Tying in Blue Jay Feathers

[shadar]

There must be a knack to doing this on the Claret Bamble or Silver Invicta for example which i'm having a go at.

Also The Clan Chief or Clan Chief forum member how do you get the yellow to sit below the red on the tail of the fly as every time i tie it the colours seem to slip and sit either side of another.

I would also like to warn you all that i may become a bit of a pain in the neck regarding fly tying, as i've just taken it up and intend having a full fully fishable box for the coming season.

Cheers, Calum

[shadar]

Thanks Col,

Is it neccessary to turn the fly in the vice to ensure an even spread of the feathers?

Calum

[shadar]

Excellent. Many thanks Col.

[scotfly]

Be sure to check the step by steps shadar, often the answer is to be found within. 

http://www.wildfisher.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6033.0

[Traditionalist]

I also mainly do it as breac uaig suggests. Use a razor blade, or scalpel, to start the split at the butt end of the feather. It helps a lot if you place the feathers in a damp warm cloth for a minute or two before splitting.

http://www.mike-connor.homepage.t-online.de/Materials/Birds/Common/Jay/jay.html

TL
MC

[shadar]

Spot on chaps that's the jay feathers sorted. 

Any suggestions regarding the Clan Chief's tail arrangements?

Cheers, Calum

[Traditionalist]

Spot on chaps that's the jay feathers sorted. 

Any suggestions regarding the Clan Chief's tail arrangements?

Cheers, Calum

No, I think he should find his own girlfriends!


However, if you mean keeping the two materials separate and on top of each other, then tie them in using a "pinch loop", one after the other. They will compress more or less vertically like slip wings, and stay in place. Do NOT take any turns of thread backwards over the tie-in point, ONLY go forwards with your thread after tying in.

TL
MC

[rabbitangler]

No, I think he should find his own girlfriends!


However, if you mean keeping the two materials separate and on top of each other, then tie them in using a "pinch loop", one after the other. They will compress more or less vertically like slip wings, and stay in place. Do NOT take any turns of thread backwards over the tie-in point, ONLY go forwards with your thread after tying in.

TL
MC

couldn't agree more, as for the jay, I've taken to using blue dyed Brahma hackles (from lakeland) as a substitute. Much easier winding a hackle than buggering about with fibres IMHO.

[Traditionalist]

Partridge or guinea fowl hackles dyed blue are also often used. However, many feel that the jay hackles are much better. I really don?t  know whether this is true or not. I am in the process of investigating the specific properties of some hackles etc, but results as yet are inconclusive on a number of things.

There are some striking differences between some feathers, but it is a very moot point whether fish can actually sense these.

I have caught fish on flies dressed with all three feathers, and also on some "artificial" substitutes made by using marker on various feathers.  Really quite impossible to say whether it makes any difference to the fish. The touch of blue certainly does seem to make a difference on many flies, as flies without the blue front hackle often don?t catch as well. I have absolutely no idea why this is. There are various theories about it. Two of the main ones are that the flies are taken for blue damsels, or young perch, ( young perch have blue chins!).

TL
MC