One of the hallmarks of good production tying is neatly dressed imitations. If the body is to be made from thin materials (such as tinsel) then the tailing materials are extended under the full length of the body (Figure 1). When the body material is wound over the tailing material, it will form a body that is uniform in diameter from one end to the other, very neat, indeed.

Figure 1. To achieve a uniform underbody, tie in the tailing material fully forward to the head of the fly.

Production tying is not about sloppy or inferior work. No, not at all. Production tying is about efficiency in tying; that is, being able to dress very nice flies with minimal confusion, error, and material waste, and doing so very readily. Preparing and winding hackle is one of those places where every tyer can gain a bit of efficiency, especially in hackle preparation to make winding as perfect as possible.

The hackle should be cut at the point where the softer “webbing” extends 1/3 or less us the individual hackle fibers (the barbs). Then the shaft should be prepared for tying in. Some tyers trim the fibers on either side of the shaft, leaving tiny, blunt butt ends of the fibers. These supposedly catch the thread better and prevent the hackle from slipping out when it is wound. Well that was the case with silk thread, which does not stretch, but it is not the case with nylon, poly, and gel-spun threads. So, I just strip a few barbs off each side of the shaft by pinching them between thumb and forefinger and pulling. Yes, it’s more efficient, but that’s not where we’re headed.

It’s the number of fibers that should be pulled off that’s the point of this discussion. Most tyers just pull off enough to give them a bit of bare shaft, which can be tied in. And typically they tie in right up tight to the fibers of the hackle (Figure 1). This is not a good move, because when the hackle is wound, the first few fibers will cock out at an odd angle, usually sticking backward over the body, and give the fly a most unkempt appearance (Figure 2).

So, strip off enough fibers so that there’s a bit of extra bare shaft between the tie-in point and where thee fibers begin on the feather (Figure 3). Now, when you start the wrap with the hackling feather, there’s a bit of bare shaft that will turn against the hook before the fibers begin to spring out. This is enough room to get the feather up on edge without stray fibers cocking out at an odd angle, giving the finished fly a very neat look—and with no more effort than doing it the other way (Figure 4).

Figure 1. Many tyers attach the hackle feather with the fibers tight against the tying thread.

Figure 2. When the hackle feather is attached with the thread up tight to the fibers, one or several fibers will stick out at odd angles when the hackle is wound.

Figure 3. Strip off enough fibers so that there's bare shaft between the point of attachment and the beginning of the hackle fibers.

Figure 4. A perfectly wound hackle is only a matter of perfect hackle preparation.

I had a nice note from my friend, Tom Sutcliffe, the other day. He lives in South Africa and has written several delightful books about his fly fishing adventures. I then had the opportunity to visit his web site, and had the opportunity to examine all the many topics he covers. I greatly enjoy reading about the development and practice of fly fishing in other countries; they often have a different spin on tackle and tactics that we can adapt to our waters. I’ve fished with Tom and a number of others in the trout waters of South Africa, and his site brought back a flood of memories. It’s a great site where one can sample the waters and marvelous lands of the Cape. Have a look: www.tomsutcliffe.co.za.

The Witte, a wonderful trout stream in South Africa.

I like my friend Theo Bakelaar’s tie-off knot so much that I have been using it on everything. As I was doing so, I realized that I could tie it faster by bringing the bobbin toward me through the loop, rather than putting it through the loop away from me. This may have been the way Theo showed me, I don’t remember, but if so, I apologize for getting it wrong. It’s extremely fast to tie this way , and highly useful in many situations.

Theo's Knot is faster when tied by bringing the bobbin through the loop toward you.

In classical fly tying, materials are lashed to the hook, and any excess waste end is trimmed away before the materials are wound or otherwise manipulated to form a specific part of the fly. In production tying, such management of the waste materials is in itself a waste, a waste of time. Production tyers pre-trim the waste end of the material before tying it in. This not only saves time, it makes the fly much cleaner and neater.

