Tip #4
ADJUSTING HACKLE SIZES MADE SIMPLE
We both love fishing and tying soft-hackle wet flies, but they have one problem: finding the right size hackle to match the pattern we wish to make. And for us, this problem is exacerbated because most of our good soft hackle is used to fill customer orders. You’ve probably heard the old saying about the cobbler’s children not having shoes. Need we say more? Some time ago, we shared with you Marvin Nolte’s tip for manufacturing a “sized” soft-hackle using a split-thread dubbing loop. Here is another neat Nolte trick for properly sizing soft hackle.
The Right Collar, No Matter the Hackle
Tip #5
NEAT CHENILLE BODIES
Chenille is a beginning tier’s friend, but it’s also his foe. Why? Because a new tier usually just ties the chenille onto the hook and wraps the body. The bulk at the tie-in point often results in a lopsided or out-of-proportion body. This tip is so simple, we hesitate sharing it with you, but we can’t tell you the number of times people have sent flies to us that have lumpy chenille bodies due to poor material management. If some of your flies have this problem, read on; this tip is for you!
Better Chenille Bodies
Tip #6
WEIGHTING A HOOK THE RIGHT WAY
We often wrap weighting wire on the hook shank to make the finished fly sink quickly. For us, the problem is all the pieces of wasted wire that end up in the trash bin. This really doesn’t matter if you tie only a few flies, but if you tie a lot of flies, the wasted material adds up! This tip allows you to use the right amount of wire on each hook and never throw any away
Get Down Deep & Keep it Neat
Al and GretchenBeatty are great tiers, anglers, and authors. They are also leading fly tying instructors. They travel far and wide from their home in Idaho to teach fly tying at clubs and shows.
