Nick: Thanks for the tips, Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: Niclas (Gmail)
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2007 5:13 AM
Subject: Re: [VFB] Griffith's Gnat Question
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.
