Hackle collars 2.0 | Part 2
Above photo: A. #20 TMC 531 Fall Microcaddis with a traditional hackle collar overwrapped with CDC, squirrel, and ginger Kapok.
Breaking the uniformity of traditional hackle collars and creating an impressionistic fly, even on a #20 or #22 hook, is not difficult. The traditional hackle collar does exactly what it should, and it has for well over a century. It floats many different kinds of fly patterns, gives the impression of legs and movement, and creates balance and symmetry. Sometimes too much symmetry. Random and controlled elements, not only in fly patterns but in design principles in general, are what bring believable cadence to an often static, highly predictable world. The world of fly tying is no different.
An impressionistic fly does not have to be big or look like a Troll Doll. In the photos above and below, a #20 TMC 531 has a traditional hackle collar tied off from the rear of the collar, not at the eye. Using a loosely dubbed rope made from a mixture of CDC, squirrel, fox, and Kapok, the thread is then wrapped back through the hackle towards the front of the hook. “The fusion,” for lack of a better word, is the mingling of the hackle and the loosely wrapped dubbing overwrap. It's the reverse of how you would traditionally tie off a hackle collar, as the final finishing step would be to trap the hackle short of the eye and whip-finish. Counterintuitive to how we typically approach it.
Above photo: There are four turns of ginger hackle wound to the rear towards the wing; the dubbing is then brought back through the hackle towards the hook eye and tied off. At this point you can trim back fibers as you wish.
Winding a tight and neat hackle collar has its limitations. For one, the symmetry does not always make the fly believable in its erratic gestural movements. Primarily because the overall profile is highly uniform and features a traditional collar silhouette, which is fairly predictable and generally symmetrical. As we know, Mother Nature is not symmetrical or predictable. In an effort to bring some impressionism into the mix, dubbing loops and split-thread techniques work well for larger flies, but for micropatterns, they are often too heavy-handed. A loose, sparse, dubbed thread is more than enough for #20 and smaller.
Above photo: The mixture of standard hackles, CDC, squirrel, and Kapok
makes for a random, leggy silhouette on this #20 hook.
I think one of the trickiest parts of winding loose-spun dubbing through hackles is simply just using a very little. Using a Velcro brush helps you preen the hackles back into place and spreads the fibers of the squirrel, Kapok, and CDC out as well. Also, remembering to tie off your hackle to the rear, leaving your thread towards the rear as you wind your hackle backward, is totally counterintuitive. So yeah, senior moments are frequent when using this technique.
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