Microfibett tails

[Fred]

I've been trying to tie in microfibbet tails on small flies (22) and find it very difficult to get them tied on right. They're either too low, or not split. Tried tying them in one and a time, but it's been frustrating.

Anyone have any helpful hints? And, can the fish see the damn things anyway? They're so small.

[Mike]

Create a small ball of dubbing or thread where the two tails will meet on the hook. Tie on the the fibetts one at a time on either side of this lump!

[Jason]

Rufman, do you remember when Pete showed us this technique during our class? Just like Mike said, that small ball of dubbing on the back of the hook will naturally split those fibets to either side. Another tip is to pull one fibet out to the side and sinch a turn of thread to hold the fibet out at a 45 degree angle and then do the same for the second fibet. And of course practice, practice, practice. Good luck.

[Larry S.]

Try this:

When you tie in your thread and wind it to the bend don't trim off the tag. Leave it about 6 inches long and on top of the shank. Or form a dubbing loop about the same length and leave it on top the shank and off the bend. Then after you tie in your tail material split it in half with a bodkin and bring the tag of thread up between the two pieces and tie down. Presto, a split tail ! Not to be confused with............never mind.

Another way if you forget to leave the tag or don't make a loop is to take a piece of string(about 6-8 inches long) and place it under your fly at the bend and take the two ends together to the rear and bring it up and divide the tail fibers and then tie down the string. This method is a little more cumbersome that the other two.

[Jason]

Nice suggestion Larry. I've heard of that technique but haven't tried it yet. I guess I could do a figure eight type thing just like splitting a wing and split the tails the same way. Hmmmmm.

BTW, I really enjoyed your newsletter. Very professional and informative.

[jdubya]

In my experience it is easier to do the split tail with hackle than it is with those thin plastic straws. I just got some Whiting tailing material which is actually Coque de Leon (or somethng like that) chicken feathers that are great for tailing. I also remember a comment AK Best made about tails: fish can't count so why asume they can. Putting 3 or 4 or 7 hackle fibers on the back of the fly will work just as well as that very carefully managed two. Plus it makes the tiers disposition much better.

[Crosby]

I basically deal with it like Larry does---- but like last thread- I do not care whether its two or 4 fibbetts---

[Fred]

Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful.

Jdubya, I have heard that fish can count, but they just don't take the time to count legs or tails when a bug is drifting by. Just kidding. I have had experiences, however, when the two tail fly worked while an almost identical fly with a bigger tail did not. For instance, I was fishing trico spinners on a stream in southwest Wyoming. The fish would take a small trico polypro spinner with a split tail made of microfibbets, but not the ones with the white hackle tails. It may be due to the fact that the water was clear, slow moving, and the long split tails of the spinners on the surface water were evident. In other words, in some instances, it seems that the split tail feature is one that is important to imitate because it is so evident on the natural.

[Crosby]

I basically deal with it like Larry does---- but like last thread- I do not care whether its two or 4 fibbetts--- many mays have more than two. But at the cost of the fibbets I try to keep it to four.
The micro fibbet tapers to the tip as does the real McCoy. So the rest of the fibbet material that is still left is basically of no use to me.

[Ouzel]

I have used both methods mentioned and have found making a small ball with the thread the simplest for me.
In fast, churning water I guess you can fish flies that are tied with less patience but then you still need to have flies that look more like the insect you are trying to imitate when you get to water where the fish will get a good look at it. That basically doubles the number of flies you need to carry and requires you the change (retie) as you work down or up different sections of water.
The whole idea of tying flies is to imitate the insect as best we can and "practice, with patience, makes perfect".

[mike b]

suggest you read ak best's book on his flybox. he wraps his thread from behind the hook eye to the bend in the hook. then
take one more wrap right over the last wrap. the tie in 4-5 spade hackle barbules which will have a slight uplift 9like the real bug)
do not bother with splitting your tails. you can obtain tailing
material made by whiting farms from fish tech. perhaps western
rivers also carries it. it is a lot easier to use. both outfits carry
ak best' books.

[Curtis Fry]

Those are all good suggestions. What I do is similar to Larry's method (I just might try that too). I just tie in the fibetts (down to size #26 hooks) and then pull out a little extra thread on the bobbin. I then hold the thread to the shank of the hook with my finger and pull the bobbin out directly behind the fibbetts. I then bring that thread down between the two fibbetts, splitting them at an upward angle. I will then hold the thread again against the hook and then do a couple of tight wraps just in front of the fibbetts. They stay nice and divided and stay upright. The nice thing is that for smaller flies, you don't have to deal with the little ball of thread messing up your taper. Little difficult to explain, so use Larry's method if you don't understand what the hell I'm talking about. :)

Fishon!!

Curtis Fry