Tags & Tails

By Ronn Lucas, Sr.

Typically tyers throughout the decades up to today have tended to view and apply the tag and tail as “bit players” and either applied very abbreviated tags and tails with the standard Golden Pheasant crest feathers. I take quite a different view and think of and treat tags & tails on my flies as almost complete flies.

When I started tying the fancies (fully dressed flies), I must admit to being somewhat uninspired about the tags & tails I guess because everything about these often very complex flies was new to me. It didn’t take long however to start ribbing my tags with a single piece of oval tinsel and later to simple ribs & counter ribs which, when applied correctly cross on the center of the sides of the tag or body.

The tags & tails I apply to my freestyle flies now are fairly complex and major parts of my flies. As I write this, I guess I have a little over 100 tags/tails that are either very different or somewhat different. On every fly I tie these days, I try to come up with something new for the back of the fly. I admit that it is becoming more and more difficult but the quest continues. One of the reasons that I spend so much time on this part of the flies is that in virtually all cases, the tail & tags are in open view unlike some bodies that might be obscured by other materials.

I would like other tyers to start to really think about what they are doing before actually doing it. Look at the photos of these tags & tails and see if you can use some of the designs for your tags & tails or even translate them to the bodies as well.

I will show how some of these are tied at a later date. I am sure most if not all of you can figure it out anyway but for those who may not, a little instruction can’t hurt. For now, I hope these will inspire you and get the creative juices moving.

Happy Trails! ~ Ronn Lucas, Sr.

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