Fly tying

[amateurflyfishermen]

Hi I When I tie my flys I use brown hackle for some of my flys but the feathers are so big would I be able to cut the sides of the hackle or would that effect my fly.

[Lornce]

You can use a dubbing loop, put the length of feather you need in the loop clip off the excess, spin and dubb.

[Kingfisher]

I would try to get some smaller hackle. That way the tips are going to move in the water giving the fly some movement and enticing the fish.

One other thing you can do is to strip off one side of your hackle before you wrap it. This will help you so you won't get the hackle bunching up.

Rob

[Pikebreath]

Originally Posted by amateurflyfishermen

Hi I When I tie my flys I use brown hackle for some of my flys but the feathers are so big would I be able to cut the sides of the hackle or would that effect my fly.

Are you talking about dry flies or wet flies like wooly worms and buggers?

Some dry fly patterns such as the thorax style actually call for a clipped underbody. The clipped hackle on thorax flies helps keep the fly balanced and upright. On regular "catskill style" dry flies, clipped hackle will take away from the patterns aesthetic quality and perhaps even it's effectiveness.

I wouldn't be too worried about longer hackles on my wet flies. The extra hackle length can translate to extra fish attracting motion.

[Lornce]

As you see there are many solid suggestions you can take here.