Hope this helps John: Only use the correct size crest. Only tie in the white pithy part near the base, the stem is triangular above that. Bend the tie in point with your fingernails (thumb and forfinger) and then flatten the rest with some FINE flat nosed pliers. You can also shape the lie of the crest by crimping the crest with your fingernails along its shaft. also try to FLATTEN your tail crest. You will be pleased with the look! Good luck! Dave in Oregon
On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 08:56:43 -0400 "John Roth" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Hey everybody. I'm having a little bit of difficulty and I'm hoping > someone fron the list might be able to give me couple pointers to > get me back on track. > > Recently, I've taken to trying my hand at atlantic salmon patterns. > All in all, its pretty darned complcated, but generally I'm really > enjoying it. I'm having one major piece of trouble though. When I > tie in golden pheasant crest feathers for the tail or topping, the > stuff won't lay in one nearly two dimensional unit. It insists on > flaring left and right, up and down. By the time it's all said and > done, I'm winding up with a fly that looks pretty good except for > the crests looking like someone whipped them with a weedwhacker. > > I've used all of the techniques for straightening the crest feathers > and I'm extremely pleased with the results. The quills of the > feathers I'm using are super flat before I tie them in. As far as > actually tying the feather in, I've followed all of the vague > instructions found in the book I'm working from (there aren't many > of them either). Essentially what's happening is that when I tie > down the crest, its trying to roll both left and right around the > hook as soon as the thread places any tension on the feather's > fibers. I guess this makes perfect sense, but I haven't seen > anything in the book I'm using or in it's pictures which indicates > anything different should be done. Is it customary to strip the > shaft of the feather up to the point where it gets tied in? I've > tried this, but it doesn't look quite right. It makes more sense to > me, but its still not solving the problem 100%. Can anybody shed > some light on this? > > Thanks everybody! > > John
