Feathers on Tail Hooks
 

I'm curious to know if any of you have a particular way of adding feathers to tail hooks. For example, do you find the lure to have better (slithering) action when:

1. The feathers are placed back to back to they curve out, or
2. facing each other so they curve in (sort of straight).

I'm about to tie a bunch siwash hooks and I'm a little curious.

#2 - facing each other so they bend in.
Try and match up like-size feathers - tie them in on opposite sides of the shank.

Funny thats what I have been doing all night dressing hooks
feathers like Joe said should curve in to each other.

feathers
 

do they really make a difference in general? The longer the feather the better? Color? What does it bring out in a plug? thanks

Years ago, I used to tie a lot of trout flies and then, I paid a lot more attention to the details when using a size 16 hook than I do now for tieing up a size 5/0 hook for bass.

Thanks for the tips

What Joe said plus add a little pearl flash-a-bou or crystal flash. Not too much just enough to accent the feathers. I use white saddle hackles or yellow mostly and black on plugs like black needlefish. You have to rinse the plug thouroughly after use but they add way more sway than bucktail. They work especially well on stubby needles and pencil poppers and Polaris type plugs used in the CC Canal. Longer the better.

All of my swimming plugs have tail hooks dressed with bucktail and some flashabou.

All of my metal has a tail hook dressed with feathers and flashabou; tied curving in to each other.

For a different option, in particular if you're looking to use longer hackles, you could tie them in "flatwing style" instead of "deceiver" style. In fly tying people started to tie feathers in this way because generally the feathers will have much more action. Instead of having the two curved feathers face each other and sometimes negate each others action, you can place several feathers with their natural curve facing down in the same direction as the bend of the hook. This is great for hanging big hackles off a hook; you can make a great looking squid this way with some plugs or simply make a big plug bigger.

Throw a little bucktail under the feathers for a bit of support as well, although that step isn't necessary it discourages fouling which can be a problem with longer feathers.

Something like this. A little more time consuming and generally I just fish a small tuft of bucktail on a hook, but the long hackles work.

Yup, that's exactly how I do it...

-spence

Great info:

I've used both bucktail and feathers. both add action, but I agree the feathers add additional action. The only problem is, sometimes, the feathers wrap around the hook shank-that doesn't happen with bucktail.

fcap

What's the best way to tie them on? Glue first, wrap, more glue? No glue?

I heard you use corn husks instead of feathers, though...:bo:

bass babe,
I wrap the feathers on the hook with flat waxed nylon thread then lock the wrap with a simple lock then I use( sally hanson hard as nails
clear nail polish) to finish off
link sr

Frank,
You need to spend time at a tying vice.
Bring one to the next meeting or we can do some in my basement.

"What's the best way to tie them on? Glue first, wrap, more glue? No glue?"


One thing i have noticed about feathers is that the stems twist and turn around the shank of the hook fairly easily (can be frsustrating). One solution is pull some of that fuzzy stuff near the baseof the feather and dubb it a bit around your thread and hook shank. This creates a little pad that helps to prevent that twisting.

If you want to tie flatwing style, but reduce some of the feathers' propensity to wrap around the hook and to keep the feather "up," try tying a bit of bucktail on the hook before tying in the feather. This acts as a little support for the feather.

I use Hard As Nails clear nail policy to tie and coat all my bucktails

1. fcap60 has exceeded their stored private messages quota and can not accept further messages until they clear some space.

use zonker strips.

"use zonker strips."

i got a whole bunch a couple weeks ago for some tails and to use in place of pork on some jigs -- talk about action.. snake through the water and "breathes" on the pause

tying the feathers in a kind of fanned manner will work to, it looks like a fish tail