Does the head of a fly make a difference?

[flyfishwithme]

I was musing over the Valsesiana flies today and having read Reeds book and the impact that the head had on a Catskill fly under UVR I thought I would gauge members thoughts.
We often hear that it is better to minimise the number of turns when tying off a fly. We also hear the opposite (especially with a wet fly) where a built up head is required.
John Wynne often uses tinsel in the head. NCF tiers often used herl.
I can seethe logic if you are using a un-eyed hook, but does it matter?
From my perspective I believe it does.

[William Anderson]

I hope there are some well informed and articulate responses to this question. This is not one of them. Just considerations.

One of the guiding principles I prefer to follow is to avoid the addition of anything that might cause a pattern to be less effective than it would be without it. In terms of a fly's head, I can't imagine a fly performing better with a head than without, especially with so much emphasis being placed on the flies vitality. On the otherhand, the head does provide an opportunity to include an additional design element or color. In small flies with only 2-3 materials...I can see where some tiers might want to explore some additional contrast. Caddis often have larger, contrasting heads and the herl heads on NCS makes good sense. If you don't feel the eye of the hook plus your knot offers the profile you want in a fly's head, a bit of build up might not hurt. You have to consider the size of the fly as well.

Sorry to lob up a few obvious and disjointed thoughts. Curious to see where this goes.

w

[DUBBN]

I prefer a small head on my patterns, especially nymphs, flymph, and softhackles. I carry a small variety of beads with me on the stream. Metal beads include Gold, Copper, Silver. Plastic beads include Red, Clear, Gun Metal, Brown. If I feel it necessary (and I rarely do) to add color to the head of the fly, I can simply slip a bead on the tippet above the fly. The bead falls down on to the pattern and stays put.

Most of the time a metal bead is added to get the pattern a little lower in the water column. A dropper below a dry fly is an example.

Does it work? For me it does, but I have zero proof.

[Old Hat]

My simple thought. To the fish...no...to my enjoyment at tying...yes. Sorry, that's all I have.

[chase creek]

Gotta go with Carl here. I think some patterns just look better, or more balanced, with a head, at least to the tier. I prefer a head on most of my patterns, but that's just me. Unhappy childhood or something, I suppose.

[Johnno]

What is the purpose of the head (in the main) other than finish off the fly? May as well make it as small as possible. After all there is an eye to the hook in front of it...... Aesthetics only IMHO. If a fly looks better to the beholder with a biggGer or smaller head then they will use it. It's a confidence thing....

[ashley]

I personally think it depends on type of fly. For soft hackles, dries and such then I prefer a small head. But there are some flies such some streamers, saltwater and others where a large head for various purposes seems to be a part of style.

I also think that heads on Trout and Grayling flies shouldn't have a lot of wax on them, I just doesn't look right. I was shown a method in Slovenia were the head was finished with melted bees wax and the head was much nicer looking.

[Roadkill]

My take on it is insects have heads, some of which ar even wider than the body. I use a thread color to mimic the natural or provide a hot spot. I think fish readily discount the eye of the hook as a head just as they do the protruding shank, bend and point as some kind of tail on the fly. As an old habit I also first wrap the return of the eye with thread to minimize the chance of the wire cutting the knot.

[JohnP]

One of my earliest fly-tying heroes, E.H. "Polly" Rosborough, considered the thread head as an integral part of some of his patterns. Check out the slide show by clicking here:

http://web.mac.com/robertdotson/iWeb/Fl ... rough.html

[Hans Weilenmann]

One of my earliest fly-tying heroes, E.H. "Polly" Rosborough, considered the thread head as an integral part of some of his patterns. Check out the slide show by clicking here:

http://web.mac.com/robertdotson/iWeb/Fl ... rough.html

John,

Polly is no longer with us to get the definitive answer from, but here are my (un-educated and un-substantiated by factual knowledge) thoughts.

There are times when events come first, situations arise, and then a story is built around it to explain or turn things to assets.

If I used, like Polly did, Belding Corticelli Nymo thread I too might struggle to keep my heads in check. That being so, might as well turn them into a unique characteristic to make my flies stand out, hopefully sell better.

Your thoughts?

Cheers,
Hans W