BEGINNERS GUIDE TO FLY TYING

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How to  Tails Dubbing Palmering Ribbing Wings Tying Flies  

METHODS - TAILS

The tail of your fly is an important component in the creation of a fly.

In various ways it may add flash, or movement to your pattern.

The two examples I have shown here are a bulky marabou tail for a lure and a slimmer nymph tail.

But the basic 'tying in' process is the same whatever material you choose to use. 

 

Marabou Tail
As with the pheasant tail used below, tear a generous plume of marabou (dyed turkey feather) from the stalk.

Cutting this with a pair of scissors only makes the job harder. With some of the stalk attached the light wispy feather material can not escape.

 
Hold the marabuo tightly between your finger and thumb to roughly work out the length of tail you want for the fly you are creating.

As a guide, hold the pinch of marabou up to the hook.

To match the hook to your tail it should be approximately from the eye to just over the bend of the hook.

 
Hold the plume up to the hook, with the waste end protruding over the shank and eye.

Using your finger and thumb as a guide take the thread over the marabou, create a loop, then tighten down.

Repeat this three or four times to hold it tight.

 
Having secured the tail take the thread appoximately half-way down the shank and then trim the waste marabou.

Secure with another couple of tight turns of thread.

 
Finally take the thread back down to the point where you first tied in the tail.

This should create a relatively 'bulk' free tail and you are now ready to move on the next stage, which would be adding a rib and then creating a body.

 

Pheasant Tail
With a feather material such as pheasant tail I prefer to tear the required bunch of fibres from the stalk, rather than cut them off with scissors.

This way it's easy to keep all the tips in line prior to tying them in.

 
Having run the thread down the hook to the bend of the shank measure up your fibres and catch them in with two or three turns of tying thread.
 

To create an even nymph body trim the waste material at the point where the thorax will be created-a short distance above the eye.

Take the thread back up towards the eye in even turns so the waste material is held firmly.