winged wets

[Byron haugh]

Bob,
Could not agree more!
Generally, everything improves over time due to better knowledge. I do not believe "flies" and fly fishing are the only things which have not improved given all these years of study and science (aquatic entomology). With better knowledge comes more effective patterns and fishing techniques. Compare anything now with that of, say, the early 20th century; vehicles, medicine, flight, agriculture.......anything.

By the way, would you consider those flies by Ronald's to be winged wets or just wets?

SylVester Nemes has an entire book on soft hackle spinner patterns.

[CharlaineC]

Those who know well enough, know that I love winged wet fly's esp the Bergman wets. If you've read trough you'll learn many different uses for the many different types of wets. I have caught fish with a telephone booth or cow-dung, better then other patterns. You dont have to stick to the pattern. I use jv hen, as well as mallards. remember the pattern's recipe is a guide. We as the tyiers are able to change what we wish.

[Allan]

I have no idea of the name(s) of the ExSPURT who decided that the traditional winged wet fly represented a sunken dun. Nor do I have any idea if that same fly represents an emerger, a malformed dun, a cripple or any other stage or injured insect. Has anyone asked Mr. trout and what has he said? To make a 'statement' with any type of surety is the height of egotism and silliness. It is no more correct then for me to opine, when I say that, a trout came up and took a cigarette butt that I had just thrown into the West Branch Del. from the old Hale's Eddy Bridge because it looked like a floating worm. I have absolutely no idea what that trout was thinking.
View one of the excelllent 'underwater' videos available. You'll see that trout try to ingest a lot of stuff other then food. Now, I'll go back to my opinion that I stated in an earlier post, and it's just that. Compared to many sub-surface flies, I'm excluding nymphs, traditional winged wet flies are not easy and take longer to tie. There are lots of new materials that have displaced natural materials too. Traditional wets are also somewhat difficult to fish. Those are the major reasons for their fall from grace. And I'll reiterate: before the turn of the 19th century, trout in the northeast were nearly decimated due to man's effect on the environment and especially fishing. Yes, bait was often used . However, the chief culprit in the fishing destruction of trout were flies and the flies used - winged wets!

Allan

[Byron haugh]

Bob,
Really enjoyed discussing winged wets with you!
Byron

[Joe Billingsley]

I, for one, agree with Dave Hughes. When I first started fly fishing, I was told by an experienced "old timer" that a small Blue Dun winged wet was the only fly I'd really need for the small mountain streams that I was fishing. I bought a few and did catch a lot more fish with them than I had before. I also noticed the fly was more effective after a fish or a couple of drifts when the duck quill slip wings lost their integrity and frayed. When I started tying flies a year or two later, Jack Dennis' book was the first manual I bought and I saw his Western-style Blue Dun with grey squirrel tail fibers instead of duck quill for the wing. It was much easier to tie for a beginner (and still is for me!) and was actually more effective. It is still my go-to fly.

I now use many different materials in place of duck quill for wings on my wets, such as hackle fibers, hackle tips, various hair, CDC, and even - gasp! - synthetics such as EP fibers, medallion sheeting, long fibered synthetic dubbing, etc. These materials are still much easier for me to tie than duck quill slip wings, are more durable and more effective, at least for me, due to, I guess, the variety of colors and the way they move in the water.

Just my experience, so.......

Joe

[Fontinalis]

Wet fly tying is bit of a lost art and requires what I dare to say, Practice, practice and patience. You really need to tye larger flies at first like size 6 so your hands learn about the material (Wings). You also need to know about Duck and Goose quills and the usable part of the quills that you should use. Once this has been achieved, you can start tying smaller wets and still make them look pretty and tyed well.

I am a throwback into tying far as wet flies goes and do not ever tye them with new modern materials. They do not look right. There are some wet fly patterns where some quills are extremely difficult or out right expensive to find and use. That is when I get creative and substitute and sometimes color with prisma markers for patterns like the Onondaga.

I have to agree with Allan on this 100% on what he stated.

[okflyfisher]

I am late to the thread but winged wets can imitate the adults both caddis and mayflies that submerge to lay eggs in addition to drowned: emergers cripples and spent adults

[Fontinalis]

Wet_Flies.jpgWalker.jpg

This is a classic winged wet fly's tyed by me called the Yellow Sally and the Oak in picture one. In picture two is a fly I tyed called the Wlaker. This is what one can tye if they take the time to learn and tye clasiic winged wet flies.

[Chuck441]

Attachment 13325Attachment 13324

This is a classic winged wet fly's tyed by me called the Yellow Sally and the Oak in picture one. In picture two is a fly I tyed called the Wlaker. This is what one can tye if they take the time to learn and tye clasiic winged wet flies.

Lovely work! I love winged wets, but don't tie them enough. Methinks I'll be tying more this winter.

Chuck

[redietz]

[QUOTE=Fontinalis;50686

This is a classic winged wet fly's tyed by me called the ... Oak in picture one. [/QUOTE]

And yet interestingly, the oak fly started out as a imitative pattern, and often without wings. Here's a link to a history of the pattern: http://softhacklepatternbook.blogspo...later-oak.html

(The natural insect is Rhagio scolopaceus; Ronalds called it Leptis scolopaceus.)

I'll post a picture of the natural later. It's somewhat surprising.