Wing Height on Dries

[gnat]

Hello everyone.

I love the looks of hair wings on Wolfe style dry flies. I tied up half a dozen and thought they looked pretty good.

I then moved on to Klinkhammer Specials. It took me a dozen of those to get them to where I was satisfied. (I admit I'm way too fussy with my tying! But now I can tie a mean Klinkhammer!) Then I tied a dozen more.

I took another look at those Wolfe type flies and am not satisfied. Nope. Not at all.

My problem is that I don't have a good idea how 'tall' the wings should be. Are they tied so the hair tips are even with the hackle or are the wings longer than the hackle? If the wings are too long won't the fly tip over under their weight? What lenght should I be shooting for? Hair tips even with the hackle look too short to me.

I know the fish don't care and I shouldn't either, but we all have something that we are anal retentive about!

Charlie

[JeremyH]

A little longer than the hackle is standard, but I think it's really a matter of personal preference. I tend to like my wings fairly long.

Jeremy

[martinwestbeek]

Here's how I do them. My wings are the length of the hook shank, tied in at 75% point of the hook shank. [url=http://home.planet.nl/~westb001/Blondewulffstep-by-step.html:70aa6]http://home.planet.nl/~westb001/Blondewulffstep-by-step.html[/url:70aa6]
Mart

gnat,

On typical dry flies, non hairwing, I want the wings a little taller than the hackle. On hairwing dries, like the Wulffs, I still want them taller but because the hackle is usually fuller, I move the wing back along the shank a little bit. I think this compensates to balance the weight. In general I measure the wing height to be the hook length from behind eye to bend.

Allan

Questions are asked on the Bulletin Board, fly-tiers are having problems. One has the problem of running out of room on dry flies, to tie the head and whip-finish. Another has his Royal Wulffs falling over on their sides. What do all these questions have in common? The answer is proportions.

Al Campbell states in his Beginning Fly-Tying Series, Part 19-Royal Wulff Fly..."If they don't look exactly perfect (your goal) the fish won't mind. If the proportions are so out of balance that the fly tips over on its eye or wing, the fish will mind, so work on proportions and balance."

The proportions are constant for all different Mayfly Patterns, no matter what size.

(from Mayfly Proportions, in the Tying Tip Archives)....

[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/tyingtips/part176.html:27444]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/tyingtips/part176.html[/url:27444]

Nothing in Fly Tying is ever written in Stone, there are general rules, but after all is said and done, it is the decision of the tier to determine for themselves.

[Greg H]

In the Universal Fly Tying Guide by Dick Stewart there is a graphic with proportions which I have also seen produced elsewhere, so I guess it is valid.
Hook shank (eye to above barb) = tail
Wing tie-in point = 3/4 shank = wing height
Hackle length = 3/4 wing height = just more (1.3?) than gap width.
Hackle tie-in is hackle length from butt.

Steven,

"The proportions are constant for all different Mayfly Patterns, no matter what size."

Sorry, but I disagree.

Allan

[BigFlatBrook]

Tyeflies,

I wonder if you would you elaborate on that point for us beginners? It's easier for me to see that they would be more or less the same for all patterns.

Thanks

The proportions charts published by various authors frequently differ. Listening to proportions ennunciated by various 'experts' frequently differ. Hooks manufactured by different companies differ and so do the proportions of flies tied on them. Same pattern and size flies tied by the same tier(even those we hold in esteem) often have proportions that differ. Hooks with longer or shorter shanks have different proportions. Flies with extended bodies have different proportions. Parachutes may have different proportions.

I believe the general rule about proportion is that the fly has to be balanced so that it floats(we're talking about dry flies) the way we want it to. A 'spider', a 'variant', a 'paradrake', and other specific styles are balanced and yet do not conform to the specific rules of proportion often identified.

I know and greatly respect a particular well-known fly tier. If he and I were to tie the same pattern, on identical hooks, his fly would have different proportions than mine. Yet, both his fly and my fly would be balanced and float correctly.

Allan

[billknepp]

Look to the insects on YOUR LOCAL WATERS...For the REAL Proportional info...

Most are different from species to species especially in the different stages of life a spinners wings should always be longer and such as that...I tossed those charts away long ago..

I would not use any Sulpher dry buy anyone else but me on my local waters for this very reason..the colors and proportions just would not be as to what I've seen on my waters...The Orange tinge that most use just is not there depending on where I'm fishing, I may use a pink hued fly or a very pale but bright yellow fly on a stream just a few miles away...to match whats really there..If I find that another requires yet another adjustment I'll tye flies for that stream as well...I keep seporate boxes for most waters I fish..maybe I am anal...maybe I just have to much time!!....LOL