FLYMPH FORUM

John - I love this kind of post. An imitative pattern, based on fishing experience. I bet these flies would work very well for you, next time you encounter a hendrickson hatch. The fly on the right has a wing that looks a little lighter than the natural, but that may be because the fly is dry. The mallard wing seems to be closer to the insect wing coloration. If you want another option, you may want to consider using slips of waterhen quill for the wing.

This is lovely. What vibrant colors they have.

You might try some synthetic raffia and trim to shape? Or if you have a wing burner.

Are you tying this pattern as a rolled wing or a paired quill wing like many old wet fly patterns.

John - Where have you been buying your duck quills? Or are you a duck hunter? I have had really mixed results buying duck quills online. Some are good, some are aweful. It's one of the materials I now tend to buy in person, so I can be sure what I am getting.

I made a trip last spring to a Cabelas store. They had four or five bags containing two mallard wings each. With a clerk there I opened a couple bags so as to get a reasonably close pair. Once home I paired up feathers and tapped the ends to keep the sets together. From there they went into a paper bag and were set in the freezer for a couple two week intervals with being brought out to room temperature for a couple hours in between.

Regards, Jerry

Thanks Jerry. Next time I visit my local Cabelas I will keep an eye open for mallard wings.

letumgo wrote:Thanks Jerry. Next time I visit my local Cabelas I will keep an eye open for mallard wings.

Pretty much every feather on a mallard wing is useful. One of the best bargains in fly tying, IMO.

John, I should mention I'm about as lax at guarding against bug infestation as it gets with my tying materials. I've been very lucky in that regard. The wings mentioned here earlier had quite a stench to them. Given that, I plucked what I wanted to save and discarded the rest.