Help with some Wulff tying problems

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Hi everyone,

I’m having some pretty basic issues with my success in tying wulff style patterns.

Here in Eastern TN, I use a pattern called the Thunderhead, which is just a grey bodied wulff. Anyway, I’m having two different problems that I’m hoping for some advice on.

  1. when I tie the wing. I’ve tried calf tail and calf body hair. is there any way to even the hairs? I have no luck in a hair evener due to the wavyness of the hair. All the recipes I see for the wulff wing say to use the tips of the hair for the wing, but this is almost impossible on a #16 or #18 size fly, as there’s too much length variation in the hair. I end up tying it long and then cutting it short to match the hackle, which looks choppy and amateur. Is there a way to stack the hair, or another material that will allow me to get the tapered look easily?

  2. I’m really having a hard time with the hackle. I’ll tie a piece in and start wrapping it. When I get to the end and ready to tie it off, it will either break off and unravel, or it will slip out of my hackle pliers. I’m using the Griffin hackle pliers with the little piece or rubber on the jaws. Amy tips on fixing these problems? Do I need a differnt style of pliers? How can I avoid breaking the hackle bit still maintain enough pressure on it to get a nice hackle?

Regards,
Jeff

2

Hey starfish

  1. Buy a hair stacker. This tool will help you evenly line up hairs.

Warm Water Fly Fisher

3

I’ve had some success with wavy hair by using an aluminum cigar tube as a stacker. You have to use sparse amounts of hair, and don’t tap the tube on the table top, just swirl it around vigorously. I’ve had relatively good success with bucktail and calf hair with this method.

4

Two suggestions. 1. Try using turkey flats for the wing material. It is easier with which to work and looks as good if not better than the calf. BTW, most calf body hair is very straight, don’t think I’ve seen any wavey body hair. Maybe you have a strange piece. 2. Try using saddle hackle then you won’t need the hackle pliars.

5

I guess that I forgot to mention that I have a hair stacker. Doesn’t do any good. the kinky calf tail and belly hair seems to stick to itself rather than stack.

6

Good suggestions. I’ll look into the Turkey Flats.

As for saddle hackle… I haven’t found a saddle hackle that comes small enough to do 18 and 20 size hackles. the smalles I have found is 16.

7

May I suggest you tye a bit large rendition. Once you are proficient at the pattern, tying smaller will be easier when you have the tools down and can handle the materials. I don’t begrudge the substitution of materials to make the pattern easier, I just think that following the pattern enables you to become more well rounded in materials handling and it’s application. Tying with tough materials is part of the game,don’t back down :slight_smile:

8

Starfish,

If you prefer to use calftail for the wing, and it won’t even out in a stacker for you, try hand stacking the hair. It’s not as fast as using a stacker, but it does work and will solve that problem for you.

It doesn’t have to be perfect, it IS, after all, just a fishing fly. A bit of unevenness won’t hurt one bit (neither will leaving out the wing ENTIRELY on a fly this size, but THAT is another issue).

As for the hackle problem, that’s unusual with todays outstanding hackle. It’s likely either a problem with the hackle pliers you have, or, les likely, the hackle itself.

I don’t, and have never tried to, use the pliers with the rubber jaws, so I can’t speak to them. Plain old english style hackle pliers, properly finished (jaws meating flush, smooth with no sharp edges) work great. Just keep the pliers centered and don’t pull too hard (only way to learn how hard to pull is practice).

Another tip, FWIW: If, like many of us, you prefer a very full hackle on wulff style flies, use several hackles. This keeps you from wrapping down into the very tips, where the stem is thinner and thus more fragile. (Save the tips for wings on fly patterns that need those).

As to alternate materials, I’ve switched completely to poly yarn for wulff style wings on flies over size 16 (16s and under I dispense with the wings). It works, it’s inexpensive, and it doesn’t absorb water. Fish haven’t shown that they care.

Good Luck!

