Hello, I am a relative newb to fly tying, at least dry fly tying, and also very fortunate to have most of my materials given to me by fellow tyers over the years. However, nearly all of the hackle feathers I own are loose and unorganized into bags. Can somebody recommend which types of feathers, or perhaps what parts of loose feathers are best for tails? Seems that using longer fibers off of random feathers doesn’t produce a very good support for my flies. Also, can you substitute something else for tails such as hair?
If you plan on tailing dry flies the best quality material will produce the best flies. You may consider purchasing a quality neck or two for your dry fly tying, and leave the material you have in bags for wet or saltwater patterns.
If you’re not adverse to unnatural materials & spending a FEW bucks; take a look at Microfibbetts.
They are synthetic fibers; available at most fly shops in any color you can imagine; specifically made for tailing mayfly imitations. The come in a package that will tie LOTS of flies. I use them exclusively on 99% of my dries.
Some folks swear by paint brush fibers as a substitute for Microfibbetts but most of the paint brushes I’ve seen come in only one or two colors and cost WAY more than a package of Microfibbetts; unless of course you want a 20-lifetimes supply of black fibers.
jigga,
Hackle fibers, deer, elk, moose, microfibbets, paint brush bristles, some animals’ guard hairs -really anything that is stiff and doesn’t soak up water can be used for dry fly tailing material. Some are much easier to work with than others, however.
Joe
If your looking for a great online source for Coq de Leon, give Jims Fly Co a try. Here is a link. http://www.jimsflyco.com/ I bought about a half dozen of the whiting tailing packs from Jim. He has a lot of other feathers as well.
You might also want to contact Denny or Liz at Conranch hackle. They should be able to help. Here is a link. http://www.conranch.com/
jigga you might also consider taking a fly tying class from a local fly shop. You will learn much more than trying to teach yourself how and why’s of tying.
Charlie Collins at Collins Hackle in New York sells bags of spade hackle feathers loose in various colors to use for tailing material. Bags are around $5 . . . hard to beat and they work very well.
One of the best tailing materials that I have found are mink guard hair. You can buy mink tails in many colors at a nominal price and the guard hairs are a great tailing material. A bonus is the under fur which is great dubbing…
For wulffs and any fly of the right color, you can’t beat deer hock hair. Cut the skin off where the leg bends ( the Hock) or have your hunting buddy save you some.
:tieone: