Tag Archives: winged wet flies

“Spiders, Winged & Wingless Wets” tying demo added to Edison Fly Fishing Show

I was recently added as a “Featured Fly Tier” at the Fly Fishing Show in Edison, NJ, Saturday, January 29 at 12:30pm. The focus will be wet flies, specifically Spiders, Winged & Wingless Wets. It’s going to be a busy Saturday with a seminar (Finding Small Stream Nirvana), this demo, and a wet fly tying class, but busy is good! Please take the time to come say hello.

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A classic North Country spider, the Grey Partridge (Grey Watchet). I’ve always admired the look of this fly. Trout like it, too. Wet flies are generally very simple ties, but there are nuances to the art form. Come to my tying demo in Edison and see for yourself.

Best of North Country Spiders: Yorkshire Greenwell

Sticklers may argue that this is a really winged wet. Yet there are multiple references dating back a long ways about the Yorkshire take on the legacy pattern Greenwell’s Glory. Tell you what: I’m including it here because it’s a storied fly — and most of all because I like it. Oh. Trout like it, too. Caddis, olives…it’s all glorious with Greenwell.

Yorkshire Greenwell

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Hook: Dry or wet fly, 12-16
Body: Yellow silk waxed to an olive shade
Rib: Fine gold wire
Hackle: Furnace hen
Wing: Woodcock or starling
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Tying Notes: Cobbler’s wax does a fine job of coloring up Pearsall’s Primrose Yellow. As for the wing/hackle order, I’ve seen this fly tied two ways: wing first and hackle first. The version pictured is hackle first, followed by starling for the wing. To tie in a quill wing with a minimum of grief, grip it between your thumb and middle finger (don’t ask why, just do it) position it, and bind down with three tight wraps. You can find a general North Country spider video tutorial here.

A Winged Wet Fly Video Sampler

This selection of winged wets will be part of my “Wet Flies 101” presentation. It includes barred feather, quill, and jungle cock wings; English and American patterns; match-the-hatch and attractors like the Bergman-style flies from the color plates of Trout.

 

Greenwell’s Glory Winged Wet

An olde English pattern. If you peruse the ancient and modern literature, you can find any number of variants. I don’t fish quill winged flies much, but this is a spiffy little pattern — and it carries with it the cachet of tradition.

Greenwell’s Glory Winged Wet

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Hook: Wet fly size 12-16 (this is a TMC 3769 size 12)
Body: Pearsall’s Gossamer Silk, primrose yellow, darkened with cobbler’s wax
Rib: Fine gold wire
Hackle: Furnace hen
Wing: Starling primary