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The Ozark Angler
12305 Chenal Parkway · Little Rock, AR 72211 · USA 501.225.6504 · FAX 501.225.6828 info@ozarkangler.com Copyright © 1999-2005 The Ozark Angler. All rights reserved. Design and Hosting by Web International |
1. A conventional approach to tying the Woolly Bugger: Here a marabou plume was tied in (shank length); the hackle was tied in by its tip; the chenille was tied in, wrapped, thread secured, and trimmed; and now the hackle is being palmered up the body. Simple. Now, let's explore another approach with an eye on efficiency.
2. With all your materials prepared (hackles sized and stripped at the base, hook barbs smashed, etc.) and all your materials and tools laid out (and all unnecessary materials and tools put away), start your thread just ahead of the bend; this allows you to work forward from this point so that you can work back again from the next point ‹ you'll see. Dip your fingers into a bowl of water and stroke the water into a marabou plume (wetted marabou is always easier to handle than dry). Use the pinch to tie in the plume at the bend (the plume should extend from the bend one shank's length). After adding tight thread turns, lift the plume's butts, quickly spiral the thread up the shank to 1/8" behind the eye, lower the butts, and secure them using the pinch. This is a quick, efficient way to tie in the butts. Trim the butts closely with one snip (from the scissors you haven't and won't put down).
3. Since the thread is now at the front of the shank, it makes sense to tie in the next material from the front to the rear ‹ in this case, copper wire. Use a light turn to tie in the tip of the wire 1/8" back from the eye. By tying in the tip, you will have no end to trim. Lift the wire slightly above the shank and spiral the thread down wire and shank to the bend. If you left the wire uncut, with the spool off the rear of the vise¹s jaws, the spool will keep the wire out of your way.
4. Since the thread is at the bend, it makes sense now to tie in the next material from rear to front ‹ as you did with the marabou. Use the pinch to tie in some chenille at the bend. Tie in the chenille so that its end reaches slightly beyond the eye‹less to trim, less waste. Slide your thumb and finger up the chenille and support its position atop the shank just behind the thread as you spiral the thread up the shank and chenille to about 1/8" behind the eye. Trim the chenille's stub end.
5. Take up a hackle (all the hackles you will be using during this session are already sized and stripped, remember?) and snip its bare stem to about 1/4" (most listings for this pattern call for saddle hackle, but if you've got some long, soft leftover rooster neck hackles why not use them? less waste, similar results). Dip the stem in the water to soften it. Tie in the hackle projecting out from the eye about 1/16" behind the eye.
6. Work the thread to 1/8" behind the eye. Wrap the chenille up the shank. If you work with a long piece of chenille, enough for a few flies, there will be less cutting; simply manipulate the long end so that it doesn't catch on bobbin, hackle, or hook point. Keep your grasp close to the hook though for tiny efficient orbits. Secure the end of the chenille with thread 1/8" behind the eye. Trim the chenille's end. (You still haven't set down your scissors I hope.)
7. Advance the thread to 1/16" behind the eye, right at the hackle's tie-in point. Take just an extra fraction of a second to swing the hackle stem to a right angle to the shank ‹ a sudden jerk or pressure applied all to one point on the stem could break it at this angle; wetting the stem helped by softening it. Wrap the hackle behind the thread's end. Take two or three close turns of hackle working rearward, then palmer the hackle down the chenille to the bend. Don't bother with hackle pliers ‹ one more tool to pick up, and they aren't really necessary here anyway.
8. Snip the copper wire to length deep into your scissors's blades ("proper length" means minimal waste, just enough to do the job comfortably, something worked out by repetition; were your scissors in the correct hand to best accomplish this?). Take a turn of wire over the hackle's tip, release the tip, and take another tum over it. Spiral the wire up the body to the eye.
9. Secure the wire with one tight thread turn. Draw down the bobbin to keep that turn tight as you use the triangle to draw back hackle fibers and wire. Build a thread head that wraps back a bit over the wire's end (this makes the wire's tie-in point very secure). Add a whip finish (one-handed of course because it's the fastest). Snip the hackle's tip, the thread and, deep into the scissors's blades, the wire. Finished.