For example, when tying a Down & Dirty Hex dun (this tactic works for the duns of any of the larger mayfly species, too), the thread is attached at the rear of the hook (Figure 1) and several pheasant tail fibers attached for the tail of the fly. These are pre-trimmed to the correct length so that they can be swiftly and easily secured in the tail position (Figure 2). The thread is wrapped to the eye (Figure 3). A clump of yellowish deer hair is pre-trimmed to the correct length by cutting the butt end of the clump neatly and squarely across. The clump is laid on top of the hook with the trimmed butt end right at the eye (Figure 4). The thread is looped gently over the butt end twice, very near the end. The thread is then pulled tight, while simultaneously pushing the clump down and around the hook shank. Look at that neat little head (Figure 5). It would be impossible to trim it that neatly with scissors, or even a razor blade, and would certainly be a huge waste of time trying to do so. But by pre-trimming, the head can be made very quickly and with great precision. The thread is wrapped several times at the head and then spiraled back over the deer hair toward the tail. At the rear of the hook, the thread is spiraled unto the deer hair, forming an extended body (Figure 6). At the rear of the body, the thread is wound around several times to lock all the hair very securely, and then the thread is spiraled forward to the thorax. At the thorax, the thread is wrapped very tightly over a short section of the body to created a base upon which the wing will be seated (Figure 7).The wing is a clump of deer body hair, natural color. The hair can be stacked, but typically I don’t, since the fly performs just as well without stacking the hair. I pull out any extra long hairs, and then secure the clump on top of the hook. Hold the clump very tightly by the butt ends as the clump is secured with 8-10 tight wraps of thread (Figure 8). Still holding the butt ends of the hairs, cut the butt ends off about 1/8 inch behind the tie-in point (Figure 9). Now, wrap the thread through the cut butt ends, about 6-8 turns. This further secures the wing. Pull the wing fibers up and wrap up tight against the front of them another 6-8 turns to prop them up just a bit. The Hair wing should cover the top 180 degrees of the hook, with most of the fibers sticking “up.” A few should stick out to the sides to make the legs (Figure 10). Finish the “head” by tying off just in front of the wing. Trim the hair away from the pheasant tail fiber tail. Coat the body with thin, flexible head cement, and place several drops of head cement into the base of the wing and the trimmed butt end of the wing (Figure 11). Now, go back and re-read these direction, looking specifically for the point of thread attachment, the way the hook shank is covered with thread and with how many layers, and for any and all bi-directional tying.

Figure 1. Attach the thread at the rear of the hook and prepare a thread base for the tail.

Figure 2. Pre-trim a half dozen or fo pheasant tail fibers and tie them in for tail.

Figure 3. Wind forward to cover the hook shank with thread.

Figure 4. Select a clump of yellow deer hair and pretrim the butt end square. Tie in just behind the eye.

Figure 5. Push the hair down aroind the hook sdhank as the thread is pulled tight. Wrap a half dozen turn of thread very tightly to secure the head.

Figure 6. Spirat the threaed rearward and form an extended body. The pheasant tail fibers should be in the center of the extended body.

Figure 7. Secure the rear of the extended body with a half dozen tight wraps of thread, then warp forward and form a thread base at the thorax.

Figure 8. Tie in a clump of deer body hair for the wing. Hold the butt end of the clump securely and do not allow it to spin.

Figure 9. Cut the butt end of the wing about 1/8 inch long and wrap a half dozen times through the butt ends of thee wing hair.

Figure 10. The wing hairs should mostly stick up with a few to the sides to act as legs.

Figure 11. The finished D & D Hex Dun is a highly effective imitation.

The basic premise in fly tying is to attach materials to the hook with thread wraps. The materials need to be attached between layers of thread. If one ties material against the bare metal of the hook shank, the material will spin around the hook between the metal and the thread, causing all sorts of strange happenings as the tyer continues to construct the fly. So, somewhere along the line, the hook shank has to be covered with thread. Classically, the thread is attached to the hook at the eye of the fly and wrapped rearward to the bend before materials are tied in.

Hey, this sounds just like the last blog on production tying. Well, in fact, it is. In the last blog on this topic, I addressed bi-directional tying, but in a back-handed fashion. So let’s look at it face on. Typically, once the shank has been wrapped from front to back, the tyer lashes in the tail by wrapping forward, then wraps the thread back to the rear of the hook and ties in the next material. In the example fly this would be the tinsel. Then, the thread is wrapped back to the rear of the shank and the next material (chenille) is tied in. The thread is then wrapped back to the head before the body materials are wound on. Just look at the excess wrapping that waste time and thread:

1. The hook shank is covered with thread twice, when it only needs to be covered with thread once.

2. The rear of the hook sports 6 layers of thread instead of only 4.

So, learn to tie in materials in both directions. As long as one is going to wrap thread over thread, why not tie in materials? Why not, indeed. Look at the same photos from the last blog with bi-directional tying glasses on this time.

In our example fly from the last blog on production tying, the thread is attached directly above the hook point and wrapped rearward to lock it in (Figure 1). The thread is then wrapped forward as the tail is tied in (Figure 2). As the thread is wrapped back, a piece of tinsel is tied in (Figure 3). Then the thread is wrapped forward again, securing a piece of chenille. The thread is continued forward to cover the hook shank (Figure 4). The chenille is then wrapped forward over the thread-covered shank, followed by the tinsel, and the fly finished (Figure 5).

