Just wanted to add to Jimi's comments about the list.
This is one of the reasons I try to read every post
with "VFB" in it. Some are just fun and kidding
around, some don't have much to do with my specific
interests, but many will contain information gleaned
from years of experience that you won't find in books
or anywhere else. Sometimes they're direct answers to
questions and other times just casual asides about
some other topic.
As I've said in the past and will probably have
occasion to say again, this is what makes VFB the best
special interest site on the web.
-John
Oregon
--- Desert Eagle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> This List never ceases to "Amaze" me.
> I am endeavoring to learn how to tie dry flies
> somewhere in the caliber
> of many of the more experienced list members. I was
> actually looking at a
> couple of my attempts from the "Eye" end and noticed
> this "Turbine"
> appearance of the hackles. I was wondering if this
> was the way it was
> supposed to be or had I done something wrong.
> Now one of our "Masters" comes along and
> explanes exactly what I was
> looking at, what caused it and how to correct it.
> this is almost scarry.
> With the experiance that comes from just reading
> the comments on the
> list I belive that I can be years ahead of where I
> might be without it.
> Don and all, "Thank You" for the never ending
> "School" here on the list.
> Jimi
>
> Mel,
> I agree with all of what you said, but would like
> to add a little to this
> portion.
>
> I have always reverse-splayed my hackles before
> tying dry flies. Just grab
> the hackle by the tip and run the hackle backwards
> through your pinched
> index finger and thumb, standing the barbs out to
> the stem 90 degrees. It
> may take more than one swipe. Don't know who I
> learned it from, been doing
> it for over 30 years. On older neck hackles (before
> dry fly saddles), this
> was necessary to find the 'sweet spot' on the
> hackle- the portion without
> webbing and the right length (size) before the final
> tapering. One would
> 'grade' a neck based on the length and quality of
> the'sweet spot'. On most
> necks this 'spot' was less than 2" long, and many
> only an inch. ( I
> remember well having to use 2 hackles to tie one
> fly!) A side benefit was
> that tying with the barbs sticking straight out from
> the stem eliminated the
> 'turbine-twist' of the fly and thus twisted leaders.
>
> AK is correct in that today's stiffer hackles can
> cause twist. But it is
> easy to eliminate the twist and still use the
> stiffer high quality hackles
> if you splay the barbs. It is easy to demonstrate.
> Tie a fly without
> splaying the hackles, and then tie an identical one
> with splaying. Look at
> the fly from the eye end. The un-splayed fly will
> have the barbs in the
> 'turbine twist' (not coming out directly from the
> center of the hook, but
> tangentially) and the other will not (with the
> hackles sticking out directly
> from the hook center). Some old-timers just used to
> grab the whole hackle
> end and give it a good counterwise pinch-twist to
> straighten the hackles.
> The a penetrating dab of head cement held it in
> place. I can't tell you
> what a joy it is to tie with today's genetic saddle
> hackles as opposed to
> the necks from 25-30 years ago.
>
> Another thing to consider is barb curl and cupping.
> Even reverse splaying
> can't straighten out a curved barb, which results
> from a cupped hackle.
> These will make a 'propeller' look on the front
> view. Today's genetic
> hackles have this little unwanted characteristic
> pretty much bred out.
>
> When you look at a neck or saddle next time,
> especially a 100 pak, look for
> the part of the feathers that have been splayed by
> the graders in order to
> size them. Do this to the whole hackle.
>
> Hope this helps,
> DonO
>
>
>
>
=====
The River-
You passers-by, who share my journey,
You move and change,I move and am the same;
You move and are gone, I move and remain.
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