Hey Folks,
I’ve just whipped up a couple dozen GRHEs to fill in some of the empty spots in various fly boxes and to help fill the single, mega box I’m going to carry instead of a vest on the trout stream from now on. I’ve tied some with wing cases made of feather slips and others with wing cases made from Thin Skin. I like the Thin Skin better for ease of tying, durability, and general appearance. Which do you favor for flies that require wing cases? 8T 
While I think the turkey looks better, I actually like Thin Skin better or Swiss Straw which I use more than anything, for the reasons you mentioned.
Although…
…I catch more fish on a flashback version of the GRHE than anything!
Ditto with bamboozle. I catch more fish on the flashback, bead-head version. I’ve tied them with all of the above, but now only tie the flashback, bead-head.
Kelly.
peacock herl
Do you epoxy the peacock herl? Seems it would be fragile.
Turkey with an application of flex ment on the back side. I sometimes will use krystal flash as well and once in awhile peacock herl. Just not into the thin skin thing.
Hi Eight Thumbs,
I tend to like turkey tail and goose quill, because I like traditional natural materials, and like the way the flies look. However, I also use flashback, because as the others mentioned, it seems to work better for me.
Regards,
Gandolf
RE:WING CASE MATERIALS
All of the above- Its all good! 
I like dark wingcases, so peacock is good, but black flashabou is nice too. An (old) audio cassette is like swiss straw and thinskin, but is cheap, handy and already the right width. It comes in brown or almost-black brown and can be tied shiny side up (my preference) or dull side up. Like Flickfly says. “It’s all good”.
Or,
Skip the wing case altogether…
As a few mentioned, the ‘flash’ type of case is becoming a ‘standard’ for trout everyhwere. I just wrap one turn of ‘flash’ (pearl mylar type flat thread) through the thorax…no wing case and I get the benefit of the ‘flash’ from any direction.
Faster to tie. More durable. Simpler. At least as effective, maybe more so. Fish don’t seem to care.
Of course, it’s not ‘traditional’, it just works.
Buddy
If you want to glue the peacock wingcase put the glue on the thorax before pulling the wigcase over the top. The same thing for the turkey tail. That gives you the durability of the glue with the natural look of the fibers preserved. Be careful not to get so much glue that it sqeezes out over the thorax.
You will never make any enemies or hurt anyone’s feelings with that response 8T
I still mostly use turkey and reinforce them the way rainbowchaser suggests - a little head cement on the thorax before pulling the turkey over and tying it down.
For flashbacks, I’ve been tying most of them like Copper Johns - thin skin, topped with a strand of pearl Flashabou, followed by a drop of UV Knot Sense. Don’t know that they are any more effective that way but they look good and are durable.
Joe
I have some turkey wing feathers and I like the barbs off these for wing cases. Very durable.
Peacock for a wing case has held up pretty well on gills here. Fly is effective even with a few of the peacock quills broken and sticking up.
Rick
This is a great idea…wish I had seen this years ago. Thank you
I like using turkey or pheasant, and have tried the peacock herl. Never thought about the cassette tape!!! Got a bunch of broken ones sitting around, I’ll have to give it a try.
Fatman
Thanks to everyone for their input and comments. As Flickfly says “it’s all good.” I’ve definitely got to try some GRHEs with some cassette tape. 8T
My son is a turkey hunter and a deer hunter. Any guess what I tie a lot of flies with? I use turkey for wing cases and bodys. If I want a bug that sinks very slowly I will make the body out of deer hair. and the case from turkey.
fishbum
I use old cassette tape (cut in half with a razor blade) for wingcases on Copper Johns.
However, WHATEVER YOU DO, go out and buy a new cassette tape. DO NOT go into the “junk drawer” in the hall cabinet and just grab one. YOU WILL grab your wife’s favorite tape from childhood (even if it’s a copied one), and YOU WILL be caught. Furthermore, the tape will be from an ALBUM that never made it to cassette or CD, is not on iTunes, and her folks got rid of about 25 years ago.
Not that I know this firsthand. All I’ll say is thank heavens for bootleggers.
You talking audio cassette or vcr video tapes?