winged wets

[lykos33 0]

Been tying the good ol' wingless wets and enjoying myself doing it. Lately I have been looking at the "classic" winged wets and finding myself ....attempting to tie one. Notice I said ATTEMPTING. I am not having a whole lot of trouble with any of it except.....the wings. How the heck do I get these !$#!!% wings to stay together and not split apart once I have them tied on the shank. One of our great members gave me some paired turkey feathers, which had a lot to do with my even attempting these boogers (thanks Joel, they really are nice) and I DO NOT want to waste great feathers trying to figure it out by trial and error. Is there a site or video I can learn a technique from? All help and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Murray

[skidoosh 0]

You want to get Don Bastian's video on tying wet flies- several strong recommendations for it, look on amazon. Also Davy Wotton has some solid videos on tying wets as well.

[Redwings1 0]

Glad to have someone else tying them up Murray! First thing I would say is that you will want to pick up some duck quills to learn how to collapse a wing. They are much more consistent and easy to tie in as compared to turkey. When you say the wings split apart I assume you mean the wing fibers are not staying married? If that is the case then you may be using the wrong part of the feather which will cause you nightmares! When you look at the back of the feather you will see a glossy strip up either side of the stem and that glosssy section is not usable for winging as there are no barbs so they will not hold together. The part of the feather you need is outside of that glossy are to the tips. Hope that helps some. If you make it down to the Somerset show I will have my stuff along and can show you some tricks.

[flytire 0]

heres something to get you started

 

http://traditionalflies.com/index.php?wingingwetflies

[AZWoolybugger 0]

having matched pairs helps. Go to youTube and search for Davie McPhail, he has several videos showing the traditional wet flies. Best collection of fly tying how to's available, and all free. Thanks Mr. McPhail!

 

Then it comes down to practice. :wallbash: You can always fold the feather instead of doing a matched pair, not traditional but the fish don't mind.

[lykos33 0]

Thanks for all the suggestions links and info. Flytire, that was an excellent link. I knew Mr. McPhail has GREAT vids, I did not know about Mr. Bastion or Davy Wotton. Redwings1....you are to blame for this new desire (not completely but a great deal) as I searched wet winged and saw yours in the databank. Thanks again and once I become semi proficient....I may post a few!

Murray

[flytire 0]

you should also follow this

 

http://hatchesmagazine.com/blogs/Hatches/c...man-collection/

[notenuftoys 0]

See my avatar - it's not that hard. I used a matched pair of duck quills, and cut the barbs from about the same section of each feather in the pair. I haven't tried using anything except duck quill.

[Mr. Vegas 0]

i struggled with it too, well to the point I ran out of material trying to do it well. I will get it an all this info above will help! Thanks for asking the question!

[Flytyer14 0]

Goose quills work great too!

[Arkansas Mike 0]

I certainly recommend Don Bastian's DVD. And if you have an opportunity to sit down

with Mike...do it.

 

 

 

Mike

[lykos33 0]

I certainly recommend Don Bastian's DVD. And if you have an opportunity to sit down

with Mike...do it.

 

 

 

Mike

 

LOL :hyst: When I win the lottery....none of you are safe! I will be on everyone of your, that I "lookup" to for your particular specialties, doorstep waiting to be taught...I'll bring donuts and coffee! :hyst:

[lykos33 0]

Although not perfect, I do believe I am progressing. The top 2 flies on each column are the first I tied of each (winged out and winged in), with the ones below being the ones I feel are actually fishable. The bottom left being the culmination of efforts so far with a tail, body,ribbing,hackle, wing, and fair thread head. More time and practice and someday I'll give some of you a run for your money...I hope..LOL!

[perchjerker 0]

SBS for tying matched quill wings for wet flies:

 

Step #1. Coat both sides of the quill with Krylon Clear Artist's Fixative prior to use (cut out the slips)

 

Step #2. If the paired quill slips have a tendency to split, coat both sides of the quill with Krylon Clear Artist's Fixative before you cut out the slips

 

Step #3. If you still have trouble---well, you should get the picture by now! Repeat Step #1 or #2!!

 

Cheers,

perchjerker

[deeky 0]

I have to disagree with perchjerker. You shouldn't need any fixative to keep your slips together, even if you are marrying slips from different colors together. Keep in mind, they won't stay together after a fish or two, no matter what. Make sure you have good material, are marrying slips from the same side (left to left, right to right, etc.), and take your time. Keep in mind that marrying is a 3D process - you need to get the slips lined up right end to end and front to back, even after you get left to left figured out.

 

Some feathers also stay married together better than others. For example, I found that slips of mallard flank stay together better when tied in upright than if inverted (it makes more sense in my head than it sounds in writing).

 

Keep at it - it's a finese thing.

 

Deeky