Counter wrapping stimulator abdomens

[ian_brown]

The winter issue of Fly Tyer has an article on stimulators. The author leave the tag end of the thread hanging over the bend, then, after palmering the hackle over the abdomen, counter-wraps the thread to the thorax. This is meant to increase the fly's durability by binding down the hackle.

Here's the problem; I can't do this without binding down big clumps of hackle fibers.

Should I just skip this step or is there a trick I'm missing?

 

[tomgamber]

Personally, I skip it but if you kind of jiggles the thread back and forth as you go thru the hackle it helps sometimes...I saw that too and my only thought was "I didn't do it that way but its interesting"

I'd skip it...If your flies fall apart after one or two fish...do it the other way next time...My priority is to get a bunch tied for use...perfection is secondary...sometimes not even possible...

 

[jayL]

I use this method with wire on my buggers.

You have to move the thread back and forth when wrapping through the hackle. If you are persistent, and keep moving the thread, eventually, it'll work its way down through. Keep a close eye on it to make sure you aren't binding anything down. It takes more patience than it's worth sometimes, especially given that you are only getting the added durability of one piece of thread. It takes some time to get it right.

 

[Wmass]

I only counter-wrap back over my hackle with small gold wire if I am going for the "look" of the fly. I typically just skip this step because its a pain the butt. If I do counter-wrap it with wire then I will typically pull the hackle back with my fingers and guard it at every section as I wrap the wire. I find that if I don't do this then the hackle gets all bunched up and it looks terrible.


ALSO, I tend to skip hackling the abdomen on smaller stimulators (those below size #16). I found last year that I was missing alot of hook-ups as the hackle was keeping me from setting the hook properly. I found that when I left the hackle off on the smaller flies, I tended to hook alot more fish but when I left it on then I lost them.

 

[afishinado]

Here's something I do to solve the problem, wrap the thread or wire 2 or 3 times around the length of the hackle feather, hold them both together and palmer them around the body. The thread or wire helps bind down the hackle, but doesn't mess it up. This is most easily done on a rotary vise, but with a little patience, you can wrap them together over and around by hand.

I do the same thing when using fragile materials to tie on the body such as peacock herl. Good luck.

 

[tabasco_joe]

Not that I'm an expert on tying Stimulators but I have found that if I get the angle of the crossing thread/wire closer to 90 degrees it catches less hackle. I don't worry about having the same number of turns with the over wrap as with the hackle. Maybe that's what Afishinado is saying in his reply?

 

[Padraic]

One more point about all this.

You don't need a great deal of hackle on the body of the stimulator. The winds of hackle "behind the wing" should be about a hook eye width apart. (you'll end up with 3 or 4 winds of hackle, just enough to make the fly look buggy) If the hackle is sparse, it should be a great deal easier to counter wrap without binding down the barbules of the hackle.