thirstea 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2015 Hey all.. I've ventured into tying dries (my pockets are hurting!) and for some reason i can't quite wrap my mind around where/what is used for the wings on an Adams. Am i cutting off the tips of the dry fly hackle from the rooster cape or something else? As a side note, i purchased the whiting dry fly 1/2 cape starter kit if it helps you know what i'm holding in my hands right now (http://www.featheremporium.com/Fly-Tying-Feathers/dry-fly-hackle2.html - 1/4 of the page down) Thanks in advance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaydub 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2015 Hen neck hackle would be preferred for hackle tip wings. India hen capes work fine. They will give you a better wing profile and you won't waste dry fly hackle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gene L 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2015 See my post on winging flies above. Depending on the size of the fly, well, some think wings are optional. The original Adams fly had cock hackle-tip wings pointing forward as well as a tail of two golden pheasant tips. It has evolved into a semi-Catskill fly with upright wings and mixed brown/grizzley tails. I don't know why, but I suspect the influence of Catskill flies. Plus the upright wings look better. As I said above, and this probably isn't the venue for this opinion, wings for me don't add a lot. Certainly on big flies, they look nice but do they add to the fish catching ability? I seriously doubt it. Wings are fun to tie in and if you're selling flies, they would definitely have curb appeal. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2015 A parachute adams is more effective than the standard pattern. So if you are tying an Adams to actually fish, I say tie the parachute version. I'm pretty sure that the parachute adams is the most popular dry fly pattern measured by sales. The reason it works so well is that the body is in the film and is actually taken as a late stage emerger. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thirstea 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2015 In addition to asking this question i've been reading quite a bit about whether wings add any value to a fish-able fly, which these will be. Thank you for the suggestions on the hen hackle as well as not adding a wing at all. I'll look into the parachute adams instead as the poly yarn is easy enough to work with and plentiful. Cheers! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted May 19, 2015 you should learn the technique of upright feather tip wings. its not that hard. but don't use poster hackle as they are too narrow and do not represent the shape of mayfly wings use hen hackle with nice rounded tips http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox/details.cfm?parentID=56 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thirstea 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2015 Excellent link, flytire. Thank you. Sometimes it's easier to look at SBS and not a video if you want to focus on a specific step. Follow-up question: What is poster hackle referring to? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fisherboy0301 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2015 Excellent link, flytire. Thank you. Sometimes it's easier to look at SBS and not a video if you want to focus on a specific step. Follow-up question: What is poster hackle referring to? I do believe it's a typo, or autocorrect. I'm sure he meant rooster. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thirstea 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2015 You know when you're a newbie to something and aren't sure whether something is a typo or just lingo? lol. This was one of those times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2015 Everybody knows what a poster hackle is Yes it was meant to be rooster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites