Video: How to Counter-Wrap Materials

Here’s another great video in a series called “One-Minute Fly-Tying Tips and Techniques” from Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions. Each video will teach a single tying skill, from the most basic to the advanced. Ultimately, the series will serve as a sort of encyclopedia of tying skills that will be a valuable resource for anyone who sits down at a vise to create a fly.

Trout teeth are small, but they can be sharp. And if they happen to cut the material that you’ve wrapped around the hook shank–peacock herl or hackle quills, for instance–the whole thing can come unraveled, rendering the fly useless. One way to keep this from happening is to counterwrap another material, such as wire or hackle, over the top of the body material. The top material crosses the strands of body material, locking them down. This will make your flies last longer, allowing you to spend more time fishing and less time changing flies. The video above explains the process clearly.