Dry Fly Hackle

[Swandazi]

I've been attempting to tye my own dry flys i've already taken a class, but i cant seem to get then hackle to wrap around the hook right and it ends up looking like a mess with hackles going in every direction, could any one point me towards a website or give me some tips on wrapping on dry fly hackle?

[dmoocher]

There are a gazillion things that could be going awry here...but here's my 2 cents worth. I gave up tying conventional dry fly collar hackle years ago becuase I just wasn't happy with it...probably doing the same things wrong you're doing...I can almost guarantee it's due to an uneven base below the hackle wraps.

Every mayfly pattern I tie now I use a parachute hackle. I got the big Schollmeyer book for christmas 6 years ago and I think I have the parachute mastered pretty well...I'll never tie another collar hackle again. And you don't need a gallows tool to do a good job either.

[Dr Bob]

I also mainly tye parachute dry flies now and very few classic collar dry flies. However, I would say don't worry about the hackles going every which way. I took a fly tying session with A K Best and he intentionally crosses the hackle back and forth past the upright wings to cause the hackle to point in different directions. His thinking, and I agree, is that the hackle collar is representing the legs of the mayfly spread out on the water. If the collar is real neat and compact, it is not representative of the mayfly's legs which are spread over the water more like your hackle collar. Look at some photos of A K's dry flies and you will see what I mean.

Dr Bob;)

[Marty]

First thing are you tying with quality hackle? There is quite the process when it comes to selecting hackle. This is what I look for.

Color – This is the easiest part of the selection. It is all up to your liking but there is one thing I do look for in a grizzly neck and that is the black needs to be black and the white needs to be white. Other than that I just look for consistency in the color. I use natural colors on most my dries but I am not apposed to using a dyed neck for flies like a green drake.

Stem – The thinner the stem the better it will lay on the hook. When looking at necks take them out of the bag. Look at the stem to check the thickness and to see how fast it tapers. The stem needs to be pretty much the same size through out the useable part of the feather. If it gets fat to fast it will be difficult to use. I also put a bend in it to make sure it is not brittle.

Fibers – Consistency in length and stiffness is what I look for. Each section of the neck will produce a different size hackle. Bend the neck to see all the different size feathers. If I am buying a neck to tie size 16 flies I take an inventory to see how many size 16 feathers there are. I still use the prick the lip test to see how stiff the fibers are. To do this I bend a hackle (without plucking it of the hide) and push it to my lip. You would be amazed on the difference between necks.

Neck or saddle – Most of my tying is done with saddles now. I use the same tests in selecting a saddle.

Now if you have quality hackle here are a few tips to make it work for you.

Hackle prep – I tie in tips first so I clear all the fibers and webby stuff off the butt end of the stem. I then pull back the fibers from the tip and clip it into a wedge shape.

Tie In - I tie in the wedge on top of the hook shank with the good side of the feather facing up. The good side is the convex side of the feather.

Turns – The first turn is the hardest and you may have to work it back a couple of time to get it started right. Then each turn is place next to the last. Try not to wrap over the turns. The only time I will over wrap is when I add a second color like brown and grizzly.

Tie Off – When I tie off I am only securing the stem. This is where the hackle prep comes in. If you try to tie off with fibbers still attached to the stem you will have fibers pointing all over.

Last – practice practice practice and don’t give up.

[ceviche]

Owning a rotary vise and/or using those swivel-tip parachute hackle pliers can help a lot. Both of these help you guide on the hackle, as well as produce even tension as you palmer.

As mentioned above, making sure the base upon which you will be wrapping hackle on is smooth (thread wraps on the hook that are underneath the dubbed body, etc) can make a difference.

Another trick is to allow yourself a small bit of stripped stem to start your wrap with. That way you begin with a little more control as you start palmering.

Good luck!
--Dave

[Rory McMahon]

Im guessing that your main problem is low quality hackle. It can get frustrating when you use that. I would figure out a color your going to be using a lot like brown or grizzly, then buy a high quality neck.

This is sort of a sub question, why are necks more expensive and considered better than saddles. Why can't u just use saddles for dry fly hackle.

[SuperDave]

Understand that a "hackle" is a component of a fly rather than a type of feather. For example, I use saddles for hackles very frequently especially on small flies

Buying quality saddles, capes, necks etc. is extremely important; you can't produce quality flies without them. It's that simple!

Selecting the right type of feather for the hackle is a skill learned by experience. The selection need NOT be the most expensive in many cases. Learn the types of feather suitable for the hackle you wish to tie.

SuperDave

[Jeremy Floyd]

I only use saddles now for 99% of my flies. They are just easier to deal with and I can usually get several flies out of one single feather.

I posted some pics of feathers a while ago for Frank about this subject. I am going to dig around and see if I can find it.

The long skinny feathers are from the saddle and they are the only thing I use for dry fly hackle.

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/For_Frank.jpg

[Rory McMahon]

i tired using neck hackle on a EHC, didn't work very well. The feathers are too uneven. plus you can't wind copper wire through it with out pinching down the barbs.

[FT]

Unless you are tying the smallest flies (#20-#26's) you really don't need the highest grade necks. Believe it or not, most pro tyers (unless they are tying small flies) get grade 3 necks because they are a great value and have the highest concentration of hackes in the most used #12-#16 sizes.

Don't get me wrong, saddle hackles work very well for dry fly hackle. Keep in mind that saddles are graded a bit differently from necks. Saddles are graded on the basis of the size fly it will tie, which is why the highest grade ones are the most expensive, they will tie really small flies. This is also why the least expensive saddles are great for flies like woolley buggers; but not of much value for normal sized dry flies.

As for using neck hackles on an EHC, Al Troth, the originator of the fly, uses grade 3 neck hackles on the ones he ties. How do I know this you ask? Simple, I got to know Al when I lived in Montana. Try wiggling the wire rib back and forth as you wrap it to avoid tying down hackle barbs. Also, you could tie it the way Troth does: 1) tie the hackle in at the head of the fly after the body has been wound; wrap the hackle back to the end of the body: and 3) use the wire to hold the hackle in place as you rib the fly. Troth's was of tying the EHC also makes sure the hackle tapers slightly from front to back with the longest fibers at the front. Another thing Troth does is use a hackle one size smaller than the hook would normally use. A hackle gauge is very good for sizing them this way.