How to make dry flies land upright

[Bobby13]

Is there a special way to wind hackle on so as when the fly is finished and you drop it on your tying desk and it lands upright? Mine don't. What am I doing wrong?

you've got a balance problem.
make sure the tail and wings are tied atop the shank, and that the wings are evenly divided...beyond that maybe someone else can help.

mgj

[Gardenfish]

drop it into some water and see how it lands.

[kengore]

Proportions and balance effect how a fly moves throught the air and how it lands.

If you wings are too long, or tied too far forward the fly tends to flip on it's head. If the tails don't extend the proper length and width the fly might sink to low. Un-even hackles or stray hackle fibers can cause a fly to land lopsided or to roll on it's side.

If you are unsure of proper proportions there are many fine tying references. Most tyers like to measure parts with respect to the hook dimensons. Purchase some well tied flies as reference guides to your favorite patterns.

For example a catskills style dry fly would typically measure the tails as 1 1/2" X the hook shank, the wings the length of the shank, hackles 1 1/2 X the hook gap, etc. While there are personal and regional differences most flies tied to these proportions will land up right.

I like to drop my flies on the tying table, if they don't bounce upright or consistantly tlt to one side I know I need to tweak them. I fly that lands funny at home is unlikely to work better on the water. Look for stray fibers that might be throwing things off, check the wing locations and ajust the size with some careful snips.

[Ray]

The tail may be too long

also, make sure your materials are centered on top of the hook shank, not off to one side or the other, as well as symmetrically placed, meaning the wing tips extend to the same point on either side of the hook, your split tails do the same, etc. this will cause balance issues as well as the others listed.

[quillg]

Saw an article some years back about clipping the bottom of the hackle flat. I tried it like the article said and the fly landed upright every time it drop on the water. You don't have to clip of much just enough to make the bottom somewhat flat.

The tips the others above are also valid.

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Rich

[RG/AR]

Most problems like this are caused by oversized hackle.

[old geezer]

dry fly dimensions:
Tail is usually as long as the shank.
Body is usually 2/3's the shank
Wings are twice the Gap
Hackle is 1 1/2 times the Gap


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Fly Tying, an addiction in learning, Love it.

I look into... my fly box, and think about all the elements I should consider in choosing the perfect fly: water temperature, what stage of development the bugs are in, what the fish are eating right now. Then I remember what a guide told me: 'Ninety percent of what a trout eats is brown and fuzzy and about five-eighths of an inch long.' - Allison Moir.

[LeoCreek]

Rich (quillg) is right on the money regarding clipping the bottom of the hackle flat. Just a little bit off the tips directly under the hook, making for a flatter platform to land & rest on. Works for me, too.

Tom