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There
are endless amounts of material for fly tiers on the market today.
It is important for the flytier to learn about each
material and what it is used for before investing in
a product. Types of materials used most often are thread,
feathers, furs or hairs, wool, chenille and other synthetic
materials.
 Thread:
When selecting the proper thread to use you want to
take a few things into consideration: Color, strength
and diameter. Today, synthetic threads have replaced
older silk varieties becoming the standard. They are
more durable than silk and come in an endless variety
of colors and diameters. A good rule is to use the thinnest
diameter thread you can for securing materials without
breaking it. For most trout flies size 12 and up, I
suggest size 8/0; it gives you less bulk. Some say 6/0
is the standard, but I disagree. As your flies get smaller
and sparser you can use threads as thin as 14/0. For
spinning hair, Kevlar is virtually unbreakable. You
can even use a thin monocord line for other purposes
such as saltwater and bass patterns. Synthetic threads
are available in polyester and nylon. Polyester seems
to be a bit stronger and does not stretch as much as
nylon. Threads also come waxed or unwaxed. A waxed thread
will not fray as much as one, which is unwaxed. Most
say a waxed thread is better for dubbing adherence.
There is such an unnoticeable amount of wax applied
during manufacturing that I do not see it making much
of a difference. In either case, waxed threads are more
popular. Nylon floss is better used when body coverage
and strength are an issue. It is flatter and covers
more area. When tying, try to match your thread color
as best you can to the overall color of the fly. Experimenting
with different threads for different purposes is very
important and whatever diameter you end up using will
be of personal preference.
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 Feathers:
There are such a wide variety of feathers on the
market today that an entire website can be devoted to
this subject. In this section you will get an overview
of hackle. Feathers can be used to dress almost every
part of a fly and it is extremely important to know
which feather to use, from what bird, for what application.
Quality feathers are key in tying a good fly. A typical
feather has common parts.(feather.jpg) Barbs are the
portions of the feather that comes out from the stem
or vane. The lower portion of the feather has fluffy
barbs, which are rarely used. As you move up the feather
you have a portion of barbs with webbing in them. Webbing
is caused by very small hair-like structures called
barbules. These barbules interlock near the vane and
hold the barbs together. Finally, towards the tip of
the feather an un-webbed portion of barbs. Hackle is
one of the most important materials for Dry flies. Dry
fly hackle comes from a rooster in two forms: Capes
and Saddles. The cape or "neck" comes from the neck
of the bird and has a wide variety of size feathers.
This is the Ideal dry fly feather. The larger feathers
on each side of the cape are called spade hackle. The
saddle comes from the back of the rooster and has longer,
similar size feathers. You will generally see more webbing
which makes these better used for wet flies, Although,
with the genetic breading of birds today, there are
some excellent saddles that can be used for tying dries
in certain sizes. When choosing hackle, quality counts.
You will end up being frustrated if you do not spend
the extra money. For dry flies you want to use stiff,
web-free hackle and for wet flies a softer hackle. Hackle
is usually graded in three categories. With Necks, a
#3 is usually adequate for tying most flies.
A #2 gives you a longer and denser feather and
a #1 gives you everything you need for tying
up to #26 Midges. These are very dense individual
feathers (high barb counts) and each neck has a high
feather count. With saddles, the same applies except
you are not getting the variety of sizes. Most saddles
will give you 2 or 3 Dry fly sizes and will also give
you a greater length feather than a neck will. Because
of the length of the saddle feathers, you can tie a
longer sub-surface fly with a palmered body. Even though
all farms grade their necks, you can usually tell for
yourself. Here are a couple of tips.
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Feather count: Turn the neck over and look
at the bumps on the skin. Each bump represents a feather.
This is a good way to compare feather counts.
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Webbing:
See how much usable feather there is. With a dry fly
you want a stiff barb, you want as little webbing
as possible. Webbing absorbs water, which will take
buoyancy away from the fly. When looking at hackle
for a wet fly, use a premium grade hen neck. These
necks are more suitable for collaring wet flies. They
have more webbing, which absorbs water, and are softer.
-
Barb count:
The more barbs, the less wraps. A high barb count
also means a stiffer feather.
- Straightness:
The straighter the feather the less chances of
it twisting on you while your wrapping around the
hook.
- Length:
Longer feathers usually mean more usable feather area.
On
some necks and saddles, you can get more than one
fly out of a feather.
Wing
feathers are taken from the primary wing of a turkey,
goose or duck. These are used for wings on wets and
dries and are groups cut from matching primary feathers.
Body feathers come from the breast, flank or back of
a bird. They are used primarily for wings on all types
of flies.
Furs and Hairs: Fur is found closest to the skin
of the animal and is used primarily for dubbing bodies.
Different animal fur is used for dubbing different flies.
More popular furs are rabbit, muskrat, squirrel, goat
and red fox. Some, "buggier" than others. With the combination
of different furs, you can get a pretty good replication
of the natural body shape and color of an insect. Animal
hair is a very common material used for tails and wings.
Some hair is hollower than others and is better when
you need the hair to flare. Deer, moose, elk, and calf
tail are some of the more common hairs used for wings
and tails.
Wool and Chenille: Mostly used for body material
on sub-surface flies, wool has a high absorbency and
will help get the fly down faster. Chenille is also
used for bodies and comes in a wider range of colors.
Synthetics: Synthetic materials are used for
all parts of the fly. They are more durable than natural
material and you can use certain synthetic formed material
for realistic wings, legs and bodies.
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