"Tim J." wrote in message
...

"riverman" wrote...
"Tim J." wrote...
"riverman" wrote...

What about how to tie quill so that it has a wide wrap? Do
you just wrap it loosely over a dubbed abdomen?

I've never used a quill for that kind of segmentation, so I'm hoping
someone else who has will answer this. I've either used wire,
thread, or palmered hackle.

Hmm, have you ever tried tying the palmers (if that's the right
conjugation)
towards the tail, and laying the next wrap over the barbs so that it
lays
flat? Is that possible?

I don't understand "laying the next wrap over the barbs". Please
elaborate.
--

I'll try it tonight to see if this is nonsense, but what I'm imagining is
this:

Start wrapping the hackle normally, but from the middle of the hook (where
the abdomen meets the wing) instead of from the bend. Once you go around one
time, with your other hand, gather the standing fibers and pull them down
toward the bend of the hook, and wrap the next loop of hackle over them,
trapping them under it instead of letting them stand up like normal. Keep
doing this all the way to the bend of the hook, and tie down the hackle.
Then wrap the thread in wide loops back over the hackle, locking it down a
bit more.

In my imagination, this will produce a widely spaced wrap, where the spaces
between the quill is filled with hackle fibers so it gives it a place to
trap air, and a more segmented appearance. Like I said, this might be
nonsense, and not work at all IRL (I'm a novice with an overactive
imagination), but I'll try it and see if does anything.

--rm