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Posts: 364
Location: Central Wisconsin | I'm just starting to tie my own bucktails. Is there a certain trick to get the tops where the tie is to look clean? I am tying on a coil with nylon thread and head cemet, I just can't seem to figure out how to make it look professional. I have looked into a skirt collar, any suggestions? |
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Posts: 2315
Location: SE, WI. | I hardly think the fish cares what the top tie looks like. I do a couple of things if the top does not turn out real clean. One is to use a glitter nail polish, to enhance the looks...OR at times, I'll use some shrink tubing over the thread, then you won't have to look at the top tie. Both will help longevity of your tail. JD |
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Posts: 2385
Location: Chisholm, MN | I use shrink tube. Looks pretty good. |
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Posts: 218
| Yes, there is a way to do this correctly. It involves practice, practice, practice. As you get more familiar with handling your materials you will find it easier to do. Here's a quick tip. Don't tie big bunches of hair at a time. Tie a small hank at a time and build the overall shape as you go. Tie from the back of your hank of hair and go forward. This will give you a tapered shape to build the head on rather than trying to cover up a big wad of hair when you're done. |
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| Peter gave you some excellent suggestions. I can add a few items to Peter's comments. First, when you are done practicing, practice some more. Second, the hanks of hair that I use tend to be bigger towards the rear of the coil (towards the hook, this doesn't mean they are big!) and become much smaller as I approach the front of the coil (i.e. towards the rod). I want the bulk to be towards the rear of the coil and have it come towards the front of the coil like a cone. This is somewhat easier to do when I use coils having a lead "button" over the coil. I place the hanks of hair around the circumference of the coil (e.g. 3-4 hanks) before I move forward towards the eye of the hook.
There are few other things to mention. One is that I lay a thread down over the coil before I start adding hair. This thread is laid down tight, but widely spaced. I then put head cement over this thread. I find this gives something with "grip" for the hair to attach to. Another thing is to keep tension on your thread at all times to make sure nothing gets loose on the inside of the finished product. Remember to use a knot (e.g. an overhand knot) and then head cement before you move forward on your coil, just in case you break your thread. This way you have a place to go back to should you break your thread, and can simply reattach your thread and continue on.
I encourage you to keep on with this hobby. You will get better with practice. You will find that the combinations of materials and designs are seemingly endless. Check out your local fly-tying shop, Rollie & Helen's, Lure Parts On-Line and Jann's Netcraft for ideas for materials. Look at musky lures in the stores, on tv or in your tackle box. You will quickly come up with your own custom designs for the fishing that you do. For example, tie a short piece of wire to a shank of a hook. The wire can have a small loop to hold a swivel and small blade to simulate a small minnow chasing your bucktail.
It sure is rewarding to stick fish that you caught on one of your own lures. Good luck! |
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Posts: 71
| The most important parts of having a nice taper are: using smaller bunches of hair (as was mentioned), and trimming the hair well. Make sure you have a small, sharp scissors and trim the ends of the hair above the tie at as close to parallel to the coil as possible. Make sure there is a gradual taper, that way the thread will not slip off of the ends of the bucktail as it would with a sharp angle. Trim it this way after a few wraps of thread on the last layer of hair you add, then wrap it up to the desired end. I've also found that you do not need nearly as much thread as you might think to hold each clump of hair you add, which will also help make it look more professional. One last thing, I try to leave a bit of coil sticking out past the thread. I've found that if you tie to the very end of the coil the pull of the blade(s) will unwrap the thread. |
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Posts: 364
Location: Central Wisconsin | Thanks everyone for the great tips! Good luck this season! |
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