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The Hackle Test That Changed How I Tie

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Description:

Wrapping hackle seems simple, but there's a lot of small decisions that affect how your fly looks, fishes, and lasts. In this video, I break down three different ways to wrap hackle—including one "fancy" technique you'll see online that I prove is wasteful and ineffective.

What I cover in this video:

0:00 – Intro what will i present
1:11 – Feather Anatomy
3:06 – The basics, flat vs bumpy foundation
7:28 – Stripped vs full feather
11:42 – Regular wrap
13:05 – Folded feather
14:55 – bloopers

The goal here is simple: Give you the fundamentals so you're not guessing or wasting expensive feathers. Whether you're tying dry flies or soft hackles, these techniques apply.

My recommendation? Folding feather is great once you learn how to fold. Regular is great too. Skip the stripped-side trick entirely—I show you exactly why.

👉 Check the pinned comment for a quick summary of which method to use for which fly type.

Got a hackle method I didn't cover? Drop it in the comments. I'm always learning too.

Thanks for watching and tight lines.

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