Problem with tying Wulffs

On Wed, 04 May 2005 07:30:35 -0500, Conan The Librarian
wrote:

Howdy,

I've been tying all sorts of things for my NC trip, and in the
process of doing various Wulff ties, I noticed that I always seem to
have one problem. To wit, when I wrap the hackle from behind the wing
to in front, it always splays forward and winds up crowding the eye. I
build up the area in front of the wing, so there's a gentle slope (or
"ramp" as I believe Harry Mason calls it), but that doesn't seem to help.

I've tried tying the hackle in both ways (i.e., shiny side facing
the shank and dull side facing the shank), but it seems that the last
move of the hackle around the wing always screws up the position of the
hackle and causes it to splay. I can usually salvage things by holding
the stray fibers back before the next wrap, but I'm guessing I must be
missing something obvious.

Any ideas of what I might be doing wrong or helpful hints from you
more experienced tiers (tyers ... tires ... tyres)?


Chuck Vance (and while I've got your attention, how many wraps do
you try to get in front of and behind the wings?)


Chuck, try a couple of things... post the wings back from the eye a
bit more... this may require you use a 1 or 2xL hook. Use a bit less
hair for the wings which makes the wing posts thinner so the
transition wrap of the hackle from the back of the wing to the front
will be more in a perpendicular plane to the hook shank.The angle of
the hackle wrap from the last (closest to the back side of the posted
wings) to the front has to be as narrow as you can get. If you make a
pronounced "cross under" going forward with the hackle stem, the
hackle barbs will "cock" forward, towards the eye, as you bring the
first wrap up and over on the front side of the wing. You will have,
in essence, made a small palmer wrapped the hackle collar.
Harry Mason
www.Troutflies.com

bones wrote:

Chuck, try a couple of things... post the wings back from the eye a
bit more... this may require you use a 1 or 2xL hook. Use a bit less
hair for the wings which makes the wing posts thinner so the
transition wrap of the hackle from the back of the wing to the front
will be more in a perpendicular plane to the hook shank.The angle of
the hackle wrap from the last (closest to the back side of the posted
wings) to the front has to be as narrow as you can get. If you make a
pronounced "cross under" going forward with the hackle stem, the
hackle barbs will "cock" forward, towards the eye, as you bring the
first wrap up and over on the front side of the wing. You will have,
in essence, made a small palmer wrapped the hackle collar.

I think we have a winner. :-) Now that you mention it, I expect I
use too much hair (or parapost, as I sometimes tie with that for wings
on Wulff ties). Also, thinking about it some more, I tend to get
carried away when I'm posting the wings, thinking that more thread wraps
will make a more stable wing. In the process, I'm creating a broad wing
base which I have to negotiate with the hackle wrap.

As for using XL hooks -- funny, but that's one thing I've been
playing around with. I worry about messing up proportions, but with a
Wulff tie, it doesn't seem to look bad. If anything, it looks better;
my Wulffs tend to look a bit chunky.

Thanks, Harry ... I think you hit on it.


Chuck Vance