Flies falling apart

spinN'flyfish · #1 03-24-2016, 07:01 PM

Hey folks, I've been fly fishing for a couple seasons now, but I still consider myself a beginner in fly fishing. I've experienced a problem that has been bothering me for quite some time, and that is getting my flies' hackles all ripped and fallen apart. Could this be my casting with the double haul(too rough?) or my flies are just a load of ****y flies?

petew · #2 03-24-2016, 07:37 PM

Bull whipping them in the air is a good way to shred them.

thumper · #3 03-24-2016, 08:00 PM

Pause a little longer on your back-cast and you won't 'crack the whip' as badly.

ShortsideK · #4 03-24-2016, 08:12 PM

good engineering.
Fly producers don't want them to last forever, else their sales go down.
Its the same with everything.

petew · #5 03-24-2016, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thumper

Pause a little longer on your back-cast and you won't 'crack the whip' as badly.

X2 , and the fly needs to be in the water to catch fish, not doing 20 false casts .

eagleflyfisher · #6 03-24-2016, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinN'flyfish

Hey folks, I've been fly fishing for a couple seasons now, but I still consider myself a beginner in fly fishing. I've experienced a problem that has been bothering me for quite some time, and that is getting my flies' hackles all ripped and fallen apart. Could this be my casting with the double haul(too rough?) or my flies are just a load of ****y flies?

Mainly depends on how well they are tied, thread used, quality of materials, lack of head cement etc..
seems like the majority of the real garbage ties come from Kenya , no offence,
You can tie a fly with old brittle hackle, no wire etc and ya it's going to fall apart.
Nothing to do with your double haul. We fish the crap out of our gear , flies and usually holds up pretty good. Usually starts to fall part after its caught a ton of fish & that's ok then it might have some stories and even get hung on a hat or something.
Start tying your own or check with the shop about the flies they are selling.

spinN'flyfish · #7 03-24-2016, 09:02 PM

Thanks guys. Might just be that back cast. When I started off, I constantly would lose flies by 'cracking the whip'. Now its the trees and the flies falling apart, mostly nymphs and sometimes dries. I'll agree with flies being crappy, even though I still have some flies from my first season. I like to type my own nymphs or streamers. I find dries harder to tie. Less false casting and a slower back cast.... I'll try that out.

ShortsideK · #8 03-24-2016, 09:47 PM

I can't remember shredding flies from casting.
Usually, as eagleflyfisher stated, flies get torn up after catching several fish (and often continue to catch fish even after they're shredded).
I used to have some problems with deer/elk hair flies I tied, falling apart, but now make sure to tie in the hair tightly and add a bit of Zap A Gap to the tie in point and the problem went away.
You might try putting a small amount of superglue with a bodkin/needle/toothpick at the whip finish.

goldscud · #9 03-24-2016, 10:16 PM

Just watch your line when you backcast...it should straighten out before you come forward. The weight of the line when fully extended will load your rod for the forward stroke (and no snapping noise).
Put some head cement on the thread next to the eye of the hook before you whip finish. When you tie off, the cement will soak into the thread wraps

robson3954 · #10 03-24-2016, 10:57 PM

I torched a lot of flies when I was new. For all the stated reasons. Not allowing the line is no 1, but poorly tied flies, fish mouths, hemastats all claim flies. if I think one is coming apart from my casting nowadays it's because I was pushing my casting room - hitting flies on steep banks just as the line comes to a stop

petew · #11 03-24-2016, 11:01 PM

Even if you don't tie your own you can toughen them up with a drop of head cement .

Lornce · #12 03-25-2016, 08:51 AM

Actually I never use head cement on the flies I tie for myself, just a bit of wax on the thread with a proper whip finish and they never come apart. I use cement on my commercial flies as fishermen like to buy shiny. A well-tied fly won't come apart but will get shredded over time by Trout teeth.

I have seen flies that have been tied offshore that where already unraveling in their fly bins. If you buy junk you get junk.

32-40win · #13 03-25-2016, 10:00 AM

This was posted on Facebook the other day, thought it was a good reminder of the basics of tying, that a lot of people forget the reasoning behind, or never really thought about. Some stuff that many tying vids, even some books, do not explain well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5awv4tKLm2Q

rycoma · #14 03-25-2016, 04:14 PM

Also a solid base and soft loops will help keep them together. I also like to half hitch every so often. Lots of the commercial bin flies the bodies like to spin around the hook or slide to the bend. Wrapping delicate materials like pecock or pheasant tail wrapped around tying thread really helps to keep them from shredding