wrapping the hackle

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Norm Frechette
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Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 8:28 pm
Location: Norwich, Connecticut

wrapping the hackle

Post by Norm Frechette » Thu Mar 12, 2009 3:46 am

when you wrap the hackle, does it come out nice like a spoked wheel or do the fibers seem to stick to each other and wrap unevenly?

any tips or tricks for getting that spoked wheel effect?

cheers

norm
Jerry G
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Location: Beaver Dam Wisconsin USA

Re: wrapping the hackle

Post by Jerry G » Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:42 am

Norm in wrapping my soft hackles most all feathers used from game or wild birds get the barbs stripped from the stem that will be closest to the hook shank. This seems to prevent some of the untidiness that you are experiencing. The barbs may still marry to one another and to improve on this I simply use my dubbing needle to separate them once the hackle has been wrapped. Chicken hackle on the other hand seems to be less of a problem. Please realize these hackle are only going to look organized until they are fished and then, well lets hope the fish find them attractive. :)

Regards, Jerry
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Soft-hackle
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Re: wrapping the hackle

Post by Soft-hackle » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:16 am

Hi Norm,
After wrapping and tying off the hackle, give it a brush with a soft tooth brush to help separate the hackle fibers. Here's a great demo by Hans on wrapping.

http://www.danica.com/flytier/steps/poe/poe.htm

Practice makes perfect.

Mark
"I have the highest respect for the skilled wet-fly fisherman, as he has mastered an art of very great difficulty.” Edward R. Hewitt

http://www.libstudio.com/FS&S
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skunkaroo
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Re: wrapping the hackle

Post by skunkaroo » Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:31 pm

I use the same technique described by Jerry, except I separate the barbs as I wrap--I find there's less chance of trapping fibres together when tying off. Stripping the leading edge helps, but it works as well for a folded full hackle.

Aaron
Aaron Laing, New Westminster BC
Moderator - FlyBC Flytying Forum
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Pat M
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Re: wrapping the hackle

Post by Pat M » Thu Mar 12, 2009 3:05 pm

Soft-hackle wrote:Hi Norm,
After wrapping and tying off the hackle, give it a brush with a soft tooth brush to help separate the hackle fibers. Here's a great demo by Hans on wrapping.

http://www.danica.com/flytier/steps/poe/poe.htm

Practice makes perfect.

Mark
This is the method I've been using and I really like the results that I've been receiving. :D
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