"riverman" wrote in message
...

"Conan the Librarian" wrote in message
...
Humpies are a true PIA to tie. But, Harry Mason has the tips you
need
to know for getting the tail/shellback/wing proportions right:
http://www.troutflies.com/tutorials/humpy/

Nice site, thanks. But his aren't doing what mine do: even when I tie on
the
tail, the fibers flare up and 'spin' with the slightest tightening of the
thread. If I were to tie it so that the tail stayed together like his do,
they would fall off of the fly!

I'm going to practice some more, and if I can't get it, I'm gonna start
tying streaking caddises!

--riverman


You need the right hair for such flies. The (non-flaring, because
non-compressing) tips are used for the tail.

QUOTE

5. Selecting hair is a matter of deciding what you are going to do with the
hair. You have two basic operations with deer or elk hair -- wings or tails
and spinning. The best hair for wings and tails on flies like humpies,
Wulffs, compara duns, etc is located (a strip about a foot wide) on the
animal along the back bone, down over the shoulder, and down over the rump.
The best hair for flaring or spinning is located on the rib and belly of the
animal. Seldom to we get the opportunity to select hair from a complete
hide. Usually we are searching through a group of 3"x5" plastic bags in a
fly shop hoping we will get usable hair and later finding the hair does not
fill our needs. Here's what you look for when selecting hair that is already
packaged. The hair fibers located near the back bone of the animal has a
dark gray band in the middle of each -- the hair fiber is colored starting
with a dark point on the tip followed by a tan (deer) or cream (elk) section
directly below the dark tip. From there the hair fiber enters a dark gray
area which eventually fades to a light gray area where the hair fiber joins
the animal's hide. For wings and tail you need hair the is at least 50% dark
grey in the middle of the hair. On the other hand if you are spinning hair
you want hair fibers whose middle section is mostly light grey in color.
REMEMBER -- dark gray hair, wings & tails --- light gray hair, spinning or
flaring. Back to the index.

UNQUOTE

Courtesy of http://www.btsflyfishing.com/Tips_Tricks/TT.htm

There is a lot more info on the web on selecting hair etc, a google search
will turn up a lot of stuff. It is more or less impossible to tie such
flies correctly with the wrong materials, as they simply will not function
properly.

TL
MC