggested, not that many fibers are needed for a dry fly. Couple of suggestions:
1) Grasp the tippet fibers at a 90* angle from the stem.
2) Keep the tippet fibers so the bars are aligned.
3) Don't be afraid to squeeze the fibers tight and a shade on your side as you use a 'pinch & loop' method to place the first few wraps of thread.
4) Ease up just a hair and allow the fibers to 'roll' onto the top of the shank.
5) Squeeze again and move the wraps toward the eye.
Your tail fibers should be the right length, aligned and a neat underbody.
Hope this helps.
Allan
Alan, maybe I miss understand, but I don't see how you can accomplish 1 and 2. If you hold the fibres at 90 degrees to the stem then the bars will never line up. The way to handle the fibres if you want to use a bunch is to grip them in situ as in my first photo. Cut the fibres and pull the feather away from the loose fibres, not the fibres from the feather. This will leave the fibres in a grip ready to pinch and loop into place. It will also keep them correctly aligned.
The Black Pennel is a wet fly, not a dry. I tend to use a heavy hackle on them as my local trout prefer a "noisy" fly, one that disturbs a lot of water when pulled. That's why the hackle is swept back.
Cheers,
A.
Okay, my description is off. Disregard #1. Start with #2. The user should grasp the tippets so that the bars are aligned and KEEP THEM THAT WAY.
Don't know if you've seen this site, but here's a nice SBS on the Black Pennel with a pretty simple way to keep the pheasant tippets aligned:
http://thefeatherbender.com/2014/02/...black-pennell/
Regards,
Scott
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