p.s.: I don't use wire either.
Interestingly, the tutorial at my favorite tutorial site (http://www.troutflies.com) shows tying on the wire at the rear, dubbing the body, tying the hackle on at the front and palmering to the rear, binding the hackle down with two turns of wire then reverse-palmering the wire to the front to bind in and reinforce the hackle.
I'm lazy. I tie in the hackle first, add my body, palmer the hackle, then add the elk hair and I'm done.
And they still seem to catch trout (and bluegill and bass). Allan -- Allan Fish Greenwood, IN [EMAIL PROTECTED]
