Classic Salmon Fly Tutorial - Tying the tag.

[wingman]

Hope it's ok putting this in here as I know it's not a complete fly SBS but I thought it might give some of the guys on here who are dabbling in the Classic's a little insight into how I tie them. So might throw the odd SBS in here and there on various techniques. It's not always how it's done but is how I generally do it but there are variations. So here I give you 'The Tag'.

Thanks for looking.

cheers

mark

 

[tonsils]

Fantastic Mark!

Just what I need, thanks for taking the time and effort to post this sbs.
It clearly shows the precision and attention to detail required to achieve the level of finish you do so consistently on your beautiful flies.

No excuses now for sloppy tags!


Many thanks!

Brian



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wingman]

Thanks Brian no no excuses now. Meant to add that when you tie the tinsel off to tie it off on the back side of the hook and first wrap of tinsel tag is around the bare hook shank. Some would strip off the tinsel to reveal the core then tie off but I don't bother as it's a bit of a faff and this is very fine oval tinsel anyway but maybe on larger flies that have thicker oval for the tag it might be better suited. Good luck!

 

[Lamson v10]

Brilliant Mark :thumbs: I appreciate you taking the time to show this as it will be of great help to me when I take the plunge into classics

Arnold

 

[wingman]

Thanks Arnold every little helps as they say and it is more or less the start of a fly. Get a nice looking tag and hopefully get everything else to a similar standard and you should come out with a very nice fly.

 

[petevicar]

I just found this.
Thanks Mark.

I will be going through all of your tying tips in the near future.

Pete

 

[wingman]

I just found this.
Thanks Mark.

I will be going through all of your tying tips in the near future.

Pete

No probs Pete I'll hopefully be adding some more SBS's on various techniques that might be of help.

 

[baca157]

Very nice Mark. Thanks for making the effort.

I never tried burnishing the tinsel tag. Must try it next time.

Cheers,
Sebastian

 

[wingman]

Very nice Mark. Thanks for making the effort.

I never tried burnishing the tinsel tag. Must try it next time.

Cheers,
Sebastian

Thanks Sebastian it's worth doing as there is a bit of give to the tinsel so it does flatten slightly but you have to be careful that the floss doesn't run into it as you burnish. The old antique stuff is more metallic so there's no give to it. One thing I hate is flat tinsel tags as I nearly always get a floss slip with it so I tend to use oval instead to be on the safe side.

 

[arkle]

"Start, as you mean to go on" is a maxim, that applies itself well to all things trad. salmon tying, As it gives you the incentive, to progress, hopefully in the same mode of quality.

The way, that early tyers learn't their trade was to start, with this very procedure & continue repeating it for several months (YES!) before moving onto the the next stage(s). They would do each stage maybe several hundred times, albeit in different sizes before even thinking about the next one & so on, until the fly was complete.

 

[wingman]

"Start, as you mean to go on" is a maxim, that applies itself well to all things trad. salmon tying, As it gives you the incentive, to progress, hopefully in the same mode of quality.

The way, that early tyers learn't their trade was to start, with this very procedure & continue repeating it for several months (YES!) before moving onto the the next stage(s). They would do each stage maybe several hundred times, albeit in different sizes before even thinking about the next one & so on, until the fly was complete.

To true John I agree you have to keep up that standard right through to the end and it aint easy and it will show up little flaws more if all other parts are tied to a high standard and you let your guard down on one other aspect. The whole fly might be tied to near perfection all the way through but a mistake at the end with a badly tied herl head or a bad topping selection can be enough to ruin the effect so nothing has to be left to chance. No it doesn't really matter to the fish all said and done but it's more about testing your skills and pushing the limits.