Coloring Hackle Stems

[SlingingWets]

I know plenty of people dont tie Catskill style flies but it's how I was taught and there is some nastalgia there for me. I never tied many "quill" style flies other than Quill Gordons and I wanted to tie some Red Quill using hackle stems from the Rhode Island Red necks I have. The hackle stems themselves dont seem to be VERY red. Has anyone ever used sharpie or other alcohol based markers to color hackle stems or would dying be preferable? One other thing for consideration is the fact that I plan to soak them in warm water prior to tying.

Thanks!

Jim

 

[troutbert]

I know plenty of people dont tie Catskill style flies but it's how I was taught and there is some nastalgia there for me. I never tied many "quill" style flies other than Quill Gordons and I wanted to tie some Red Quill using hackle stems from the Rhode Island Red necks I have. The hackle stems themselves dont seem to be VERY red. Has anyone ever used sharpie or other alcohol based markers to color hackle stems or would dying be preferable? One other thing for consideration is the fact that I plan to soak them in warm water prior to tying.

Thanks!

Jim

The insects aren't VERY red either.

Mayfly Species Ephemerella subvaria (Hendricksons)

Discover the lives of the mayfly species Ephemerella subvaria (Hendricksons) with vivid photos, and learn to identify them and fish their hatches.

www.troutnut.com

They aren't red like an apple. More like ginger, amber, tan...

 

[SlingingWets]

The insects aren't VERY red either.

Mayfly Species Ephemerella subvaria (Hendricksons)

Discover the lives of the mayfly species Ephemerella subvaria (Hendricksons) with vivid photos, and learn to identify them and fish their hatches.

www.troutnut.com

They aren't red like an apple. More like ginger, amber, tan...

Yea, these stems are more of a ginger/tan/pink so they should work. I think I was overthinking it a bit because I have tied plenty of female hendricksons using that pinkinsh dubbing and never even thought about that in relationship to the quill body. I'll throw some pictures up when I get them tied.

Thanks for the help!

 

[falcon]

I have tied a Red Quill with a Rhode Island Red Hackle stem. I also tied Red Quills with peccary that has been dyed and when it was used up by coloring the hair with a marker and covering with Sallys.

 

[dryflyguy]

I used to tie quill body Hendricksons using a stripped brown hackle stem
They looked and worked pretty well

However, they were quite fragile
And would usually break and unwind after catching a few fish

I now use reddish brown poly dubbing, with no ribbing
They work just as well, if not better

 

[SlingingWets]

I used to tie quill body Hendricksons using a stripped brown hackle stem
They looked and worked pretty well

However, they were quite fragile
And would usually break and unwind after catching a few fish

I now use reddish brown poly dubbing, with no ribbing
They work just as well, if not better

I think I’m going to give these a thin coat of UV resin for durability as I have done that with peacock quills on Quill Gordon’s in the past.

 

[dryflyguy]

I think I’m going to give these a thin coat of UV resin for durability as I have done that with peacock quills on Quill Gordon’s in the past.

When I was tying quill bodies, there was no UV resin around
I just used head cement then
Newer stuff should work better

 

[falcon]

I watched The Catskill Fly Tyers Guild Thurs night fly tying via Zoom. They tied a Grey Fox Variant with a Quill body. Some of the tiers reinforced the body by x wrapping tying Thread over the Quill then coating with Sallys or head cement. The matching thread color disappeared.

 

[Bamboozle]

Yup, thread or VERY fine wire, counter wound is an old trick.

 

[caddisflyer]

There is nothing wrong with that old Catskill style . They still catch fish.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Not the best tied fly by any means, but here’s one with a stripped brown hackle that I tied awhile back where I put some lacquer on the body after I wrapped the quill.

 

[Tigereye]

Try dyed necks. Hen or cheap saddles if you can find them.

 

[PennKev]

A small drop of CA glue spread out on the thread underbody and then wrapping the quill over the wet glue will make for a very durable body. You can apply a thin coat of cement or lacquer afterwards for appearance. I'm not so sure about using UV glues in this situation as they tend to build up pretty heavily, even thin UV.

 

[PennKev]

Yea, these stems are more of a ginger/tan/pink so they should work. I think I was overthinking it a bit because I have tied plenty of female hendricksons using that pinkinsh dubbing and never even thought about that in relationship to the quill body. I'll throw some pictures up when I get them tied.

Thanks for the help!

Dying or coloring the stems will also greatly reduce the two-tone effect of the quill body.

 

[SlingingWets]

How did I do?

 

[SlingingWets]

Daughter had a Field Hockey Tournament and we got back a few hours ago. Started finishing the red quills. The 2nd one is way better. I didn’t do a good job controlling the shape of the body with the cut off wing and tail.

 

[nfrechet]

stripped brown hackle stem

 

[SlingingWets]

stripped brown hackle stem

View attachment 1641247160

Nice tie. You got me beat. No tie-off’s for us.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Nice tie. You got me beat. No tie-off’s for us.

I think @nfrechet uses 30” hackle stems too. 😃

 

[SlingingWets]

I think @nfrechet uses 30” hackle stems too. 😃

I’m not sure what size hook that tie is on but it looks to be about a #10. Either way, he makes my ties look silly.