wing setting

[o_clarki_clarki]

howdy all,

i am having problems setting wings on my spey flies. i use one soft wrap, a second tighter and the third even tighter. the problem is the left wing (left on the vice.) the wing either rides too high on the shank and above the material or too low and under the material. what tips or tricks does anyone have to fess up?

Thanks,
Vinnie

[mattzoid]

Hey Vinnie,

I'm having the same problem except mine are wings tied on the end of the shank to elongate the body. I'm trying not to tent them, but run parallel. I do light then tight wraps of thread, but they won’t hold. I’ll pull the stems back and forth under the thread until they are straight. When I’m finished, as with the flies I’ve posted here, they have moved off line. Hoping someone will enlighten us.

[sean]

The one tip that helped me was making sure the mallard slips are the correct length for the fly. Make sure you are tying them in by the white sections close to the stem. Trying to tie in on the dark colored part is futile. Your wings will not compress right. Knowing this got my flies looking 100% better right away.

Matt you are on your own with that shrimp on a hook :whoa: Talk about matching the hatch!

-sean

[Jamey McLeod]

Matt,


That is one sweet prawn pattern, makes me want to get out the shucker and the cocktail sauce.

[sinktip]

Hey Matt, you seduced any steelhead into taking those scary looking shrimpy things yet?

[o_clarki_clarki]

thanks sean,

it works a hell of a lot better that way.

vinnie

[mattzoid]

Tip,

No fish, but I’ve had some great hits. You know the kind where you become incontinent in your waders. I first started tying them with the stinger to far back and I think they were hitting what they interpret as the meat of the tail. That’s why I’m trying to figure out how tie in a feather to give it the look like the body continues on past the hook. I’ve also moved the hook closer to the main part of the body. With the onslaught of the drought, I have to tie smaller. I will stop using a trailing hook all together and leave the hook intact like this. I can’t wait to try this in the salt off some rocky beach head.

[CraigSC]

Those are by far the craziest shrimp patterns I have ever seen. Mine look down-right crude in comparison. I'll gladly take a few on my next flats trip. :D Bonefish candy.

[speydoc]

Matt
Those shrimp are either going to get CRUSHED or chase the fish up onto the beach! Jokes aside, what about just a touch of rhea?
speydoc