tying w/ feathers

[Tyson]

I don't know about the rest of you but I have found myself tying less and less with feathers/hackle and more with just thread, dubbing and deer hair. For one thing, good dry fly hackle is not cheap, and also I find it a bit of a pain to work with. Feather bodies like quill bodies and pheasant tail are being replaced with dubbing and thread bodies. I think my flies are becoming easier to tie, have better proportions and are definitely more durable. Comparaduns are replacing my parachute patterns. I'm wondering what are some of your views on feathers for tying flies.

[MuseJr]

I like to use saddle hackle. The saddles can be expensive but the number of flies I can get in a short period of time is better then fighting with stacking and cleaning hair. I have also been using power silk or GSP for the last couple of years and it cuts through the hair causing more time to be spent cleaning and stacking. I have also stopped doing the quill bodies because I don't like to wrap the quills. I stick with dubbing and thread bodies as much as possible and I would not replace my parachute patterns with a comparadun. I don't think I have any comparaduns but I have rows of parachute patterns.

[fishynsmelly]

Feather bodies like quill bodies and pheasant tail are being replaced with dubbing and thread bodies. I think my flies are becoming easier to tie, have better proportions and are definitely more durable. Comparaduns are replacing my parachute patterns. I'm wondering what are some of your views on feathers for tying flies.

You may want to check out this book. The whole thing is about using thread for the bodies of flies. It's mostly about midges, but I am sure you can find something useful in it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0811709965/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-1090571-9048703#reader-link

I am all about thread bodies for flies, they work very well. Not only will your flies be more durable and easier to tie using thread, but you can get a more exact match.

[Lonnie]

The big disadvantage I see with using thread bodied flies is their propensity to hold water. In other words, they might be good for nymphs, but if you want them to float, they most likely won't very well, for very long.

L

[Cary]

Wow. said book is based on 25 years of Streamside Research.
You really think they've published peer-reviewed research papers in refereed journals for those 25 years?

Or is it 25 years of fishing and farting around with patterns? Damn fisherman always exagerating.

[wildnative]

I have very little use for hackle type flies, parachute or otherwise. I use comparadun style flies and have not had any problems keeping them afloat or catching trout with them; including some very selective ones. Once you get the feel for the hair wing, they ae a breeze to tie, they are inexpensive and they work. You can change up the bodies and match just about any mayfly hatch and I think they work relatively well when caddis are about.

I have found that I can even tie them with a patch of regular deer hair (mule) and turn out some real floaters. I actually prefer it over the coastal stuff.

If you question whether the trout are taking a dry or emerger, a comparadun will often fool some fish because it sits lower than a heavily hackled standard tie. (Parachutes have a similar profile.)

[Foamy8]

I am a firm believer in hackled flies. If you spend the money on good quality hackle that makes a huge difference. I spent a lot of money and got good quality hackles(sadles and necks) It's five years later and its about time to get some new hackle. I've more than got my money out of it. You can tie more flies with less hackle if you can pony the money up.

I see both sides of the fence because my absolute favorite midge pattern is a thread body, crystal bead in the middle, and stacked grizzly hackle. That's the best of both worlds right there!!!

I use terrerestrials and attractor patterns most of the time because of the smaller rivers that I like to fish. I find that comparaduns and hair winged flies don't float in boiling foamy water. If is a little more flat water then it would be more useful to me. my .02.

[wildnative]

Haven't had a problem getting comparaduns to float in any of our creeks, streams or rivers, even in a little boiling, foamy water. Get a good cast with some slack in the proper places and they ride just fine. Put a little floatant in the wing to start and then clean and dry the fly after a few fish.

Nothing against good hackle, but like a lot of things in life, it's something that has been marketed to the point of price gouging, (my opinion).

Try a terrestrial pattern without hackle. You don't need a hackle to float a foam and elk hair tie.

[Foamy8]

I'll try it. My brother has ommitted the hackle on his variation of my favorite fly, the Foamy. I've stuck with mine because I'm sure I always catch more fish than he does...but I'm not sure that has anything to do with hackle.

I'll give er a try. I bet the sillouhete is closer to natural patterns. I see the point, just have to convince myself to try it.

Do you fish the narrows much native? That midge pattern is killer on the narrows....caught 18, 20 and 21" browns within a half hour there on said pattern. It's a beauty. I can give you more specific recipe if you want it.

[fishynsmelly]

Wow. said book is based on 25 years of Streamside Research.
You really think they've published peer-reviewed research papers in refereed journals for those 25 years?

Or is it 25 years of fishing and farting around with patterns? Damn fisherman always exagerating.

LoL. I am sure it was farting around. But one of my most effective midge patterns comes from that book, so I can say they work.

[Marty]

I still tie with hackle, but I have found that I am buying more of the smaller dries with hackle lately. I stick to the natural fibers for all of my nymphs, but I do use quite a bit of thread for BWOs and midges patterns. I have found that tying is more for the tier than for the fish. I use quill and turkey a lot for bodies, not cause they fish better than a dubbed body, they just look cool. I have found the longer it takes to tie a nymph, the less productive the fly is. The BDH (bead and dubbing on a hook) is a great example. It takes less than a minute to tie and is one of the most productive patterns in my box. It might be because I am less afraid of losing a fly that did not take all night to tie. I am into fast and simple, but when I do have the time I enjoy tying up a dozen of the more complex ties. I am not set in my ways and love to see and use all the new materials that come out each year. Mixing it up catches more fish but it is a lot of fun to go retro. I have gone back to tying and fishing the standard Gold Ribbed Hares Ear. Still works. Remember its an art.