I want to try tying a few for my plugs but I seem to have 10 thumbs......any tips or techniques anyone could share would be great! :doh:

I'll show ya BF, but you do have some ham hock hands. Should be interesting, lol......
as a matter of fact I just tied a dozen at my desk and now I am tying leaders with teasers...... :happy:

vise, flat waxed nylon, I like zap-a-gap, bucktail, some flashabu, Hard as Nails nail polish for the top....done :smokin:

Yeah....my hands are not made for delicate work to be sure. Not having fun doing this....maybe stick to making the plugs...just tired of paying so much for pre-tied hooks! :doh:

Hooks for wood :hee: you've seen mine, they hold up pretty well, give me hooks and i will do them up for ya, minus a few ;)

I got the vise...scissors....nylon.....buck tail....(don't like flashaboo....straight white bucktail!)....I got clear head cement....no nail polish. How do I apply the head cement? :exp:

breath my big friend, breath.....check ur pm's

Get a Bobbin....I have some sausage fingers myself but that makes it pretty easy. After I tie'em I put couple of coats of Hard as Nails on it. I'll put a drop of epoxy on them when I'm sealing a plug to make it more durable.

Sorry RE I didn't mean to mess up your Ho-ing. :D

I have a bobbin....problem I am having is laying the bucktail on the hook and wrapping it! :exp:

3 lose wraps with the nylon over the bucktail, position the bucktail how you want it, tighten it up, wrap it a zap it

Sorry RE I didn't mean to mess up your Ho-ing. :D
NBD :hee: I am always trying to get wood outta Larry, he is stubborn though. Gots ta get me one of his poppers before the prices sky rocket :kewl:

Which popper? How long for the head cement to dry?

I don't think tying is for me......it sucks! :exp: :exp: :exp:

Some use trebles instead , or just plain siwash hook on rear... plugs still catch fish BF... I know, yer goin' for style :p

I was lovin the last one you showed me, the polaris type with the split lip...the BF trademark :drool:
Not sure how long the one you have takes to dry, the zap-a-gap dries pretty quick, but looks a little foggy when dry. That is why I like the Hard As Nails, looks reel nice dry and it is pretty strong stuffs. And you gotta love the looks you get in CVS when you bring it to the counter :tooth:
A small spinner works real well while they dry. Just a low rpm jobber with a craft store/styrofoam disk mounted to it, come out nice nice. If you want I will show ya this weekend, I left my plate clean for the weekend for the charity tourny...Lemme know

vise, bobbin, waxed thread..and hard as nails nail polish.....it shouldn't take very long to dry....glad to help you if you need it....you have helped me enough already....let me know. Jay

what size shoe do you wear Larry?

A 15.....why? :huh:

Larry I'm writing up a step by step for you. Just gotta take the pics to go with it when I get home, its not the END ALL, But its the way the guy I tie with and sissy fish with taught me. :D Pm me a contact number. I can email it to you or post the how to here your call

Thanks Vic....post it in open forum...maybe others can benefit from your wisdom! Thanks again! :kewl:

I could use a little tutoring myself, mine look like a PO'ed chimp tied them. Could you put in a sticky at the top, TT? :huh:

hahahaha I dunno if you guys have met my buddy Scott, but its his wisdom not mine trust me, and I learned a bunch from the folks at UFTRI, but more from Scott. You'll have to bare with me my camera (phone) isnt the best. But I think I can get the main idea across. Just looking up the urls for the 3$ drying motors you'll need for nice round epoxy heads.

Take all the tieing stuff and place it neatly in order on the table, then take one of your size 15's and proceed to beat the hell out of the stuff :smash: :happy: :cheers:


I have size 14 and I don't think that my huge hands and fingers have anything to do with having trouble tieing tailhooks. I just think I don't have the patience for them to come out perfect like you expect also. Did you try putting the hair on in 2 or 3 clumps not just one big clump all at once?
good luck

Capesams gave me a great tip.Use dental floss,ya can handle it easier with big mits and don't worry about breaking it when pulling down tight.:D

Bruce is right....my hands are not the problem....the fact that I am a perfectionist is what the problem is!!! :hs: Bruce....yes, I did one clump! :bl: I think I might try beating all the goods with my shoe like Slip suggested! :walk:

its not the hair that you should be concerned with. Its getting measurements off of your hook, hook shank, and hook eye and hook width.....almost done

make sure you have a layer of thread around the hook before you start tying the bucktail in.

Do the few loose wraps at 1st adjust it the way you want it to be, and don't do one clump, i know this was already posted, but it is the key to using bucktail

you can try other materials like arctic fox that is easier to tie with.


i blew up my bench with my :rocketem:

guy who taught me to tie is 250-275 lbs with hands like oven mitts and he ties size 28 midge flies (industrial diesel mechanic) :buds: . Its not your physical makeup, its how you handle the material and which steps you follow to do what with it. Larry your turkey is done :buds:

First thing is it's about like turning plugs you will get better.
Step by step
1 Put hook in vise
2 hold thread along hook and wrap over to hold it
3 Put some head cement on thread
4 cut some bucktail, not from base of tail
5 Hold long ends of bucktail and pull out short hairs
6 grab butts ofbucktail and hold on hook
7 wrap loose 2x with thread
8 position and tighten thread
9 more glue, if you do this step they stay together better
10 wrap tight and tie off
11 more glue for looks and I never turn them
If you don't like it cut it off and try again

I don't know if this is what everyone always does, but I find this to be much easier and neater than tieing of at the end. After finishing wrapping the thread, I place a loop of power pro (or anything thin and strong) on the hook and make about ten tight wraps around that. I then cut the thread and pass the end of the thread through the loop and use the loop to pull the end of the thread under the 10 or so wraps I did over the power pro. Then just coat with head cement. (there was an article in on the water a few months ago on making your own bucktail jigs that may describe this better than me)

Another thing that I like to do (I know this is anal and unnecessary) is use white thread and then use a sharpie to color the thread to match the bucktail color before applieing the head cement. This saves on having to buy yellow, black, white, olive, etc. thread.

I don't know if this is what everyone always does, but I find this to be much easier and neater than tieing of at the end. After finishing wrapping the thread, I place a loop of power pro (or anything thin and strong) on the hook and make about ten tight wraps around that. I then cut the thread and pass the end of the thread through the loop and use the loop to pull the end of the thread under the 10 or so wraps I did over the power pro. Then just coat with head cement. (there was an article in on the water a few months ago on making your own bucktail jigs that may describe this better than me)

Another thing that I like to do (I know this is anal and unnecessary) is use white thread and then use a sharpie to color the thread to match the bucktail color before applieing the head cement. This saves on having to buy yellow, black, white, olive, etc. thread.
Ya need a whip finisher, probably a long one or you can do it with your fingers. There's no way I could describe it but most anyone who ties flies could show you one and how to use it.

http://www.tie1on.net/whipanim.htm