Am I in danger...

…Of a visit from some kind of fly tying men in black. Or are the high priests of fly fishing sharpening their sacrificial knives with a view to cutting out my heart? I’m beginning to feel like I am committing some kind of mortal sin, doing something which is absolutely forbidden in fly tying. I’ve never seen the prohibition written down anywhere, or ever had anyone tell me I can’t. Have I missed out on something?

Is it absolutely forbidden to take wraps of thread off when tying flies?

I do have to ask because I’ve just seen another video in which the tier doesn’t take wraps off when perhaps it would make sense if he did. Let me explain. The tier used 4 wraps of thread to fail to secure a partridge hackle. When he took hold of it to wind it, it pulled out. He then used 5 turns to re secure the feather, without taking off the first four wraps.

Now this person has filmed this video as an example of how tie, no one has commented on it, so I can only presume that there is some kind of regulation against this.

Do I need to be afraid?

Cheers,
A.

AlanB,
You make a great point. I would venture to say that most tiers, even those who do videos, do not try to minimize wraps of thread.

You should establish the Scottish Wing of Thread Police to diminish its use.

Its not just the amount of thread. If you tie something in and pull it out the turns must be loose. Tight turns on top of loose is a recipe for slipping.

Cheers,
A.

Alan,

Completely agree. If you tie something in and it pulls out, falls out, breaks off, doesn’t look right and you need to redo something, then you should back off the wraps of thread. Unless of course you don’t know how many wraps to back off. In that case maybe learning to count would help? Anyway, shame on you. (: 10 whips with a wet noodle for your heresy. Sometimes, and I’ve seen this as a purposeful technique, the thread is backed off a lower material to tie in with the upper material. (Sounds wrong but I’m not describing it very well)

Allan

Allan, The technique you describe is one I use a lot, especially with tinsel bodies.

There is plenty of evidence that many fly tiers can’t count. You will not have to search for long to find an example on You Tube.

Cheers,
A.

Always do it with tinsel and more often than not with lots of other materials.Just always did.
Peter

If I feel it will impact the pattern negatively yes.But generally if not, why back up? But agreed,with tinsel or on streamer bodies, it’s a must.

I readily admit that it just seems that a few extra turns of thread appear to be meaningless. However, and this might be stating the obvious, every turn of thread does add weight. So if you use say 10 extra turns, as miniscule as that may be, won’t that add to the total weight of the fly? With dry flies maybe those extra turns and added weight just takes a split second of time off of your flys float? I have no idea. I just know that I was advised by many excellent fly tiers to tie in the material securely with as few wraps as possible.

Allan

I agree that minimal as a rule is a good approach. I don’t feel it is an absolute for correct tying. However, some patterns only allow for as few wraps as possible in order to retain the intended profile. In those cases a minimalist approach in thread management is a requirement.

NJ:

I don’t see it as a “weight thing”.
I try to limit the application of unnecessary thread so that there is not too much “build up” of the fly. The adult insects we are trying to imitate, after all, are extremely delicate little things. It is a constant struggle to try to keep from over-dressing a fly - with under thread, or dubbing, etc…In my opinion.

Agreed. like I said, some patterns require less wraps, while others don’t. It,s a balancing act.

If your in trouble so am I. When a wrap fails I always unwind the thread that number of wraps and then redo what I was doing.

AlanB,
Could you please provide a link to the video?
Thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EDN5uDIFsWA

Cheers,
A.

Thanks. I see what you mean.
Also, pretty messy at the eye.
However, I really like the concept!

Well, the guys flies do catch fish.

A bit similar?

A hatch

don’t lots of the full dress salmon fly tyers take “5 wraps on, two off” ?

I’m not QUITE at the level of OCD to count every thread wrap on my flies. They’re durable, they catch fish, and I don’t get stupid with extra wraps.