FLYMPH FORUM

I just discovered this great video showing Dave Hughes demonstrating tying a flymph. I really enjoyed seeing this video, and listening to Dave providing background on flymphs. I've been a big fan of Dave's for many years, since first getting my hands on his wet fly book. What a treat it is to see him tying a flymph.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4q49jOdb3g

Enjoy!

ha ha ha! The hackle was not a "twister". He had it tyed in wrong. As soon as he tyed it in, I started questioning his hackle placement. Other wise, a cool video.

Hans's video happened to be on the links next to Hughes's video. Here is the proper hackle placement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDanakU2U_E

I'm a huge Dave Hughes fan. He had lots of really good things to say about the intention. It's a good resulting fly, though. That fly is a keeper.

William Anderson wrote:I'm a huge Dave Hughes fan, and every time I see this I wish that he had practiced this a little before filming. He had lots of really good things to say about the intention. It's a good resulting fly, though. That fly is a keeper.

Agreed, but he really did throw Hoffman under the bus on the quality of the hackle. I suppose it happens when you are tying in front of an audience, and do not have the confidence to admit you just screwed up. Make up a story about the hen that gave her all so you can bad mouth her.

DUBBN wrote:The hackle was not a "twister". He had it tyed in wrong. As soon as he tyed it in, I started questioning his hackle placement.

My thought exactly. It was upside down.

Although I'm a big fan of Dave Huges, I think that he got flustered tying in front of a camera.

It looked to me as though they were tying the hackle in wrong. Are you not supposed to tie the hackle in by the tip after brushing back the barbules until you have something that looks a bit like a small triangle? That's the way I tie my wet flies in so the hackle faces backward towards the bend of the hook.

raven4ns wrote:It looked to me as though they were tying the hackle in wrong. Are you not supposed to tie the hackle in by the tip after brushing back the barbules until you have something that looks a bit like a small triangle? That's the way I tie my wet flies in so the hackle faces backward towards the bend of the hook.

No, although you could. Often, chicken feathers are tied in by butt and game birds like partridge or snipe are tied in by the tips.

However, whether you're tying in by the tip or the stem, if you're going to tie in the hackle at the beginning with the feather extending over the eye of the hook, you need to tie it in so that it curves up. He tied it in so that it curved down. (It's a surprisingly easy mistake to make when people are watching.)

Sorry guys but I don't see a very significant difference in the stem tie in given the opposite camera angles of the videos. To me both Dave and Hans seem to be looking at the dull (concave) side of the feather from the tyer's angle.

As two Rainland Flycasters and noted fishing experts, I am sure Dave and Henry have had about equal time throwing each other under the fishing bus.

Hoffman developed those fabulous bird hackles across Young's Bay in the backyard of Dave's hometown Astoria. You can read about the causes of "twisting" hackles here direct from Henry. http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/feature ... ure_30.php Look at the section "What makes a good tying feather?" I had first seen some of his selected birds on a drive by of his hackle farm in Warrenton, OR in 1977. Henry graciously shares his knowledge of feathers and tying with anyone who has the time to spare at flytying expos. I first met Henry at a Eugene Expo in 1997 and had a great time discussing his "Little Something" a fly that is a go to midge dry that I had started to use years before.

Roadkill wrote:Sorry guys but I don't see a very significant difference in the stem tie in given the opposite camera angles of the videos. To me both Dave and Hans seem to be looking at the dull (concave) side of the feather from the tyer's angle.

As two Rainland Flycasters and noted fishing experts, I am sure Dave and Henry have had about equal time throwing each other under the fishing bus.

Perhaps these videos will illustrate the dull side facing away from the eye.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75cZi2B6PlY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Z99I1Zqgc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-i_catwL-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyu6x792rT4

Daves feather has the dull side facing the eye. The feather has no choice but to twist when tied that way. If the dull side is to be tyed facing the body, the feather will have to be tyed extending back towards the tail.

Perhaps you know of a different technique that keeps the feather from twisting when tyed the way Dave demonstrates in his video. If so, I would really like to learn the technique.

Wayne - Occasionally I encounter a feather which wants to twist on me, even when tyed in properly. When this happens, I have found that I an "muscle" the feather into submission by doing a simple rotation of the feather in the horizontal plane (pretend you are wrapping a parachute pattern), before beginning to wrap the feather. The horizontal maneuver puts a 180° twist in the feather stem, so that when you start wrapping the feather, the barbules end up in the desired orientation (dull side towards the hook bend/shinny side forwards towards the hook eye). It's a quick way to recover from a twisty feather.