Comparadun Wings

[leszek]

Another newbie tyer here, wondering about comparadun wings. All the comparadun recipes and tutorials really stress a "fanned" deer hair wing that spans 180 degrees. Looking around online however it seems as though plenty of people end up tying more of a 45-90 "post" rather than a true fan. Heres what I mean:

http://www.njflyfishing.com/photopost/data/535/265dscn3524_-_marchbrwn_comparadun.jpg

http://www.flyfishingdevon.co.uk/images/comparadun-tups02.jpg

Is this an accident? Sloppy? Purposeful? Or does it not really make any difference either way? Thanks for the help.

[WhipFish]

Hey, welcome to the wonderfully addictive world of tying your own. Just don't let it become an obsession. It sucks you in and then you can't even finish a sentence without, "Oh I bet that would work really well for a wing post" popping in. You'll see.
To answer your question, those photo links you have are purposeful and are meant to be that way. The compara is more about the way you stack and fan the hair than the degree you fan it at. those flies are emerger patterns and are meant to be slightly below the surface. That's why there is not enough hair in the fly to fan it 180. It really matters how you are going to be fishing the compara style. If it's on a nice calm pool then you would still be able to see your fly if you were using one of those. However, both would go under and out of sight if you were using them to fish a run. For faster water I add more hair and fan it to 180. (And if you make the tail out of deer hair you would be amazed at how bouyant the fly can be.) Being able to fan it 180+ comes with practice as well, so I don't want to add that they might be sloppy but many of the recipies online are posted by tyers just like you and I who are not professionals but love to do it and own a computer and camera. See what I'm getting at?

Concentrate more on stacking the hair as close to the eye as possible without crowding it and evenly tapering the abdomen once you cut the excess off. Also, I wouldn't use anything less than a #6 thread for now...unless you like the sound of it snapping.

Check out these sites for some ideas and keep the questions coming.:)

http://hipwader.com/flyfishing/oreillys-fly-tying/tying-fly-patterns/
http://www.totalflyfishing.com/index.php/fly-tying/trout/
http://flytyingworld.com/flyindex.shtml

Best of luck! It's an awesome feeling when you catch one with your own masterpiece.

Whip

[pvansch1]

Comparaduns are about the only fly I tie, the wings should fan 180* - It takes some practice, getting the thread tension right and the build up to hold the wing up right. The best thing is to buy one tied properly and try to achieve what you see.

[pork]

Another question....How can I get rid of the giant bump that is left after clipping the butts? Maybe I'm using hair that's too thick (it is labeled "Comparadun Hair"), but mine always seem to have too chunky of a body. If I use less hair, the wing seems too sparse. Is there a trick to cutting the butts so I don't end up with a really tall lump directly behind the wing?

[WhipFish]

Pork...The type of hair really doesn't matter as long as you have a stacker to get them at a uniform length. The packages labeled "Comparadun" deer are from a specific part of the deer where the hair is shorter and stands up at an equal length. I tie many, and I mean many, comparas and the only hair I use is the large $2 bags that Classic & Custom has in a giant box. It works just as well and you get more.

Tricks to getting it to fan upright and at 180* without a big hump?

-Wrap a small ball of dubbing just behind the eye so you have something to pin the wing up against.
-Get a pair of scissors that will cut sharply all the way to their point so you can get rid of as much excess as possible. The less there, the less clump.
-Place hair where you want it, loop twice around it lightly, then pull down. This will help to keep it all on the top of the hook and not pull over the sides.

As for more tricks, I ain't got 'em. You just have to figure out the right amount of hair to use. A big mistake is using too much. Trial and error, man. Buy one of those big cheap bags and practice cutting off bunches, stacking them, and wrapping them on. It's really a tactile thing. Once you get it right, you'll remember how thick it felt and where on the bunch you pinned it down.

[pvansch1]

When you don't think you have enough hair, you still have too much!
Like I suggested get one and try to copy it as best as you can, and look at it, it's not really a lot of hair for the wing.

[DA]

After you stack a clump of hair, estimate the length you'll need then cut the butt end of the clump at an angle before you tie it in. That will give a tapered profile of hair behind the tie in point.

[WhipFish]

The correct amount is 88. That's right...88 pieces of hair are in the one I just counted. However, 87 or 89 would work nicely as well. 90 is right out. (Can you tell I have nothing to do at the moment?! :D )

[Gary]

Many years ago a very good tyer that tied flys for the extinct Clapp & Treat showed me how to eliminate that hump behind the wing. After locking the wing into an upright position with the thread in front of the wing he tapered the hair behind the wing with a single edge razor blade. You can't have any thread on the shank behind the wing tie in point because the razor needs to cut down to the bare shank or it will cut the thread and you'll need to tie on a new wing. It sounds hard but with practice it becomes pretty easy and makes a nice slender tapered body.

[flygirl]

Talk about Comparaduns...anyone who joined the fly swap will appreciate the Hendricksons that Whipfish tied up....they are sweeeEEEET !!!!!!

[WhipFish]

Hey flygirl....thanks! I appreciate it. I just like comparas. Once you get it, they're easy to tie and you can do a lot with them. I have an entire side of a large flybox dedicated to them. All sizes and colors.

Leszek...if you were not all ready, make some of them sparkle duns. Just add grey or light brown antron to the tail and it will act as a trailing shuck. Very effective. And if you want to do a split tail, don't bother with the microfibets. Go to Home Depot and find a paintbrush with solid color synthetic bristles. They are a hair bigger than the fibbets but work just as well and you get a whole lot more.

[Klinkhamer]

Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, MT has really nice comparadun deer hair that is worth ordering it special from thier site. Being that the owner, Craig Matthews, is credited for inventing the 'Sparkle Dun', his comparadun hair for sale is specifically chosen for this purpose. That's all I use for mine and it works great for me on my annual trips to the region.
http://www.blueribbonflies.com/

Regards,

[leszek]

thanks everyone, I appreciate all the suggestions and advice.

I'm also really liking comparaduns, tying them anyway. I like working with deer hair, now I am just trying to get some consistancy in what I'm tying. Tails were in fact, my next question. I have been making some sparkle duns as well; as for the comparaduns I've been looking for alternative to microfibbets, which I cant for some reason warm up to. I will take a look at the paintbrushes as suggested. Does anyone use hackle fibers? A a couple strands of deer hair?

Anyone with one of those hendrickson comparas mind sharing a photo? I think I need to work on my skills a bit before I ship my messes off to anyone else...

[WhipFish]

This one is like the one's I tied for the swap only the color is different. The rest is the same.

http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/data/507/thumbs/compara2.JPG (http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=703)
http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/data/507/thumbs/compara1.JPG (http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=702)

If you have an Ocean State Job Lot around you they have the best paint brush for the job. the bristles are perfect. Deer Hair works well too but you have to wrap the dubbing lightly back on it to hold it down straight with out it fraying. Try both.