Wings on dry flies...

[blackandgold4ever05]

Hi everyone! Just wondering what your opinions are on tying wings on your dry fly duns? I just started tying last winter and shied away from tying wings on my duns because my skills were rough. Since then, I have become a much better tyer and could tie on wings if needed. I had a brief discussion a couple weeks ago with another tyer about this subject... My philosophy was that the wings are above water and not seen by the trout anyway. He said that it creates a shadow... Please give me your opinion as to wether wings are needed on my dry flies. Thanks for your input!

 

[gfen]

common thought is things below 16 lack wings.
i tie parachutes or usuals, so its a moot point. except when i decided to die his most blessed weapon of piscine enticement, the royal mf wulff. then i wouldn't tie it smaller than a 14 because his blessed glory should be visible to all.

but if i did, it'd get wings. some things should be.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

No doubt that variants work well. Do wings really matter?... I dont think so, but if you like tie them and feel they are then have it. I tie wings on dries often, but I can't say they produce any better. They just look nicer.

As for the fish, they can see the wings of mayflies as they come into there window.

 

[quillfly]

no not really they're there for your visual purpose i normally tie variants if there supposed to be seen then either a parachute or just a bunch of odd colored calf/deerhair tied up in the air

 

[Darryl]

Probably 90% of the dries I tie are parachutes. That being said, on the dry flies that I do tie that have actual wings (Adams, Wulffs, etc.) I don't think it makes any difference at all to the trout. From a personal perspective though, I find flies with wings more aesthetically pleasing to me, therefore I do put wings on them (even #22 Adams). They just look better to me that way and I find that I fish a fly that I find attractive with more confidence than one I find "ugly".

 

[FrequentTyer]

I also use mostly parachutes, but I do believe in putting wings on drys because as Johnny points out:

JohnnyUtah wrote:
As for the fish, they can see the wings of mayflies as they come into there window.

I think it is important to note that the wing is not only visible to the fish, but it is the first thing that appears in their window. Now I don't for a minute think that it will make a huge difference in the number of fish you will catch, but I have to believe that occasionally a fish will notice. I also don't think that you need to go crazy with perfect realistic wings. Just have something sticking up there just in case.

 

[MKern]

The reason(s) I put wings on my dries is because the naturals have them and for me the goal of tying my own flies to to make them look as close to the natural as I can (wit in reason).

I also put them on for my own likes and I don't need to churn flies out. I tie leisurely so the extra minute for wings isn't hurting me.

 

[midnightangler]

I used to tie a lot of thorax-style cut wing dry flies, but these days I use polypro, antron yarn or cdc for wings. Its better to have something that will still float and isn't completely destroyed after you catch and release one or two fish.