Comparadun Wings

[dshort]

I've noticed that my comparadun wings tend to tilt forward towards the front of the fly after they get wet. Even though I build a nice thread dam in front of them (I know dubbing alone won't hold them upright) as soon as they get wet they won't stand up straight anymore and I find this most frustrating! I've taken to adding a drop of head cement at the base of the wing to keep it upright. This does make the wing kind of stiff and I'm not sure how this will effect how the fly performs. I was wondering if others have experienced this same problem and what did you do to correct it? Thanks.

 

[fyshstykr]

I've noticed that my comparadun wings tend to tilt forward towards the front of the fly after they get wet. Even though I build a nice thread dam in front of them (I know dubbing alone won't hold them upright) as soon as they get wet they won't stand up straight anymore and I find this most frustrating! I've taken to adding a drop of head cement at the base of the wing to keep it upright. This does make the wing kind of stiff and I'm not sure how this will effect how the fly performs. I was wondering if others have experienced this same problem and what did you do to correct it? Thanks.

Hi dshort,
Leaning forward a little probably bothers you more than the fish.

Try building the dam a little farther back against the hair, so that your actually pushing the hair back a touch, perhaps a bit thicker dam too.(Not too much though).

I would be a hesitant to use glue on Deer hair fibers, they can become brittle/stiff and break off, the hair is usually hollow and can sometimes act like a straw, drawing the glue upwards, and the glue will add unneccessary weight to your dryfly.

Hope this helps some.....

 

[sulfernut]

dshort.... This is a common problem with this type of fly! As previously noted,the fish probably don't give a hoot. However,I noticed on some of my flies, the tilt of the wing seemed to get worse over time! On some,it got to the point where it would actually affect the way the fly sat on the water...again,I don't think the fish really cared....but I did!!
I happened to run across an article by Dick Talleur that addressed the problem directly! His solution was to mount the wing and tail,and dub the body up to just behind the wing. At this point a SMALL drop of CA glue,such as Zap-A-Gap is placed at the base of the wing. The wing is then forced into the desired attitude for a moment or two,until the glue starts to set. A couple of important notes: Use the "thin" formula CA glue...not the "gap filling" or gel formula. DO NOT apply the glue directly from the bottle!!! You WILL be sorry!!! Use a toothpick,or thin dubbing needle. Such a minute amount of glue is required,that wicking is not a problem.
Try it!! It Works!!!
Sulfernut

 

[dshort]

Thanks for that info. Yes, that's basically what I've been doing with a very small drop of head cement right at the base of the wing, before I dub in front of it. Since this pattern is supposed to be a much more realistic copy of the natural, I like it when the wings are either vertical or tilted backwards a little. Maybe the fish are taking this pattern as a cripple or emerger when the wing starts to get mangled and tilted forward?

 

[FrankB2]

YouTube - Tying the Comparadun Part II

The guy in the link above pulls the deer hair back in 5 small sections, taking
a single wrap in front of each section until he has all the hair standing straight up. I haven't tried that method myself, but I'm of the school of thought that believes a rock can be made to float if you hit it with enough
floatant D ) , so I use a bit of head cement to hold the hair in place. I might
try the technique in the video, however. The video is painfully slow, and the
section I'm referencing begins at 5:45.

 

[Joni]

Echoing the effect of glue on Deer hair. Try that Zap-A-Gap on some deer hair.
It will start smoking...I have done it. It will also make the point of glue HARD as a rock. I am sure they are talking a pin head dot, but I would be prone to try head cement.
Frank B suggestion really makes sense though. You have five, or however many time you section the hair out , individual clumps instead on one thats nature is forward.
Thanks Frank, I am going to give that a try.

 

[FrankB2]

Your Welcome, Joni ! I just search YouTube too often....LOL!

 

[HOPPER]

What I do is tie half of my comparadun wing (deer hair) in the normal lean-forward way, then add the other half in front leaning to the back, then build up a thread dam then reinforce the thread dam with some tight dubbing.

Hopper.

 

[fyshstykr]

Echoing the effect of glue on Deer hair. Try that Zap-A-Gap on some deer hair.
It will start smoking...I have done it. It will also make the point of glue HARD as a rock. I am sure they are talking a pin head dot, but I would be prone to try head cement.
Frank B suggestion really makes sense though. You have five, or however many time you section the hair out , individual clumps instead on one thats nature is forward.
Thanks Frank, I am going to give that a try.

Good point on the 'smokin hair' Joni, I had seen this years ago and forgotten.