Checked the archives and didn’t find anything that specifically addressed this. When tying a flashback pheasant tail nymph, how does one tie in the mylar wing case without torquing it? When I tied one this evening I started with two loose wraps and then pulled it tight. It pulled over to the side away from me. I unwound the wraps and tried again, being very careful to start with loose wraps with the same result. Any pointers?
Thanks!
Mike
Cadillac, MI
offer up the mylar on the near side of the hook and use the torque to tweak it into place atop the shank.
did that make sense? it works.
mgj
you can switch hands for the original wrap
like mikeytwoshoes says you must allow for the thread torque pull
harry mason
[url=http://www.troutflies.com:c0b2d]http://www.troutflies.com[/url:c0b2d]
If you are right handed just use your left thumb and hold it down in place on top of the thorax. Real easy to do. Leve the thread hang. Pull the mylar over the top with your right hand and press down with your left thunb on top of the mylar. This will hold it in place. Pick up your thread and tie it down. This way you are not working behind yourself. Easy as that. Reverse if left handed. Ron
What he said!
Thanks! Who woulda thunk it was as simple as rolling the mylar a little towards me and letting the torque pull it into place. I’ll give that a try this evening.
Mike
Cadillac, MI
Take another look at the photo Bones provided. I’ve always had better results with this method than torquing it into proper position…and I have better control over the tension on the wingcase.
Not saying anything is wrong with the way some of you are doing this but I have never had a problem with just pulling the mylar over the back with my right hand and holding it down with my left thumb and tying it down. Why the problem with this torking? Ron
RonMT
Your right, six to one… it?s my experience that sometimes if there are more than two strands of Mylar I can not tension all of them well enough to cinch all of them tightly to the hook on the first try. I end up pulling them taught with my right hand after the wrap anyway. More to do with my club like thumb than anything else 
Well, I learned a couple of things. First, the more I crowded the eye, the worse the torque problem got. Next, I narrowed the mylar tinsel a bit before tieing it in and this seemed to help it stay in place better.
The Flashback nymphs I did manage to tie really stand out in the fly box. From the right angle I can see the mylar flash from across the room.
Thanks!
Mike
Cadillac, MI
are you tying in the flash over the thorax or completely over the top of the body of the fly? you can do that too.
ron, the reason I use thread tension or torque to position the flash is because I use that technique for any material I want tied in directly atop the hook and I just naturally do it while tying a fly.
mgj
I see. I bought some sheets of Mylar many years ago. They are 12" by 12". I cut them to the width I need for the flies I am tying. and just fold the mylar over and hold it with my thumb and tie it down. I guess it is just in the way we learn to do things. You folks might also try tying these flies with Saltwater Flash-A-Boo. It is much wider than noraml Flash-A-Boo.LOL Ron
[This message has been edited by RonMT (edited 28 January 2006).]
Mike and all others(except maybe professional tiers), you have to check out Bones’ website
[url=http://www.troutflies.com/:8702b]http://www.troutflies.com/[/url:8702b]
he sells flies and the excellent tutorials are great for the most productive flies. Harry is a contributor on our local boards here as well as FAOL.
Greg