Trying to be forever frugal. I tied some small size 10 and 12 wooly bugger style flies using “substitute marabou” from the fluff at the base of larger dyed saddle hackles. They look good and I was wondering why this isn’t mentioned by others. Or is it a standard practice?
I don’t know what is common practice but I too am a cheapskate and now I know cheapskates think alike 
.
Its not being a cheapskate. I’ve been saving all the bottom stems of hackles since I started tying because it just looked like a great fishy material. Now I’m actually using them before the ‘good’ portion.
-tails on micro buggers, leeches, bloodworms, damsels.
-breather tubes on buzzers.
-legs/tails on nymphs like GRHE.
-red gill flashes for my streamers.
…and on and on
I use the fluffy butt ends of hackles on some of my Nymphs. Tied in “fore and aft” under the wing case they give nice Mobile legs to a Nymph. Jax
I’m a spend thrift and I just yesterday used the soft hackle fluff at the base of a hackle on a small fly because it did the job well.
These fluffs make great hackle collars on small bead heads.
Rich
[This message has been edited by flymaker2 (edited 30 July 2005).]
I do the same thing. It works great. The only drawback is that the tails can’t be more than an inch long. I also used them for the gills on a Hellgramite pattern.
Warmouth
If any of you read Flytyer mag, look back a few years. There’s an article called “Filoplume Mayflies” dedicated to these type feathers. My 2c worth. Jamie
Tight Lines & Big Smiles
Take A Kid Fishing!!!
There was also a piece by Brad Downey in an American Angling magazine in 1997, I believe, on “Hackle Butt Nymphs.” Brad ties the butts in at the thorax and folds them over, tying them in just behind the hook eye before adding a wing case. They make excellent legs.
mickmcco,
That article popped into my mind the min I started to read this thread,And it has done wonders for my Damsel Nymph’s has brought my catch rate up significantly !!!
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
I think this is what Henry Hoffman - Whiting’s predecessor - calls “chickabou”
SweetStreamS
Welcome to the club! To your great good fortune, there are no dues. Not ever.
I too have used the base of the marabou for tails on buggers. Seems wasteful not to use but part of the feather.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in slience…“Max Ehrman”
Hi Ray,
The fluff you reference makes a great soft hackle when stripped from the stem and placed in a “split thread” dubbing loop then wrapped on the hook. You can adjust for hook size based on how much of the butt ends you cut off after placing the fibers in the loop. Take care & …
Tight Lines - Al Beatty [url=http://www.btsflyfishing.com:cccdf]www.btsflyfishing.com[/url:cccdf]
Don’t know about dues FlyAngler,But seems rather few who take the time to become Friend’s of FAOL…AKA , A Sponsor…for all thats available here, It just seems so little to venture,For all the gain.
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
Duuuude, the “club” I was referring to was the Cheapskate’s Club. An honorary society of those who find uses for things like drier lint, dog hair or beauty shop sweepings.
Point taken, of course, on the “friends” dealie-o.
Oh,Well I’m a card carry’in member of that one too…lol…Still see where more sould feel a need to help out the site that which many call home…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
Here is an idea I got from Rick Z. It has done well on gills & crappie. Simply tie on the feathers backwards.
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/Panman/Reverse.jpg:78e85]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/Panman/Reverse.jpg[/url:78e85]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/Panman/Reverse.jpg[/url:78e85]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/Panman/Reverse.jpg%5B/url:78e85%5D){kind=link}
Tim Anderson