Question for winged wet fly users...

[WarrenP]

I tie and fish a lot of wet flies and flymphs and really enjoy them. I really like the looks of wet flies that have married wings or just wings on them but have never tied any of them yet, but, want to. I have had many other fly fishermen ask me why I am more successful with the "catch" part of fly fishing then they are and the only thing I can respond is that while I am fly fishing, I can mentally see the fly I am using and I know what action I need to do to get the fly to respond the way I want it to. It is hard to explain so that others understand, but, I don't just cast the fly out there and keep casting it until something hits it. I concentrate very hard on the fly line and try to visualize in my mind where the fly is and what it is doing. I am not aware of much that is going on around me. I just become part of the river and the fly. I offer this so that you can understand my question more. When I visualize a winged wet fly in my mind and try to visualize it in the water, I get the feeling that the "wing" could cause the fly to turn side ways or cause twist in the tippet if I strip it too fast or a fast current pushes against it. Is this possible or is my mental image giving me bad feedback? Thanks for your input on my question...

[FishnDave]

If I understand your question correctly...your visualization is correct. The winging materials generally have a degree of stiffness to them. Water will push against this. The lighter the hook, and the more aerodynamically imbalanced the fly, the greater the likelihood of getting some "rolling" of the fly with a fast retrieve, or in faster currents.

I see this sometimes in the flies I tie, although I admit I don't tie winged flies at this point. I haven't attained the level of precision in my ties that seem to be required for that type of fly. I truly admire those than can create those beautiful winged flies!!!

[dixieangler]

I get the feeling that the "wing" could cause the fly to turn side ways or cause twist in the tippet if I strip it too fast or a fast current pushes against it. Is this possible or is my mental image giving me bad feedback? Thanks for your input on my question...

Why? Have you just tied the fly on a length of mono and pulled it in the water or just pulled it along in the water on your line close in to see and watch how the fly swims? I think this might alleviate your fears if you know how the fly swims in the water. The wing does make the fly swim better to me, not worse. I have never had what you describe happen if the fly was tied correctly. At least not yet and I have been fishing winged wets for many years even in fast streams and rivers up in Georgia. The water should flow around the parallel wing just like a streamer, not against it unless the wing is offset. The winged wet fly can be thought of as a mini streamer to help visualize even though it really isn't. If you haven't had any of those kinds of problems with your streamers, then you shouldn't have any of those kinds of problems with your wet flies. You might be over analyzing this a tad bit. Now maybe if the fly got caught up in an eddy, the line might get twisted on the fly. But that could happen with any fly. I have serious doubts that your scenario could happen just straight line fishing a winged wet fly. Now if the wing of the fly is too large (out of proportion to the size of the fly) or the wing was tied on the hook incorrectly (at angles perpendicular rather than parallel) or the hook was not a heavy wire hook, then I can conceivably see where the fly might turn or twist in the water. But then it would be a proportion problem with the fly being tied wrong rather than the design of the fly as it was meant to be tied and fished. Testing a fly in water to me is always a good idea to see how it performs before it can possibly cause problems when fishing it. So if I get it wrong tying the fly, I can go back to the tying bench and correct the problem.

[WarrenP]

Thanks for the replies. I have not attached any wings on any of my wet flies yet, but, I plan to because I think they are really neat looking flies. I was just thinking about the design and was wondering if the problem I stated could happen and I do understand that if I do not tie it properly that it could cause the twisting of the tippet. I never gave any thought to a winged wet being considered the streamer of the wet flies. I can see the connection and now I know I will be "winging" some of my wet flies giving them a try. The pattern that I read about that got me started thinking about trying was called the Cajun Coachman. I was impressed with the looks of it and I will tie some.

Thanks for the help and info....It is appreciated

[Fontinalis]

Now when we talk about wet fly winging, it depends also on the style of wing techniques that one wishes to employ like, Tweed, Clyde, Tummel, Derbyshire and so on. In some of the winging techniques I just mentioned the wing does make a resistance in the water and does provide an animation to the fly. In Basic wet flies Like I tye and fish with all the times, I believe the only issue is to make sure the wings are set propperly on top of the hook. Now wet flies in some cases looks like small streamers and in different current conditions looks like nymphs sheding their shuck and rising to the top of the surface like an adult May Fly or caddis. Have you ever wondered or pictured why the Liesenring (Forgive me on the spelling) lift works. Because it looks like and adult fly hatching to get to the surface and start the dance of life. Also if you ever have fished a two or three wet fly rig like I do a lot of times I am more concered of my presentation. I also make sure when I tye the flies on the leader that I tye them on propperly so I know how they will ride in the water. Wet fly fishing especially the old way I am fishing was not a visual experience at all but a fact finding mission to see which fly worked the best out of the bunch. In wet fly fishing you really do not have to put a lot of thought on how the fly is moving. It's all about the presentation of the flies and reading the water to where you beleive a fish would be. Lastly keep in mind that most Trout taking a wet fly is mostly 2/3's of the way down into the swing to the very end lift before you cast again. Here is a few links to pics of wet flies that I fish and tye. Now the proportion of the wing is up to the tyer on what he or she thinks will work best. In the pics is my style/signature to my flies.

http://www.njflyfishing.com/reviewpo...LY_3-large.jpg

http://www.njflyfishing.com/reviewpo...s_03-large.jpg

http://www.njflyfishing.com/reviewpo...Dr_3-large.jpg


I think the pictures above should provide you with ample shots of what wet fly wings should look like when propperly tied on. I hoped this helped you out a little.

Andy Brasko
Catskill Fly Tyers Guild

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Andy,

What elegantly dressed flies. I have been tying Clyde style flies over the past couple of weeks, waiting for the rivers to drop and clear a bit so I can fish them. Tummels are a bit sparse for me, but may get there before the summer ends.

[WarrenP]

Andy,

Those are absolutely beautiful flies! I can only dream that mine will look half that good! The pictures helped a lot. From them I can see that the wing needs to "lay" back more than up which would help to eliminate twist. I can hardly wait for this weekend to get here so I can spend some time at my fly tying table to create my first winged wets! I have to finish up the 4 dozen flies I have started for the local fly shop and then I can tie flies for myself.

Thanks a lot and those are beautiful ties....

[Fontinalis]

Warren:

Any questions on tying the wet flies over the weekend, please ask and I will be glad to help. Fathers day is the only day I will not be around due to my kids and Grandson.

Sincerely
Andy Brasko

[Fontinalis]

Hey Ron:

Will you be fishing those flies two and three at a time or single? Clyde style is a pretty nice looking fly and seemed to catch fish pretty well. At least it was reported that way from all I have read. It's pretty cool when you think about them old days and knew where a wet fly fishermen was from or where he mostly fished due to the winging style. I have been fishing wet flies for 25 years and love them and swear by them. When I am not fishing wets, I will be fishing streamers. These are the only two types of flies that for some reason I love to fish with. Dry fly's once in a blue moon are fun and Nymphs are good but wet flies are number one and Streamers are number two.

Andy Brasko

[WarrenP]

"Any questions on tying the wet flies over the weekend, please ask and I will be glad to help. Fathers day is the only day I will not be around due to my kids and Grandson."

Thank you, Andy..