Figure 1. Rather than covering the entire shank with thread, cover only the portion that is involved in the immediate tying step.

Figure 2. Classically the tail is tied in by wrapping forward over the thread base. The thtread base can be extended forward if needed for the next step,

Figure 3. The next material, in this case tinsel, is tied in as the thread is wrapped rearward.

Figure 4. The chenille is tied in as the thread is wrapped forward. The thread is then wrapped forward to cover the shank.

Figure 5. The finished fly, accomplished faster and with fewer wraps of thread, is just as hearty and effective as one dressed with conventional tying tactics.

My long time friend and fishing companion John Beth has been building specialty knives for years. His recent newsletter features many exquisite examples of his masterful craftsmanship. His ability to produce detail and composite different materials into objects of priceless beauty is stunning. Here are a couple of examples of his recent work. If you’d like to be included in John’s email newsletter mailings, just drop him a note at johnbeth(at)rucls(dot)net.

#1. The Birds Eye Deluxe.
This stunning piece is exhibition grade materials end to end – 3 3/4″ birds eye damascus blade – 7 1/2″ overall. The front of the handle is Mammoth tooth – the center gold vein Onyx – the rear exhibition grade spalted black ash. The blade line and material spacers are vulcanized black and grey fabric. Copper/steel “cylinder wheel” mosaic pins finish it off. If you want an eyeful, this should do it! Razor sharp for use or as interesting to view as possible for display! Lots of time and materials here! Matching leather sheath. $495.00

The Birdseye blade is rare and unusual Damascus steel.

#3. The Spanish Lace Deluxe
This piece is 7 1/2″ overall with a 3 1/2″ blade of premium “Spanish Lace” Damascus.. Dressed up with Amboyna burl in front and Deluxe wild African Olive in back. The spacer is a 3 wood chevron mosaic. The spacers and liner are black vulcanized fabric. 3 – 1/4″ ornate mosaic pins finish it off. A cowhide sheath is included. A handsome knife with nothing but the best materials. $450.00

Another example of rare Damascus patterning--Spanish Lace.

The basic premise in fly tying is to attach materials to the hook with thread wraps. The materials need to be attached between layers of thread. If one ties material against the bare metal of the hook shank, the material will spin around the hook between the metal and the thread, causing all sorts of strange happenings as the tyer continues to construct the fly. So, somewhere along the line, the hook shank has to be covered with thread.

Classically, the thread is attached to the hook at the eye of the fly and wrapped rearward to the bend before materials are tied in. But this is not a production tactic. In production, the thread is attached near the point where the first materials are to be tied in, and during later steps, the shank is eventually covered with thread.

For example, the thread is attached directly above the hook point and wrapped rearward to lock it in (Figure 1). The thread is then wrapped forward as the tail is tied in (Figure 2). As the thread is wrapped back, a piece of tinsel is tied in (Figure 3). Then the thread is wrapped forward again, securing a piece of chenille. The thread is continued forward to cover the hook shank (Figure 4). The chenille is then wrapped forward over the thread-covered shank, followed by the tinsel, and the fly finished (Figure 5).

Figure 1. The thread is attached and wrapped on the rear portion of the hook where the tail will be tied in.

Figure 2. Tie in the tail by wrapping the thread forward.

Figure 3. As the thread is wrapped rearward, the tinsel is tied in.

Figure 4. The chenille is tied in as the thread is wrapped forward to cover thee hook shank.

Figure 5. The body materials are wrapped forward and the wing applied to finish the fly.

Production tying requires not only precision, but speed. There are a number of tactics that the tyer can use to increase speed and still maintain quality. One of these speed tying tips is to use the tag end of the thread to speed the initial application of thread to the hook. Once the overlock knot is started, the tyer wraps rearward, holding the tag end of the thread up tightly at about a 45 degree angle. The thread is wrapped slightly up onto the tag end right where it intersects the shank. The tying thread slides down along the tag end and pushes up tight to the previous turn. This tactic allows the tyer to apply thread swiftly and yet with great precision.

Hold the tag end up tightly at a 45 degree angle and wrap slightly up onto it. The thread will slide down and push tightly against the previous turn.

I’ve had several comments on the D & D Midge Emerger with questions about sizes. The one shown in the post (see below) was on a size 18. but certainly they can be dressed on 16-22 with no problem at all. I use only 3 pieces of herl on the 22.

The D & D Emerger on an 18.