I was pleased to read this WWFF article by Tom Keith because I have been using these two outstanding wet flies for years and they give me consistently good results. I am very confident when fishing either of these to two flies. The "Improved" part of the name on these flies to me just means that they are now soft hackles and easier to tie without the wing found on the original patterns. Hen hackle color seems to vary from tyer to tyer on the McGinty wet fly and I don't think it really matters as much as retaining the original red hackle tail and yellow, black, yellow body. I think the original calls for Ginger Hen hackle that is kind of a rust color and matching white duck quill sections for the wing. I also don't think that the lack of the original wing matters much because I've had good results despite other hackle colors and the lack of a wing. To me, the Black Gnat wet fly here is just an all black version of the McGinty . I know there are other versions of this fly also but I like the one that is given in the article. Tom gives sizes 10 to 14 but I just use size 10 and sometimes 12.

[url=http://www.warmwaterflyfisher.com/wwjournal/wwjournaboutbluegill_Wet%20Flies%20for%20Big%20%27 Gills%20and%20Crappies.htm:59f6e]Wet Flies for Big 'Gills and Crappies[/url:59f6e]