I've been dressing treble hooks to "spruce up," some french spinners for my brother...
i having an issue with bulk…
the best i have gotten so far is starting the hackle toward the bend, (where ever the length looks best) 2-3 turns back toward the eye, cut waist hackle, loop in crystal flash if necessary, then wrap back to the bend(s) laying the hackle back as i go, then touching wraps back to the eye smoothing any bumps along the way, tie off…
the hackle looks fantastic, but the thread bulk is ridiculous… i do about 2 to 3 turns with 2 saddle hackles, that is usually enough for the desired look, i would try only using one to reduce bulk, but mixing colors looks better…
if anyone has a better method, or any suggestions, let me know…
thanks guys,
spoof
PS- i haven’t been on for some time, and i really do miss talking to all of you…
Just brainstorming here - how about tying on a tube and then slipping that over the treble shank? Even if you don’t have a tube flytying set-up, you can slip some heat-shrink tubing over a fairly thick needle and have at it. Just me, but I’d think it would be a lot easier than trying to tie on a treble.
Also, you’re concerned about thread buildup - what size thread are you using?
I use 210 flat waxed nylon thread. When tying treble hooks I work all three sections of the hook. I lay down a base from the eye to the hook point then back to the eye, coat the thread with superglue. I then place the tailing material in one section (of the three) and make one wrap to hold the material and do each section the same way. If adding flash I tie it in the same way using only one wrap to hold each section around the hook. Buy this time the thread should be even with the hook point and you can make one run of thread back to the hook eye. Coat thread with Sally Henson.
they must have had a problem with labeling that day lol.. i bought it some time ago, for tying 16-18 parachute sulfurs…
i made the mistake of thinking thicker was better, figured that’s gonna be chewed on a bit, tried using 8/0… needless to say, a bit bulky…
as for using a tube, that’s not a bad idea, wrapping with 1 barb is enough of a pain, let alone 3… but how would you get the tube to sit taught on the shaft? I’ve never messed with tube flies, a thread damn perhaps?
The spinner looks good but I’m having trouble seeing where you have bulk in your pictures. If your only using hackle, and a few strands of krystal flash use regular 6/0 fly tying thread. No matter how well you tie them fish will tear them apart. If you use cross cut zonker strips you’ll have to cut them in half or cut the hair off and tie in between the tines of the hooks.
Plain and simple - trebels are a pain to tie, but they do make a spinner look good.
fatman- that picture isn’t as bad as most of them turned out, poor for an example but i only took the one picture…
the marabou kind of hides the bulk on that one, if i could get all of them to come out like that i would be pleased… other then mentioned above, it would have been nice to use something to hide the thread… if i could keep the thickness off the shank more i would have tried peacock hurl, or something similar… low and tight, just to clean it up even more…
as for the zonker strips, that’s a fair idea, i may have to give that a go… thanks.
Again, this is still speculation (got to find my box of Mepps spinners in the basement to try it out) but if you left the tube a bit long, you could just tie that to the hook to hold it all in place. Another idea could be to insert the feathers into a split-thread, trim them off the quill, spin them tight and wrap that, cutting out the bulk from the feather quills; done properly, you can get some neat effects.
scott- that’s a really good idea… I’ve never messed with split thread hackling, I’ve done split thread dubbing, not often mind you, but removing the quill would eliminate the biggest part of the bulk…
through messing around today, selecting feathers with thinner quills, and using the 1 wrap and catch method, i reduced the bulk considerably… but i gotta try that…
here is a pic of one dressed a bit further, with a lot less bulk…
i liked the one i made for my brother so much i wanted one myself lol
a bit more going on, but basically the same concept… i squeezed at least 2 more feathers on the treble this time
I do this a lot. From your description and the photo, it looks like you are trying to get backwards trailing fibers by wrapping hackle then folding it back with thread wraps. I do this differently, using either hair or marabou tied in along the hook shank in three bunches. If you want hackle fibers here, stripping them off the stem and tying them in like hair will eliminate much of your bulk problems.
This is how I do this:
First, tie in the flash. Tie it in just behind the eye right in the middle, then fold it back and wrap over it till over the hook points. Take the thread back to just behind the hook eye.
Next, tie in the hair (if you want feather, marabou is good here as well). Tie in a small bunch of whatever fiber you want to use here between each hook bend (1/3 of total you want). Use only one or two wraps to hold it in place. Once all is added, wrap tightly from the hook eye to above the hook points. Now, add the hackle you’ve chosen. Tie it in where you stopped the thread, then wrap the thread back to just behind the hook eye. Make as many hackle wraps as you like, then tie off.
Now you have an option. Most dressed trebles done with hackle like this leave the hackle standing out from the shank, like on a dry fly or bass bug. This gives more motion and vibration in the water. You can, if you want, wrap back over the hackle to angle it back, sort of like a soft hackle. up to you, but on a spinner the water pressure over the hackle will push it back naturally as it’s retrieved.
I always make sure that no thread is wrapped past the point on the shank that’s even with the hook points.
I started assembling my own in-line spinners this year.
Yep, dressing trebles isn’t what I would call easy.
I prefer to use marabou to dressing my trebles. What I’ve been doing is start the thread near the eye, tie in some krystal flash, and wind that down the shank until I’m even with the hook points. Tie in a marabou feather by the tip, and palmer it forward. Tie the feather off, and build up a thread base, then whip-finish and SHHAN.
I do have issues with the marabou barbs getting tangled in the hook tines. I’ve learned not to worry about it until I’ve finished the hook, then use a cheap mustache comb to correct that.
I like the idea of marabou barbs in split thread. I may have to try that here soon. Someone mentioned rabbit zonkers? How about inserting the zonker strip into a split-thread loop, cut off the leather, spin it, then wrap the shank with that?
You are correct with using three clumps. I don’t use the stems on the hackle if the stems are big, only the tips of the hackle X3. I agree with stopping the thread at the hook points, it keeps the material looking nice.
I see nothing wrong with your spinners, they look very good but I do understand how easy it is to get bulk on the hook shank.
I dont wrap any hackle on the trebles that i tie, just tie in three clumps along the shank and flare them. I do tie in a thread ball at the very base to help with the flare. This is more of a mepps style. Rooster tails are tied with the hackle around the spinner shank and nothing on the hook if I remember correctly.
here is an assortment of materials
Marabou, bucktail, fox tail and fox squirrel tail
And glow in the dark flash (on a 3/0 heavy treble)
I tie mine the same way Joe does … the thread ball really helps the hair flair out. I usually use squirrel tail, but have also used some synthetics with success. I add a red hen feather to the hook and then tie on three clumps of material. After tying 5-6 you get the hang of the proper amounts of materials to use.
