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[li]What type of feathers are you using for the actual flatwing?
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[li]Are you using two feathers or just one?
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[li]Any particular thoughts on hook size to feather ratio?
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[li]and one final question, how are you coping with the feather wrapping around the hook bend? Mono loop? Mono guard? Natural bend of feather?
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Thanks! I just finished making my first ever Winter list of flies to tie. It’s a long extensive list, and I realized I have yet to tie one of these guys.
I don’t buy the fancy saddles. I look for suitable thin hackle patches in bargain bins… otherwise, I use strung saddle hackle
Small flies like a #4 only get one feather, but most get at least two and usually three
Normally a white one tied convex over the bucktail/pillow and then two more concave over that
If you first tie in a pinch of bucktail and above that a ‘pillow’ of dubbing for the feathers to rest on, these flies never foul
Great information thank you! and the feathers them selves are actually tied flat along the back of the hook shank? when I first saw these flies I thought the feathers were on the side of the hook convexing in.
So basicaly it’s a couple of buck tail, a pillow of dubbing, a smaller saddle hackle facing up, and then one or two long thing saddle hackles curving down. (I assume the next steps in this given example of a fly would be the bucktail and materials, and the marabou looking next and jungle cock eyes to finish it off.)
So basicaly it’s a couple of buck tail, a pillow of dubbing, a smaller saddle hackle facing up, and then one or two long thing saddle hackles curving down. (I assume the next steps in this given example of a fly would be the bucktail and materials, and the marabou looking next and jungle cock eyes to finish it off.)
Yup, you got it
The wing is normally a blend of very small amounts of different colors of bucktail. The hard core count the fibers
I should probably add that this style of fly not only looks good but fishes very well
Because tail is tied in flat, when it’s retrieved or left to ‘swim’ in current, the tail wiggles horizontally in a realistic and seductive manner
This works best with a floating line
well I just found the recipe from the website that this fly was pulled off of (it was a google image earlier) and you’re right it gets down to the Bucktail count. no order that it is put together, but with the pillow dubbing information etc… I should be off to a good start soon enough!
There are a couple structural things that make a good flatwing so it swims well and rarely fouls.
A platform of bucktail tied right where the bend meets the shank. spread it out so it looks like a broom laying flat on top.
A chunky pillow of fluff or hair (ball of dubbing) placed on top of the bucktail platform gives the feather shaft something to sink into so it doesn’t spin around on the shank on you ie tied in horizontal feathers want to spin verticle because of the way the feather shaft is.
Next if tying a multifeather version, tye a stiff feather so it curves up. This feather is the support. It aids in keeping all the other feathers away from the bend of the hook as well as a mechanical step to get the flies to glide in the water. It is usually a stiff hackle from a hen neck. To tie it in make a couple loose wraps of thread around the feather shaft where it will sit on the pillow, then grab the feather tip and base of the stem and set it into the pillow. Then you make tighter thread wraps, wrapping the stem of that hackle towards the eye. This is what locked the feather in so it won’t pull out but it gives the feather some movement towards the bend of the hook.
Then you can add as many colored and length feathers curve side down as you want all tying them in the same way. Don’t be afraid to add more pillow once the origianal pillow is no longer useable.
There are fancy RLS hackles out there that are designed for this, but they are no longer in production. When you do find them they aren’t cheap.
Any long hackle with wide feather barbs with a nice taper will do.
For those that have never tied a flatwing. It’s a lot harded then you would expect. You can’t pinch the material to anything to hold while trying to tie on.
