hi i’m new at fly tying
how important are wings on dry flys i’m having a hard time with them
jbear 
Hey JBear,
Glad you joined the club…fly tying is a great way to extend flyfishing beyong the stream
Wings, are, in my opinion, over-rated. It’s more of a matter of getting the body proportions right first. Then add wings later when you get a little more accomplished.
good luck - keep asking lots of quesitons - use this board as the great resource that it is!
Jim
That’s true, and wings are difficult, especially for a beginner. I suggest trying patterns without wings for a while until you have mastered getting everything right, as above.
If you want you could try tying in something easier to “wing” like CDC puffs or maybe an artificial like plastic, raffia, or whatever. These are heaps easier because you can tie in a big piece, manipulate it as much as you like, and trim it down to size and it will look great.
Hi jbear06,
I’m with Jimmadsen on this. Wings can be useful to make the fly more visible, and when tied properly they shouldn’t hurt the fish catching ability of the fly, and some feel they will improve it. However, get the body, tail, and hackle working first. Then, once you are comfortable with those, then add wings to the mix.
- Jeff
Hi JBear,
A friend who is a good tier/fisherman doesn’t even put wings on most of his mayfly dries. He thinks it doesn’t make any difference to the fish at all. He does tie quite a few parachutes, though, and the post is the wing on those. He fishes mostly water that gets significant fishing pressure, so if those browns aren’t too picky about the wing, then I don’t think that the wings are all that critical most of the time either. Neither he nor I fish spring creeks very much at all, though, so we are not trying to catch those super critical fish.
Regards,
Gandolf
I think you guys know what I think on this one.
it is a necessary skill that won’t be developed if it’s neglected.
tie in the wings.
“it is a necessary skill that won’t be developed if it’s neglected.”
I wish I had said that… 8) 8) 8)
There is no need to panic about though if you are new to tying. There are plenty of dries you can use that don’t have a quill wing setup, and will work just as well. Are they necessary at all? Well, sometimes yes… decent wings can make all the difference on fussy fish or in crystal clear water. So yes, it is necessary to learn the skill, as you say. I’m just saying that for a newby you can get around it fine for a while by using the many alternatives until you are ready to tackle them.
I suggest you take a look at Al Campbell’s Beginning Fly Tying series here on FAOL. Winging is an important part, it is
one of the ‘key’ things a fish sees.
The Beginning Fly Tying starts here:
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/
Definately take LF up on those, they are wonderful.
Perfectly said. 8)
Except for EHC, Stimulators, Hoppers, etc… I gave up wings over 30 years ago. No regrets, no worrys. Unless the wing helps in flotation, I dont tie them in.
Yup - with one or two exceptions - I think we’re all in agreement here - learn to tie to get the proportions right - then learn to tie in wings later once you get a little more comfortable.
Even Al Campbell said this in his tutorial:
“We?ll play with wings next week, but for now practice tying standard dry flies to get the proportions right. Most beginners use too much dubbing and crowd the hook eye. Carefully practice proper proportions this week so your future dry flies will be based on sound tying techniques.”
So go out to Al’s Beginner Fly Tying pages and work through them…valuable stuff there.
start tying comparaduns alot easier to tie and they last longer
thank you i’ll keep trying till i get it
jbear :lol:
Post pics of your progress if you can. Be sure to keep your first tied fly. In the future you can refer back to it against what you are currently tying and you will be amazed at your progress.
Just keep working with the wings. It is a necesary skill and you’ll get better. Practice makes perfect (or close).
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it!
Semper Fi!