Clipped Hackle Spinner By Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer
A clipped collar hackle is an easy way of making delicate,
translucent wings on spinner patterns, and the components
here can be altered to match many mayfly mayfly species. On
small hooks, use dun hackle barbs for the tail instead of
Micro Fiberts, which will add too much bulk to the fly.
It can also be tied with a body of dubbing, peacock quill, or
hackle quill. Some tiers clip only the hackle barbs beneath
the shank to make the fly easier to see on the water.
Materials for the Clipped Hackle Spinner:
Hook: Standard dry fly, #10 - #12.
Thread: Black 6/0.
Tail: Light-dun Micro Fibetts and black poly dubbing.
Rib: Light moose mane hair.
Abdomen: Dark moose mane hair.
Hackle: Light dun, dry fly.
Tying Instructions for the Clipped Hackle Spinner:
- Position the thread at the tail-mounting point.
Using 3-4 Micro Fibetts on each side, form a dubbing-ball
split tail one shank-length long, as show here from above.
Keep the black dubbint small and tight. Do not clip the
excess.
- Clip a light hair and 2 dark hairs from a patch of moose
mane. Clip off 1/4 inch from the tip of each, and mount
them over the rearmost tailing wrap ahead of the dubbing
ball.
- Use a flattened thread to bind the excess tail material
and hair tips to the shank, forming a smooth foundation
over the rear 3/4 of the shank. Trim any excess material,
and position the thread at the front of the foundation.
- Wrap the dark hairs forward together up to the tying
thread, just as you would wrap a flat bard body. Tie off
and clip the excess. Position the thread at the rearmost
tie-off wrap.
- Rib the abdomen with the light hair to make light and
dark bands of about equal width. Tie off and clip the
excess. Position the thread at the rear-most tie-off wrap.
Coat the abdomen with head cement for durability.
- Prepare a dry-fly hackle one size larger than would
normally be used for the hook size. Mount it directly
ahead of the abdomen as shown, forming a smooth
foundation. Position the thread behind the hook eye.
- Wrap and tie off the hackle as shown…Clip the feather
tip, and finish the fly.
- Trim the hackle barbs that project above and beneath the
shank, leaving only the barbs that extend outward from the
sides of the hook, as shown in this front view. ~ TL and JS
Credits:
The Clipped Hackle Spinner is an excerpt from
The Benchside Introduction to Fly Tying,
by Ted Leeson,Jim Schollmeyer, published by
Frank Amato Publications. You can read a review
of this great instructional book
HERE. ~ DLB
Originally published September 4, 2006 on Fly Anglers Online by TL and JS.