hair wing caddis flies

[flipnfly]

ok heres my problem everytime i tie either elk or deer hair style caddies flies i have a problem with the wing not staying in place during the whip finish and when i try to tighten the thread i usually break the thread what am i doing wrong........ any and all help will be greatly appriceated

 

[MKern]

I don't use hair much, so expect better responses, but I tighten up an not down after a couple loose wraps.

I would rather use CDC.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

flipnfly - This is the easiest way to get a perfect hairwing every time - the video shows it all......

Click here

 

[flipnfly]

ill tell ya thats a really nice easy way to do it i was whipping around the wing its self and iw asnt doing that 45 degree through the butts of the hair thanks

 

[mbaker]

I use Kevlar thread for my hair wings WILL NOT break. You do have to be areful that the thread does not cut the hair however.

 

[RLeeP]

Take this for what it's worth.. I'm a pretty sloppy tier, but I've been doing it for over 40 years and my flies seem to hold up Ok..

If you're getting hair/wing movement when you go to whip finish, that almost certainly means your wing is not adequately anchored. You need to be able to let up on the pressure you exert on the bobbin/thread in order to proceed with however you whip finish. And all this without the wing moving..



To that end, I'd suggest throwing a couple quick half hitches on the head to hold it in place while you whip finish. If you have enough good taut turns of thread and half hitch it even once, it should stay put for the whip.

I'd also not be afraid to put more turns of thread to hold the wing or even going to 6/0 if you're tying with 8/0. Because the core of the problem seems to obviously be that the wing is not adequately anchored when you go to whip.

But again, I'm more into functionality than appearance and a lot of my hairwing caddis look like they have a small nose cone and not at all like that neat head shown in Heritage-Angler's illustration.

I've yet to find a fish this matters to though...

 

[ErnieBall]

when you to tie in the hair (head, wing) , make a couple wraps around the top of the hair, where the head will be, make sure it is straight, then really crank down on it, it will give you your head and also stay in place

 

[ian_brown]

Are you creating a thread base under the hair wing? If you aren't covering the shank of the hook with thread wraps before attaching the wing, you'll never anchor it securly.

Another possibility: you could have bad thread. Do you have this problem when you use another spool?

 

[flipnfly]

yes i have been creating a thread base they were just spinning during the whip but i solved it all by watching th video heritage-angler posted works great.... thanks for all the tips

 

[Heritage-Angler]

That video really changed the way I tie hairwings. In the past, my ties weren't nearly as durable as they are now, thanks to this technique.

One thing I've noticed is that when I break the thread off like Hans does in the video, it seems to make the wing nearly bulletproof. Might have something to do with tightening the whip finish, much like cinching down on a knot on a rope......