Why is my hackle going skawampus?

[FlySmyth]

I am tying some Byrons killers and when I palmer my hackle forward it twists and turns and I cant keep if from happening. Anyone know why this is happening to me?

FlySmyth.

[Curtis Fry]

What kind of hackle is it? Brand, Grade etc? Try making sure you start by tying the hackle in on the side of the fly and don't rotate (yaw?) your hackle pliars (or fingers) as you wrap.

If you're using some of the super-saddles, don't hold the hackle at the very end. With all that distance, it will twist between where its tied in and where you're holding it sometimes.

I'm sure there are other things to watch out for, but that's what I do.

[stef]

I strip the hackle so the first half of my turn is naked vein. This seems to get the hackle going on straight.

[Cary]

Jesus, I'm bliushing again!

[cheech]

I am tying some Byrons killers and when I palmer my hackle forward it twists and turns and I cant keep if from happening. Anyone know why this is happening to me?

FlySmyth.

Stop rubbing your hackle in smelly jelly before you tie it in.

[HarleyBob]

It seems to me that when I wind my tying thread around the hook, it induces a twist... that's why you spin the bobbin counter clockwise and un-do the twist.
Wrapping a hackle ought to induce the same twist- right?
So therefore every rotation around the hook needs one turn counterclock-wise...

or did I miss something here?

Bob

[Marty]

To palmer hackle is one of the most basic moves in fly tying, but for some reason it is one of the hardest to learn. Once you get it down learning new moves is not all that difficult. To get the best look you need to learn how to fold the hackle. What this means is taking the hackle after it is secured to the hook and folding the fibers so they are point all in the same direction. A webby hackle works the best. I some time will wet my fingers as I am combing the fibers together. Once the fibers are all pointing to the bend of the hook you can start to palmer. As the palmer is moving forward let the twists unwind when the but end of the hackle is point up. Don’t let go, just let stem spin in your fingers. Comb the fibers back as you move forward. Learn this and soft hackles are a breeze.

[FlySmyth]

I added the above mentioned tips to my tie and the hackle is much better looking. Thanks for the explanations.

FlySmyth.