Another way to "secure" the hackle stem is to strip the tie-in part with scissors... but leave a LITTLE bit of the barbs. How long in inches? Have no idea... I'm just Swedish. But in millimetres, I would say maybe 0.5-1.0... just to make the stem "serrated" and make the hackle barbs work like HOOK barbs when the thread goes inbetween them. (Yes, I know. It's a step outside 'barbless', but I doubt the fishing police will cut it open to check.)
This works good on hackles tied in by the butt... not so good on hackles tied in by the tip though (due to the angle of the barbs). To make the first wrap right, without twisting, strip only one side flat (the side supposed to lie against the hook) and make the upper side "barbfull". /Nick On Dec 28, 2007 2:41 AM, Peter Gramp <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Or, if you use a "fold and lock" tie in (make a loose wrap or two over > the hackle stem, then take the hackle stem's butt and 'fold it' back towards > the tip of the hackle, then wrap over everything - both 'strands' of hackle > stem - to 'lock' into place), you can simply strip the hackle stem for 1/4 > to even 1/2 inch or so (instead of the trim you mention) and use some of > that 1/2 inch for the tie- in. That way, when you start the wrap, there's a > little bit of "stripped hackle stem" left after the tie-in (obviously > without barbs) that will give the leeway needed when you start to palmer. > I only mention the 'fold and lock' method because without it (that is, > if you just wrap over the hackle - the "normal type 1" method, as Paul > Mariner words it in the 'how to choose fly tying threads' pamphlet), the > absence of the trimmed barbs will, over repeated wet-dry cycles of using the > fly, allow the hackle to eventually pull out (of course, that relies on me > not catching a tree with it, first...). Just my personal opinion and > experience, as I find that I tend to err on the side of caution when it > comes to applying thread tension while tying - your results may vary. > Hope that makes sense and helps more than confuses. Tight wraps, > Pete > > > On Dec 27, 2007 8:52 PM, Mark Beresford II <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > wrote: > > > strip half the feather before tying it in. > > or trim once tied in before the palmering. > > > > Mark. > > > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > Folks: I have been tying some Griffiths Gnats..To tie in the hackle > > feather to the back of the hook to start the palmering forward, I trim the > > barbs real short for about 1/16th of an inch (cause it's on a #18 hook), tie > > that in from front to back. Then, I take my thread back to the front of the > > hook, towards the eye..When I make a sharp right turn to wrap clockwise > > towards the eye, a few of the barbs stick straight back, and up at an angle, > > then start getting into the normal palmered position and goes on up the > > hook, where I tie it off at the hook eye.. Those few wild hairs kinda look > > like a tail, so it's not that back, but my question was, how do you tie in > > the hackle so that you don't get those few stray hairs??? Anybody see what > > I'm saying??? Thanks, Chuck > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! > > Search.<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51734/*http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping> > > > >
