Wing Size?

[greifs 0]

I bought this pearl translucent wing material at the show yesterday after watching one of the guys tie with it. I've been a wooly bugger/nymph tyer up to now. This stuff is fun, but I was wondering if there was a magic number when determining wing length. Like hackle size is 1.5 times the gape of the hook?

 

I put together a neat little way to cut consistently... I put two piece of maget material together, cut a stencil out and now when I cut the wing material, I just fold the material over and hold it in between the magnet template. I was having trouble keeping the cardboard template I made lined up.

 

One more thing- are there any diagrams of wings already out there.... print it out and cut my magnets from it?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Tom

[Blues Brother 0]

Don't know if this will help much, but I always tie my wings about the same length or just a little longer than the hackle.

 

 

 

~Bryce

[Al Beatty 0]

Hi Tom,

 

Wing length is kind of an arbitrary thing. Most dry flies with wings that stand up (parachute or divided) have wings that are as long as the hook shank. If on the other hand you really get to measuring a mayfly spinner or dun the wing, they are usually larger in proportion to the body. EX: Its been my experience a mayfly with a size 14 wing usually has a body sized closer to a #16. Caddisflies and stoneflies have down wings that extend beyond their bodies and often can be longer than the body, sometimes as long as the complete adult fly.

 

So, how long is a wing? On a divided wing Adams dry fly I like them to be equal to the shank of a standard 1x long dry fly hook. Take care & ...

 

Tight Lines - Al Beatty

www.btsflyfishing.com