I have always struggled with quill wings on wet flies. I decided that this winter I am going to really work on it and try to build a collection of quill wing wet flies for trout. I’ve been searching out patterns and reading about different techniques used in tying on the wings for a few weeks now. My question is: which is the correct way to fix the wings? Some people put the tips together and some splay them out. Which way is correct or best and why. I prefer the look of them splayed out, but then I’m a rookie.
How you dress the wings is largely a question of style and the effect you wish to achieve in the action of the fly, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do it, it depends entirely on you, although there are some very basic guidelines for specific styles which I will try to show you here.
Fly styles also vary very considerably according to region. Many styles are no longer used much, but they still work very well indeed when used for their originally intended purposes! This is largely ignored nowadays. Many people adhering to “standard” dressing styles.
Here are the major wet fly winging styles for you, and also some reasons for them. The fly and materials are identical, the fly is the “Greewell’s Glory”. All the flies shown are dressed on Daiichi 2x Short straight eyed hooks, so the proportions may seem a little unusual to you. ( Makes the hackles and wings seem a little too large, but they would look “normal” on a “standard” sized hook).
SET DOWN
This fly is a “standard” downstream winged wet fly with the wings set down.
These sort of “Standards” have mainly been propagated by professional fly-dressers and many books, over the years, for various reasons. Some apparent and sensible, and some less so, this does not necessarily mean they are the best, or even useful at all in some cases!
Some commercial flies I have seen , especially of this pattern are absolute abominations, the bodies formed of olive floss and not waxed at all, the tying thread is often black, the thing is then about as translucent as an elephant painted black, and about as delicate.
Set down means that the natural curve of the quill feather wing slips is towards the hook shank, and the wing slips are placed front to front with the shiny side of the feather outside, partially canceling out the natural curve of the feather, and holding the wing slips together.The wings slant almost parallel to the hook shank, aided by a bed of silk at least the same height as the body windings. The slant of the wings may be controlled by position and height of the wing bed when tying in, and may be varied somewhat if desired. Wing slant or “set”, also varies considerably. Many Scottish dressers use a much steeper wing angle on their flies, usually about 45?.
This winging style has become a sort of standard for many winged wet flies, and these flies are also often hopelessly overdressed, meaning far too much material is used. The imitation value is nowhere near as good as many other styles, although better when kept sparse and neat. The whole fly has a streamlined appearance, the hackle is also tied in so that it slants back at about forty five degrees to the hook shank and usually long enough to reach the hook point and even cover it slightly, although this is again purely a matter of taste, and dependent of course on the size of hook and length of shank.
This fly when dressed correctly will have a good “entry” when cast, meaning it will not cause too much disturbance when it lands on the water, and will sink fairly well, and will cause little disturbance when held in the current, or indeed when “worked,” and will maintain its shape fairly well even in turbulent water. The hackle is hen. The wings are tied in last and then the head formed over the roots. The fly really depends on being moved by the current or worked to resemble a living creature, this is unnatural for a dead winged fly imitation, and is basically not particularly well suited to upstream or dead drift fishing, although it may occasionally work for this purpose. In larger sizes it is a good fry imitation.
SET UP
The wings on this fly are set up, and the hackle is not swept back to the same degree. Set up means that the wing slips are tied in with the natural curve of the feather curving away from the hook shank. The slip wings are set at an angle of about 45 degrees, and stand well proud of the body, this angle may be varied. This fly may also be used for downstream fishing, but heavy currents or “working” the fly will cause the wings and hackle to be compressed towards the body of the fly and force it out of shape. The imitation value is then usually not particularly high especially when overdressed, and many people think these flies are taken as small fish or active nymph imitations rather than as imitations of drowned winged insects. They sometimes work well though, and many such patterns have long traditions.
This is a typical upstream wet fly.
The wings are tied in last, and then the head formed over the cut roots. This fly also mostly depends on being worked to resemble something alive, and is also not very suitable for upstream or dead drift fishing although it is somewhat better than the first example. The hackle is hen fairly short and sparse, with the majority of the hackle beneath the hook. A beard hackle (bunch of hackle fibres) may also be used.
An “Advanced wing” style was also popular on a number of dry flies. The most well known of these are probably the Mole fly and the John Storey, but there were quite a few others. Some advanced wing patterns here;
BACK TO BACK SET UP
This fly has slender wings, and the slips are not only ?set up?, but tied in to curve up and out away from the body of the fly, ?back to back?, with the shiny side of the feather on the inside. The hackle is only slightly brushed back when tying in, and the body is kept short and thin. The wings are tied in before the hackle! and the hackle covers the wing roots. The whole appearance is delicate and the fly is a fairly accurate imitation of a living creature. As such it may be used as an upstream or dead drift fly with some success. The Hen hackle is fairly short, sparse, and mobile.
UPRIGHT BUNCH
On this fly, the upright wings are tied in first as a bunch, and then split.The body is then formed, and the hackle applied last. The appearance is neat and delicate, with a high imitation value. The hackle is hen. This fly is excellent for upstream or dead drift work. It will also work as a downstream fly. Soft feathers are best for these bunch wings. Jay primary or secondary, was at one time very popular for this, as were various duck body feathers.
There are other winging styles and variations but these are the main ones, and the most used.
Great posting. That upright bunch fly has the look of a Clyde style fly to me. Too big a body for a Tummel.
