Do you feel that it makes any difference if the loop tied onto the front shaft for the articulating rear hook is horizontal or vertical to the front shaft?
If so how and why?
Do you prefer one way over the other?
Articulated fly question
Do you feel that it makes any difference if the loop tied onto the front shaft for the articulating rear hook is horizontal or vertical to the front shaft?
If so how and why?
Do you prefer one way over the other?
Duckster,
I used to think it had to be vertical.
Now, since I started playing with multi-articulated flies, I think it doesn't matter as long as the connections are free swinging.
Buddy
It Just Doesn't Matter....
Do you want the major movement to be up and down or side to side. I think a horizontal loop is better at up and down action and a vertical loop side to side.
Want to hear God laugh? Tell him Your plans!!!
Since I do not use articulated flies, I have a couple questions: Am I correct to assume you have 2 hooks with one to the rear? If you are using 2 hooks in your articulated flies, are you not taking the risk of the rear hook getting caught in the gills of the fish when it inhales the fly? I guess if you are planning on eating the fish it would make no difference, but if you are planning on releasing the fish........
Warren
Fly fishing and fly tying are two things that I do, and when I am doing them, they are the only 2 things I think about. They clear my mind.
It depends on how you make the rig. If I make an articulated fly now, I'm more inclined to use a barbless treble hook rather than a two hook rig. I also use the articulated shanks that are now available or if I can't get them I use the pre-made wires that are used in making flutter jigs, which are a lot cheaper than the shanks made specifically for fly fishing. When I first started making articulated flies. I would cut the front hook off at the bend, heat it and make an open "loop" that I could slide through the eye of the back hook squeeze the loop close and then wrap it.
I think it's a pretty low risk that the hook would end up in the gills of the fish. I can't remember it every happening even when I was fishing jointed lures which might have two or three treble hooks on them.
Here's one of my first attempts at an articulated fly. It was tied for pike. Front is a hook shank cut at the bend with a 4/0 Partridge Pike used for the articulated portion.
Jointed Pike Fly 1.jpg
No, typically one only leaves a single hook. For streamers, it is usually the rear hook. For nymphs, in my case, it is going to be the front hook. I'm sure some leave both hooks, but I do not, nor do most tier I know, especially steelhead fishers.Originally Posted by WarrenP
With regards to the OP's question, I typically go for a vertical loop if I'm using a rigid linkage such as mono or wire, but I also often use PowerPro or Fireline and in that case I do not leave a loop. Instead, I loop the line over the shank of the trailing hook three times and then pull the knot tight, creating sort of a snell knot (I'm sure it has a formal name, I just don't know what it is) to make sure that the hook stays in place. Like Buddy, I'm not sure it matters, but it is what I prefer for the reasons Uncle Jesse states.
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