Dry Flies... :)

[Byron haugh]

I wonder how much realism really plays in the equation when, no matter how lifelike the fly looks, there's a piece of curved iron with a sharp point sticking out of it's butt in plain view of the fish.

Regards,
Scott

Scott,
I firmly believe that trout (most fish) rely on positive "triggers" more than negative ones. I really think that is why, even in the slickest water, they can be enticed to strike a dressed hook.
Byron

[Z]

Grubb,
Tie a few with and a few without and let the fish decide!

Z

[DG]

I don't think wings make a lot of difference on traditional hackled mayflies. Then again, I don't tie those any more, and tie CDC flies without any hackle, and a wing to keep them up, so..

What Z said.

I think a LARGE part of fly success is the angler's faith in what he or she is using. I KNOW some of my patterns work well, and others don't do well at all with them.

[NJTroutbum]

I feel that some patterns are more subject to the wing profile than others. Obviously the downwing patterns have a distinct profile that needs the wing in place. Others such as some of the Catskill patterns I feel need the split wing style winging almost as outriggers, to keep the pattern from listing more than about 45deg while in drift, if for no other purpose but for tradition. But if one looks at other popular styles such as a thorax pattern (which I love)?....the wing really has a very low profile. In that case, I think the "footprint" on the surface film is the trigger, and the wing provides more visibility for the angler than anything. Much the same with many parachute patterns that are often tied with very short wing posts. Can it make a difference? I am sure, and have experienced times when it seemed to matter greatly, and then others when it seemed to not matter at all. Slick vs broken water can make the difference as well. As can time of day, sun glare, shadows....etc.

[Algyros]

A lot depends on whether by wings you mean those things we tie on flies to represent wings or the impression of wings. For example, a simple hackle dry fly has no technical wings, but the upright hackle certainly represents wings. So, most "wingless" dries actually have wings, or at least material that looks like wings to the fish. A truly wingless dry would be something like a traditional trimmed wing spinner fly with only a few hackle barbs on either side left to represent legs.

[Uncle Jesse]

Grubb, Tie a few with and a few without and let the fish decide! Z

That is what is needed! More research.

[EdD]

I am starting to lean back in favor of wings helping, especially when I sink a dry at the end of the drift and fish it back as a wet. Maybe there is something to the thoughts on the UV reflectivity of white wings, after all. Now I need to order several packages of Hi-Viz. I don't think it is carried, locally.

Ed

[Fatman]

I tie wings only because that's how I learned, now when I tried some 18-20's I bought JV hackle from Denny. I don't use many that size so usually any thing smaller than a 14 doesn't get wings - I lose em fast enough anyway LOL

[Silver Creek]

My view is that wings are important, otherwise we could use down wing flies like a caddis during a mayfly hatch and it would be equally effect. Similarly, use a upright winged mayfly pattern during a caddis hatch and see if it as effective.

The fact that we use down wings for caddis and up winged patterns for mayflies pretty much puts the debate to rest as to whether wings are important or not. Similarly, try fishing a caddis dry pattern during a mayfly spinner fall and see how many fish you take vs using a spent winged spinner pattern.

Basically the question really is a way of asking how selective the fish are. If they are not selective but opportunistic, the wing shape won't matter much since the fish are sampling the drift. But when there is a hatch and the fish are selective, wings do matter.

Selectivity is population based behavior. It is not all or none behavior, and the population changes gradually. If the hatch is heavy and prolonged enough, most of the fish; but probably not all, will be selective and wings will matter. If we graph the population for selectivity to wings, we can simulate it with a bell curve. The will curve shifts to the right (blue to pink) for selectivity as they population gets selective.




The shape may also change. A broad based bell curve would indicate a population that is widely spread with a large degree of variation (wide standard deviation) on what they will take. As selectivity develops the population may become more tightly grouped (blue to red) , the peak of the mean gets higher and the standard deviation is more tightly grouped around the mean.



When the fish are mostly selective and wings do matter, you will need the wings to catch those fish and the winged version will catch as many of the non-selective fish as the non winged version. So what's the downside of imitating the wing?

There is none.

[PRM]

In my neck o' the woods, I believe wings make a difference, so almost all the dries I tie have wings. A very wise flyfisherman friend once postulated "The wing brings 'em up, and the body color takes 'em.", and I agree. I usually fish on heavily-pounded streams...so it isn't so much about the hunk of iron hanging off, but moreso the fishies' trigger being initially twitched because of the wing silhouette (or the body impression on the water if a cripple or emerger in the film). But to clarify, I seldom use duck quills, nor do I use Catskill-type dry flies. I just don't like taking the time for tying those wings. For slower water, I use flies with "comparadun-type" wings. For quicker water, I use "hairwing dun & emerger-type wings". I always use some sort of wing on all my spinner patterns -usually darlon, zelon, or poly. Also of note - - -I fish alot of dry midges... I seldom put wings on flies of size 26 or smaller, even the spinners. BTW, I call everything smaller than a sz. 26 a "B52" (bug, size 52) .

And one last thought...I've fished in sw Montana and sw Colorado for a couple weeks each year for the last 20 or so years, and I don't see wings on emergers, dries and spinners as being that important to the fishies. Not so on the San Juan, though! (that oughta raise some discussion...)

Your mileage may vary...