The Greenwell’s Glory has been a very productive fly for me. One of the few winged flies I use on stream. I dress most of mine with the wings set up, though I have a few with bunch wings.
Get a copy of Don Bastian’s “Tying Classic Wet Flies” DVD. Excellent tutorial on quill wings on classic wets. I just noticed he now has an “advanced” DVD out as well that I’m going to have to try to find.
Good evening,
Well I must be different, because some many years ago I noticed both on wet and drys that it didn’t matter to a fish if the fly had one or two wings.
From that time many years ago, it has one been one wing on any fly,
and I noticed that when a current was running the single winged fly appeared to sink faster.
On wets, now today I like to even break up the wing so that the fly, the creature it represents looks like it is damaged, and the results seem to flow from this ‘trick’ of breaking up the wing.
Kind regards,
UB
ps, I guess the experts will eat me for this rough fly idea/s.
I couldn't agree with you any more on there are many ways to tye a fly and nothing is concrete. Wet fly wings are interesting and at one time told a story of where the tyer was from or was schooled in a style. The winging types that were used in those days as well as by some of wet fly tyers of today were:
Clyde
Tweed
Welch
Derbyshire
Tummold
Sedge
Cut Wing
Then there are a buch of ways to tye the wings in:
Shiny side in
Shiny side out
Tips up
Tips down
Then a variation of the four above
The way you tye the wings in is truly up to the tyer and what he or she likes the best. I have given you a web site for these classic flies and I am glad you have looked at it. I just want to add a little more information.
Hmm, this is interesting for sure. We all must be following some age-old traditions then. (Not a question there.)
This makes really good sense…and is logical. Now, I hope this doesn’t get you/me/anyone agreeing - banned or brutalized as can happen when you go against the grain of accepted practice.
And honestly, some time back when I began tying (only a handful of seasons back) I wondered much the same thing and just put the thought aside because I was so new!
I agree that the number of wings usually doesn’t matter much to the fish, but tying on one wing often leads to a fly that spins in the air when casting, and it may spin the fly in the water, thus tangling your tippet. This is especially true with wing quill slips since they have some curvature to them and are fairly wind resistant. Two equal slips tied on each side of the fly balances it out. This is true for either wet or dry flies. Been there?done that. Good luck.
Years ago, most people did not bother with matched winged slips, they mainly used bunch wings, and rolled wings.
Bunch wings are exactly that! A bunch of fibres, or two or more bunches tied in as wings! ?Bunched and split? is also commonly specified. Hackle fibres, quill fibres or hair in the appropriate colour may be used. Many carefully prepared and tied in matched wing slips are reduced to a bunch anyway after casting, or a few casts in the bushes, or a few good takes from fish. Many people prefer to tie in a bunch wing to start with, they are a little easier to prepare and tie them in than matched feather wing slips for instance. The fish rarely seem to care, in fact sometimes they will take a scruffy tattered old-looking fly in preference to a pristine fly fresh from the box!
Rolled wings are not used much nowadays, but they were once used by many dressers, especially on various wet flies. This means taking a slip of feather fibre, folding it to the width required and then tying it in with a pinched loop just as you would matched feather wing slips. This is still often used for soft feathers like mallard shoulder or teal flank, it is slightly less bother than tying in matched slips, and the wings are more robust. Rolled wings from a single feather do tend to twist sometimes however, and this may cause bad action in the water, hence quills with very pronounced curves should be avoided when using this method for single rolled wings.
On many older lake flies and similar, paired rolled wings were often used. This means two slips of feather were selected, usually from right and left curved wings or body feathers, folded, and mounted as desired. Here are some plates of flies with rolled wings.
Regarding the beautiful shape of some wings, on display flies and the like, if you wish, it is possible to form some wings after tying them in securely, by the judicious application of saliva, and then stroking the damp fibres to the shape you want, this will last until the first time you cast the fly! If you use this method on unwashed feathers or hair, do not put your fingers in your mouth after handling the material. You may catch something nasty! Or better still, use a damp foam pad, as used by money counters, ( Or as used to be used when the counters were human!).
The bottom six flies in this plate have paired rolled wings;
Good morning,
“I agree that the number of wings usually doesn’t matter much to the fish, but tying on one wing often leads to a fly that spins in the air when casting, and it may spin the fly in the water, thus tangling your tippet. This is especially true with wing quill slips since they have some curvature to them and are fairly wind resistant.”
I have never had any problems with any single wings, but then again I just might be lucky, as I have only been tying and fishing these single wing flies for over 30 years or more.
For sub surface flies, after connection to the leader, I always test swim the fly first, before the first cast, then if it sits ‘nicely’ in the water, then I cast it, to go fishing.
MC
The bunch wing idea.
Now that sounds a great idea that would or could be applied to grasshopper type flies perfectly…THANKS !
Thanks, you learn something every day… and now after some years at this game I am finding there is even more that I don’t know.
Many thanks to everyone. It seems to me that whatever works for you is fine, that there are no strict rules as to how many wings, or the orientation. I have always been amazed at a shadow box full of flies and aside from wanting to be able to tie in nice wings, I would really like to be able to tie a collection of classic wets to display in our family room. For my purposes I think I will lean towards splayed wings, tips up, I like the way they look. I know I am going to have lots of flies to use before I get one to display, but that is part of the fun.
Thanks again,
John
