Terms A
~ A ~
Abdomen:
Back, aft, or hind portion of fly body from thorax to tail.
Adult:
Full grown or flying stage of insects. Final stage of the aetamorphic process.
Adult mayflies include duns and spinners.
Advanced Wing:
Term for wing which slopes forward over hook eye.
Areo Wings:
Sections cut from feathers, both sides of which are equal in length and in coloration with three
to five fibers
on each side. Used on the Beadle-skeleton series of salmon flies. The cut sections are in the
form of a “V”
with section of the center rib intact.
After-Shaft:
The soft, small feather normally found at the base of bird’s feathers. Some times called
“philoplume” or “filo-plume.”
Aft Hackle:
Small wind of short, sparse hackle just at bend, or at end of body.
Amherst Pheasant:
Entire skins from this bird provide toppings, crests, tail and
wing materials. Black and white tippets, and the greens, whites and
reds from the body make this an all-round bird skin for any fly tying bench.
Andalusian:
Fowl cross-breed from which are obtained dun feathers and hackle.
Crossing a white bird with a black bird creates plumage in the offspring
of some black, some white, and some of in-between combinations. Some of
these combinations result in the “dun” hackles so much prized by fly tiers.
Angora:
Hair or wool material from two sources:
Angora sheep - A soft long fleece wool.
Angora rabbit - A very soft fleece hair.
Both are used as body material in fly tying.
Antron:
Trade name of “sparkle yarn” made of Nylon fibers, introduced as a fly tying material
by Gary LaFontaine.
Artic Fox:
Here is a fur which can range from pure white to a deep blue-gray with some
very interesting, almost pure blue, in-between shades. If you are fortunate enough
to obtain some of this fur, treasure it.
Argus Pheasant:
A rare Asian bird which provides extremely long feathers. Other feathers are spotted,
dotted or eyed, and range from white to dark brown.
Asiatic Kingfisher:
Blue feathers from this bird are excellent substitues for Chatterer blues.
Attractor Flies:
Flies dressed, not representing an insect, but rather a tidbit to arouse interest
in a fish so that he shows his position. Some attractor patterns are colorful and gaudy.
Most, however, catch fish.
Originally published c. 2003 on Fly Anglers Online.