The Making of the Doodads by Triton Mike

Making feathered hooks is definitely easier than learning how to ride a bike and like my good friend John always says "You might kick yourself" when you find out how. ;-)

Equipment

Lets talk a little about the equipment needed and approximate costs.

Vise and Bobbin

As you can see in the picture above their are a handful of pieces involved in making doodads.  Most of the stuff I have in the picture can be purchased from any fly shop or BPS, Cabelas or Janns Netcraft. Lets start with the basics you will definitely need a vise which the one in the picture can be purchased for $10 bucks and it is all you will ever need in tying anything from doodads to flies.  You will also need a thread bobbin which runs like $2.99. Bobbins come in like 2 sizes small and large I use both and each one has preferences over the other.

Thread Scissors and Cement

The thread I use comes in a variety of colors and I have a few different colors just so I can match hooks better and if you want to get extremely fancy you can spiral different colors of thread like a barber pole if you want.  The thread I use is a pre-waxed monocord which is a FLAT thread and really comes into play when tying feathers and makes life lots easier trying to get the feathers to lay correctly and it cost like .95 cents per 100 yds and can tie a ton of hooks with that 100 yards. Now you can use thinner thread than the monocord, but I would strongly recommend not using bigger thread than the monocord.  The small scissors the only thing you need to be concerned about on scissors is that they are sharp and have thin blades so you can cut the end threads snug and smoothly. Head glue better known as Clear fingernail polish to me.  You really don't need the fly tying head cement.  Actually fingernail polish is 10 times easier to use as it comes with a fingernail brush that you don't have to clean with thinner or water and in my opinion it is just as good as the head cement offered by a lot of fly tying shops.  Both cements are similar in cost, but you get the convenience of the included brush with the fingernail polish and you may even get to steal some for free (not recommended) from the wife or fiancé. hem hem.

Feathers and Hooks

Feathers you gotta be picky.  I use chinese necks that are dyed in color.  I have ordered chinese necks from various places and hands down you can get more USEABLE feathers for you buck at Janns Netcraft (known as streamer necks in the Jann's catalog) than the BPS or Cabelas combined and they cost like $5.15 a hackle and you can probably make close to 80 doodads with one hackle.  BPS's hackles are very inconsistent you get mixed quality sometimes you get a good one and you sometimes bad ones.  Now the reptile feathers I get mine from Cabelas (known as saddle skins in the catalog) and the ones from Cabelas are not only cheaper, but top notch and
almost every feather is useable and they cost around $9.99 a hackle and you can probably get almost 150 doodads from each hackle.  Only problem I have with Cabelas is sometimes they go on back order quite a bit. Flashabou and krystal hair you can pretty much get anywhere.  Flashabou and krystal hair are the same product no matter where you get it.  BPS, Cabelas and Janns all carry all sorts of Flashabou, Mirage (Slammer material) and Krystal hair.  Now on hooks I think everyone knows I only tie Gamakatsu.  In my opinion they set the standard on quality treble hooks.  I am not going to be able to release my contact on bulk trebles due to a few sponsors on the BFHP selling bulk hooks on the BFHP.  I would contact a few BFHP sponsors (BA's or Ron's T & C tackle would be a good start) if you are looking for bulk trebles.

The Making of a "Doodad"

I have the pictures numbered for easier reference and also to prevent confusion.

Above is what the feathers should look like just before you tie them on the hook.  Pay close attention to the following things length, width, pointed head, and defeathered stem at the bottom.  On a hackle most of your useable feathers will be located just above the neck area for example look at the bald spot on the brown hackle in the center of picture #1 for the sweet spot.  Most hackles are in the shape of a spade just above the bottom part of the spade in the lower center part of the hackle is where your best feathers will come from.  I select feathers that are narrow and slender and have a nice point to them.  I like the entire feather stem and all to be approximately 3 inches long from point to the bottom of the stem and I take the feathers off the stem which makes the actual feather length 2 1/4 inches as you can see in the picture above.  I personally like the longer stems which will come into play later.

Now put a treble hook into your vise with the loop of the hook into the jaws and then clamp it down.  Then take your bobbin with thread and place the end of thread on the hook and wrap over itself approximately 4 times and clip it as shown in the picture #3 above.

Now place one of your feathers "bow out" between 2 of the 3 trebles and keep it their with one hand and wrap the feather stem on the hook with the thread and bobbin with the other hand and wrap it twice.  After wrapping, position the feather take both hands on each end stem and point and center the feather on the hook shank as shown in picture #4 above.  If you use non flat monocord thread your job just got a little harder.  The flat thread keeps the feather in place better than round tying thread will.

Now you are ready to add another feather so follow the steps again for picture #3 place a feather in between 2 more trebles and wrap it twice straighten the feathers with both hand as shown in picture #5 above.  Then as shown in picture #6 you added the 3rd and final feather and then you should make sure of the feathers are the same length and are all straight and bow out before moving to the next step.  After that you should then have 3 stems sticking out from under your thread gap all 3 stems and cut them with the scissors as shown in picture #6 above.

