Tennessee Trout Flies The Creel Clinch River

Tying A Hackle Stacker Fly

Start your thread and dress the hook as usual. Tie in your tailing fibers, and wrap the thread forward. Stop the well short of the eye and clip the excess tailing fibers. For this fly, bronze mallard was used. However, fibets work best for smaller patterns.

Next, tie in your biot. Note the small notch on the edge of the biot, visible at the top left in the photo. Whether using turkey or goose this notch should face the rear of the hook to avoid a fuzzy rib when wrapped.

Now, wrap the biot forward. Remember to overlap the wraps as you bring the biot forward. Tie it down 2/3 of the way from the bend of the hook. Goose biot renders more defined variegation, but are generally shorter than turkey biots.

Tie in some 5x tippet material, to form a loop. I have colored the tippet red in the photo to make it easier to see. Nibble the ends of the monofilament before tying it in to help keep it from slipping out from underneath the thread. A little Zap-A-Gap here helps too!

Now, you will need a way to hold the loop vertically, over the hook. The best way to do this is with a gallows tool. You can get one for your vise if available, or fashion one by securing a paper clip to your tying lamp. Some of the more versatile thread savers can also be positioned above the hook. I have seen people hold the loop up with a raised finger while stacking the hackle, but that is pretty tricky. A "third hand" is best.

Tie in your hackle as shown at left. Instead of using a hackle which is sized to be 1 1/2 times the gape of the hook, when wrapped, keep it equal or slightly less than the gape of the hook.

Now stack the hackle, by wrapping it around the mono loop. Wrap up the loop just far enough to cover the thorax, and then back down to the base of the loop. Secure the hackle with a few thread wraps. It helps to stroke the fibers rearward while clipping the excess.

Finally, dub the thorax of the fly. A small tight dubbing ball works best. Pull the hackle over the thorax with one hand, while pulling the barbs towards the rear of the hook. you want to keep most of the barbs on top. Hopefully you left room to tie the mono down, and whip finish the fly. Clip the excess mono and apply glue for durability.



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Tennessee Fly Patterns Brought to You By The Creel
	The Fly Patterns page will be regularly updated with patterns that are currently taking trout in the greater east Tennessee area. All materials used to tie the patterns are available from The Creel. Step-by-step instructions and images that enlarge when clicked will also be provided. Text links to other patterns can be found at the bottom of this page. Remember to inquire about The Creel’s fly tying classes. The classes can greatly improve your flies and techniques. There are fly tying classes available for all skill levels. These classes are also a great way to become familiar with the area’s best fly patterns and the insects they imitate. This month's pattern is the Hackle Stacker (aka: the pull-over hackle). This pattern can be employed to imitate most any mayfly species, by altering the size and color of the materials used. The Hackle Stacker is something in between a comparadun and a parachute style fly. It consistently fools picky trout, even in slick water. The size, color and type of materials used in this fly tying tutorial, make for a good early season pattern. It produces well during both Quill Gordon and Hendrickson hatches. It consists of a number 12 hook, a bronze Mallard flank (tail), a ginger turkey biot, ginger Scintilla dubbing, tan UNI-Thread, and a grizzly variant hackle. Materials List: TMC 101 or 100 dry fly sized to match UNI-Thread 8/0 Turkey or Goose Biot to match Scintilla Dubbing Dubbing to match Dry Fly hackle to match	Tying A Hackle Stacker Fly Start your thread and dress the hook as usual. Tie in your tailing fibers, and wrap the thread forward. Stop the well short of the eye and clip the excess tailing fibers. For this fly, bronze mallard was used. However, fibets work best for smaller patterns. Next, tie in your biot. Note the small notch on the edge of the biot, visible at the top left in the photo. Whether using turkey or goose this notch should face the rear of the hook to avoid a fuzzy rib when wrapped. Now, wrap the biot forward. Remember to overlap the wraps as you bring the biot forward. Tie it down 2/3 of the way from the bend of the hook. Goose biot renders more defined variegation, but are generally shorter than turkey biots. Tie in some 5x tippet material, to form a loop. I have colored the tippet red in the photo to make it easier to see. Nibble the ends of the monofilament before tying it in to help keep it from slipping out from underneath the thread. A little Zap-A-Gap here helps too! Now, you will need a way to hold the loop vertically, over the hook. The best way to do this is with a gallows tool. You can get one for your vise if available, or fashion one by securing a paper clip to your tying lamp. Some of the more versatile thread savers can also be positioned above the hook. I have seen people hold the loop up with a raised finger while stacking the hackle, but that is pretty tricky. A "third hand" is best. Tie in your hackle as shown at left. Instead of using a hackle which is sized to be 1 1/2 times the gape of the hook, when wrapped, keep it equal or slightly less than the gape of the hook. Now stack the hackle, by wrapping it around the mono loop. Wrap up the loop just far enough to cover the thorax, and then back down to the base of the loop. Secure the hackle with a few thread wraps. It helps to stroke the fibers rearward while clipping the excess. Finally, dub the thorax of the fly. A small tight dubbing ball works best. Pull the hackle over the thorax with one hand, while pulling the barbs towards the rear of the hook. you want to keep most of the barbs on top. Hopefully you left room to tie the mono down, and whip finish the fly. Clip the excess mono and apply glue for durability.
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Tennessee Fly Patterns Brought to You By The Creel