Do you varnish the heads of your flies?

[Ian_M]

I'm a lazy old beggar and can't be bothered varnishing the heads of my flies.  It's a tedious and messy task and some of the varnish always finds its way on to the hackle fibres, rendering them stiff and useless.  I try to convince myself that generous amounts of wax and  a whip finish will see me through.

So, the question is ...

Do you varnish the heads of your flies?

If so - what do you use?
How do you apply?
And ?
Any tips to prevent varnish getting where it shouldn't be?

[haresear]

I was talking about this to Harelug at the weekend, Ian.

I stopped varnishing mine at the start of the season and have had no trouble at all. This only applies to dries and standard wets. Maybe for heavy bottom bouncing nymphs, the thread would fray if left unvarnished?

One thing I have started doing when tying parachutes is to smear a tiny amount of superglue on the thread before winding it around the wing post to stiffen it prior to winding the hackle. This means you only have to take a few turns of thread to lay a base for the hackle.

Alex

[IanR]

If I'm tying for tomorrow, no. For three weeks off, yes,applied with a dubbing needle (a carpet needle "borrowed" from a carpet shop  ).


Cheers

Ian.

[Wildfisher]

I always varnish - trick is to use very fine varnish and a pin and not put too much on at once. I think it is more important when you use thick thread or on big flies like Stimulators etc, they are more prone to unwind

[Hans]

If I tie flies for myself I never varnish the heads. If tying for others I always do.
I try to keep the head rather small, using thin thread, like spiderweb for the smaller flies.
To allow the varnish to penetrate deeply into the head I add a little bit of aceton to my varnish, making it a bit thinner.
I apply this with a special needle, normally used for pinal injections, so very thin.
It even allows me to arnish the windings underneah the hackle of a parachute-fly.
Hope this helps,
Hans.

[sandyborthwick]

I always varnish with a needle but use Rustins Clear Lacquer(the type you use on metal). It is very thin and soaks nicely into the thread without leaving the very glossy head. It is also very cheap to buy and readily available - often use it to thin down the thicker Coloured varnishes for tying purchased elsewhere. It does seem to keep the head more together when the fly gets a lot of battering in the Wild Brownies sharp teeth especially if you are getting fish after fish. Often to keep the Hackle on the wets etc being affected by the varnish I use a home made tool which is effectively a cork with a piece of wire in it - at the other end the wire is made into a small loop. Starting at the eye end of the hook before applying the varnish I push the small loop over the Fly and this forces the hackle down and back - the cork or rubber bung then hangs down like a pendulum holding the hackle firmly clear. This certainly avoids any varnishing and stiffening of the hackles.

I often use the Rustins on the main body of Silk Bodied spiders etc as it has the same affect without ruining the nature and appearance of the fly. It definitely makes the tying more robust.

Sandy B.O.

[just_steven]

I always add a drop of varnish to the head of my flies, but this is probably more out of habit than any other reason. If I stopped adding varnish I'm pretty sure none of my flies would come to bits, but its just the smell of varnish is so nice...
If you have a bit of a generous hand and you keep getting varnish in the hackles. Try adding varnish to the thread before you whip finish.
Take a little bit of varnish on your dubbing needle and run it about 5-10mm or so down the thread, then whip finish and voila!
Hope this helps

Steve

[Wildfisher]

I always varnish because I love the smell.

only when you?re not train spotting though 

[rabbitangler]

Why bother, just double whip finish the fly. It takes a lot less time than varnishing and I've never had a head come apart.

[Ian_M]

Thanks for all the replies and advice.
I have added some thinners to the varnish and that has certainly made life easier.
Must say I was surprised by the numbers who don't varnish though.  Thanks again.