Now you want to take your fingernail polish and coat both the thread that you have already have wrapped on the hook and the remainder of the bare visible shank on the hook as well shown in picture #7a.  What this does is glues the thread to the shank of the hook to prevent unraveling and also glues your knot down at the end which will be shown in the next picture.  After coating
the hook and thread with the nail polish wrap the remainder of the hook shank with the wrapping thread all the way to the base of the hook loop with no gaps showing in between the wraps.  Very important that you only put on ONE layer of thread as this is a very important key in the action of the hook especially behind a small and relatively unstable crankbait like a bandit.  You DON'T want a bulky tie on the shank!!  One layer is all it takes.  With only one layer down you feathers aren't going to come out I promise you the feathers will break off before they come out from under the glued thread.  I personally have yet to have one pull out.

Now for the hard part to explain without actually showing you.  The finishing knot.  Okay as you see in picture #7b and #7c give yourself some slack in the thread and make a loop you will need both hands.  Take that loop and pass it over the entire feathers and hook and pull it tight you should hear it crinch down and vibrate telling you that the knot is snug and tight. This is VERY
similar to the end of a fishing palomar knot.  Do this loop at least 2 to 3 times over each other at the base of the hook loop and after that you want to snip the thread snug up against the treble hook shank. If you want for added protection you can coat the entire threaded area on the shank again with fingernail polish. PRESTO you got a Custom Doodad!!!

Making a THAD SPECIAL

As seen in the further along picture #7 take a selected amount of strands of flashabou and place them evenly between all 3 treble hooks and then wrap them with the thread probably 5 times or so then clip it snug with the base of the last wrap of thread.  You don't want flashabou sticking out from under the top of your thread near the loop when you are finished so be sure to cut it pretty close to flush with that 5th and final wrap.  Then as shown in picture #8 take the fingernail polish and coat the wrapped thread and the remainder of the hook shank up to the eye hook loop and finish it off just like we did on the feathered hook as seen in picture #9 above.

Anatomy of a Doodad

As seen above in picture #10 showing the length of my hooks.  I like the entire doodad to be approximately 2 3/4 inches long from the top of the eye of the hook to the tip of the feathers.  This picture shows a bigger #4 hook on a #6 I would say you want to be close to #2 1/2 inches from top to bottom.  Now on the Thad Special I tie them long for a reason.  You never know what bait you are going to use the Thad Special on.  On topwaters I like them long like you see in the picture at close to 3 inches long.  This gives the full effect of the flare out of the flashabou.  Fish just cannot stand it I had to put that statement in here cause the fish just can't hold back when they see it.  Now on cranks you might want to trim the flashabou down to the standard 2 3/4 or 2 1/2 depending on your preference. So in a nutshell I would make them a total of 3 inches long to start and trim them if you need to.  Now as seen in picture #11 are common mistakes that I see people make when tying up feathered hooks.  The number one thing people make a mistake (especially OWNER) is making the tie area TOO BULKY.  Making the tie area too bulky will roll a bandit or other small crank in a nanosecond.  All you need is one layer of thread and a nice coat of fingernail polish and you are set.  Also notice the bow in bow out of the hook on the right and the one on the left.  It takes a little time and practice to get that bow out effect correct and just gives a little better flare out of the feathers on the pause.  Also you notice feathers coming out from under the thread.  A lot of tiers will just wrap over it a few times and hide it but if you trim your feathers correctly and correct length you shouldn't have to tie over feathers and  get a overall crappy appearance on your hook.

Doodad Uses

Now that you can tie doodads what do you do with them??  I put them on almost everything.  Like I always preach something different than what the other guy is throwing on some days can mean everything in the world.  I fish them on cranks, topwaters, rattle traps, spinnerbaits, rogues, flukes and trickworms just to name a few.  Here is a little picture below to show you what they
look like behind a few baits.

Doodads are probably the most versatile bait you can fish.  I know of a few folks who like to use the "Float N Fly" method with them in east Tennessee.  I personally have had luck putting them on a mojo rig with a bare Thad Special on the back.  I had buddy catch a 7lber doing just that in a local subdivision lake nearby.

A word of caution "Doodad Fatigue"

I want to issue this word of caution when tying.  Tying Doodads for hours straight is not the best thing for your eyes as you are constantly focusing on something small.  In fact if you tie for 2 hrs straight you begin to have the "Sun Monkey" effect and start seeing double and seeing things floating in thin air is not uncommon.  So go easy on yourself and don't ruin your eyes or wear reading glasses.  As far as volume is concerned if you are tying 30 feathered hooks an hour and they are all perfect bow in bow out you are doing pretty good!!!  Probably 35-40 an hour on Thad Specials is a good time.  Keep in mind these times are based on someone who has tied real close to 10,000 hooks in one year!!  I hope this helps and if you have any questions holler at me at bucca1@aol.com I will be glad to answer any questions you might have.

Triton Mike "King Doodad"