Can someone please define a couple of fly tying terms for me and give a description of use:
Floss
Tinsel
Difference in Soft, Dry, and Wet Hackle
Here are some basic definitions.
http://www.geocities.com/scjohnk69/glossary.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/salmonid/glossary.html
These cover quite a bit.
http://business.virgin.net/fly.shop/glossary.htm
http://www.jbowen.biz/fly/glossary.html
Floss is a light cordage similar to thin yarn, except that it is not twisted. Instead it is made of continious fibers of material such as silk, rayon or polyester. This type of construction lets the fibers lay out like a flat ribbon and produces very smooth bodies. Floss can also be twisted into a thin rope before wrapping to produce a rib effect. Floss comes in single strand and 4 strand varieties. The single strand type comes wound onto the spool as a single strand, the 4 strand is wound in 4 continous strands, which are usually separated into single strands before use. Most common application is to form bodies.
Tinsel is a thin ribbon of metal or mylar wound onto a spool. It comes in both oval and flat versions, the flat being the most common. Oval tinsel is made by spiral wrapping a fiber core with the metalic material, which results in an oval cross section. Oval tinsel will conform to fat cigar shaped bodies better than the flat version. The flat tinsel is simply a very thin flat ribbon of the material. Tinsel made from actual metal it usually factory coated with lacquer to prevent tarnish, after lots of fishing or the passage of time the lacquer surface fails and the tinsel may become discolored. The plastic or mylar type will not discolor over time, but may not resist sharp teeth as well. Some of the plastic versions are avialable in two tones, the top and underside of the ribbon being made in different colors. Tinsel usually comes in shiny metalic colors, the most common use is as a ribbing.
Soft hackle is intended for flies fished below the surface, the feather fibers are flexible (ie, soft) and have a lot of web (web is the fuzzy stuff on the sides of the fibers) The objective is to create a hackle that will pulse in the water creating a life like movement. Soft hackle comes from hen chickens, partridge, grouse, and other game birds. Soft hackle also refers to a particluar style of fly (ie. the bead head soft hackle,) where a very sparse collar hackle (often just a few fibers) is tied in at the head to create movement and represent legs.
Wet hackle usually refers to a style of tying more than a particular feather. In a wet hackle fly the hackle is soft and webby. They are usually tied in so the fibers slant back towards the rear of the fly. Wet hackle flies are fished below the surface, the webby fibers absorb water and sink better. Hen feathers are often used for wet hackle flies.
Some references use the terms wet hackle and soft hackle interchangably.
Dry hackle is intended for flies fished above the surface film, the feather fibers are stiff and have very little web. The objective is to create a hackle where the stiff tips of the fibers spread out and get caught in the surface tension of the water, providing flotation. Dry fly hackle comes from rooster chickens and is typically much more expensive than soft hackle. High grade pelts can fetch close to $100! Two styles of dry hackle are common, saddles (from the back of the bird) and capes (from the neck of the bird.) The cape feathers will have a larger range of sizes per pelt (size 20 thru 10) and you typically need 1 or 2 whole feathers per fly. Saddle feathers are longer, sometimes 8-10 inches. This lets you tie mutliple flies with a single feather. Saddles have a much smaller size range, usually just 2-3 hook sizes on one pelt.
I think that this audio program by Thomas Whiting, the guy who owns, Whiting Farms is the best: http://www.askaboutflyfishing.com/speakers/thomas/thomas.cfm
There is good information in there for beginners and more advanced people.
Good luck and wlecome to tying.