Hummm...Do I add them ? Yes...
Do I think they are "Needed"...ummm to catch fish....Not positive either way I know they are what creates the airfoil that sets the hook upright in the water!!!...And keeps it from sitting face down in the surface film..well if the fly be "Traditionally" Hackled...I use A.K.Best's Hackling method religiously, Yes even on the catskill tyes...Shoot me if'in you must...lol..but I like the method and what it imparts to the fly!
As I like wings on my flies...It's up to the tyer himself when you get right down to it...Do as YOU wish...and I hope the fish agree with your wishes!.
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"I've often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before" A.K.Best
Everyone wants to excel in this sport but at the same time we let traditionalists place restrictions on our tactics, methods, and ideas. I always assumed that fly fishing was a sport that allowed imagination, creation, adaptation, investigation, dedication, education, revelation? : Fox Statler, On Spinners (Not the dainty Dry Fly kind) "Spinner'd Minner Fly"
"Wish ya great fishing"
Bill
Wish ya great fishing,Bill