Buddy

9

I would suggest using the right hair and learn how to use it properly. For small Wulff’s I would suggest using Calf Body hair. Make sure to buy the longest you can find. Take it out and look at it before you buy it. Most shops will let you do so. There isn’t any Kebler Elves tying those size #18 and #20 Wulff’s in your local fly shop. Someone knew how to do it and use the hair properly.
I also would tell you to pick out the strightest haired Calf tails you can find. Next buy a Barber’s comb and use it to comb the butt’s and underfur of the hair you are about to stack. This will let the hair move much easier in the stacker. This is done by holding the hair by the tips and just running the comb from about the middle of the hair to the butt’s of the hair after it is cut off the hide or tail.
I suggest before using either the tails or the body hair washing with hot soapy water then rinsing it well and letting it dry very well before spraying it with a good dose of Static Guard. Then it will be ready for use.
Cut the ammount of hair you will need off the skin or tail. Comb the butt’s out well. Place it in your stacker with the tips down and stack it well. Use a hard surface to do this on a soft one will not get the hair moving as well. Take the hair out of your stacker and look at the tip’s. If they are even you are ready to go if not I suggest pulling the longer fibers out with the sides of your thumb and pointing finger then laying them back on top of the other hair so the tips line up with the tips of the other bunch. Harder to tell how to do this than to do it. By doing this one more stacking should get you going.

As for your hackle problem I would guess after teaching many people to tie you are trying to put on to much. That is normal for new tiers with hackle or anyother material they try and use. Take two wraps behind the wing and two wraps in front of the wing with your first hackle. Tie off behind the hooks eye with about three wraps of thread. Now take the next hackle (I suggest using two) Take one wrap between the two wraps behind the wing weaving it back and forth as you go and one wrap in front of the wing between the front two wraps again weaving it as you go. Bring it back up top just behind the eye of the hook and tie it off. Both hackles should be tied off on top of the hook shank. The reason for this type of hackling of a fly is that I have found with todays newer hackle it is all that is needed to make the fly not only look proper but float right to. Todays hackle is so much better than it was years ago you just do not need as many wraps to get a good floating fly. I have never seen anyone tie hackle in as I do it. It just a way I have taught myslef to do over the years.
But here is a small tip for you. When you cut the hackle at the butts getting it ready to tie in and then remove the flu from the butt’s of the hackle I suggest you remove just a few more fibers from the side of the hackle that will go against the hook. In doing this you will not get wild fly-away hackle at the start of your hackle wraps. The removed hackle sould be on the bottom of the hackle after it is tied in.

If you tie a Wulff pattern with anything for the wing but hair it is no longer a Wulff and will not float the same, look the same or fish the same. You might as well put your own name on it because it is no longer a Wulff fly pattern but one you made up. I can’t tell you the number of problems I have had with orders because of people doing these things. They come up with a different wing tell the person they give it to it is a Wulff or some other pattern then you can’t find the pattern and when you try and tie it for the customer it is never right. Go by the pattern and learn to use the materials it calls for. It will make it a lot easier on the rest of the tying world if you do… Ron

10

RonMT nailed it!

I have learned that the best tyers, like the best fishermen hardly ever use anything right out of the package. Unfortunately we all seem to be in a hurry so we don’t want to have to work on the materials we buy. Ron’s calf tail prep suggestion is an excellent one. The Static Guard idea is brilliant!

All I can add is make sure the hair in the stacker is neither too loose or too tight. For that reason I have several of the Renzetti stackers with different diameter tubes. Sometimes for some hair, a certain diameter or length tube just works better.

11

This link may help.

http://www.internationalflytyer.com/ubb … ersForEver

12

An alternative way to align kinky hair, is to use “Post Notes”. Hold the bunch of hair, by the butt section in one hand. Then with the other hand, pull out the tallest hair fibers, lay them on the “Post Notes”.

Repeat the process, being sure to lay, each group of fibers tip evenly with those already positioned.
You should be able to get enough to dress one fly.

The tacky edge surface will hold the fibers in place, yet will not impart any stickiness to the hackle.

13

Thanks for all the great tips everyone. I’ll try them all and figure out what works best for my style.

regards,
Jeff