Winged wet fly spinners

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wsbailey
Posts: 990
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 6:30 pm
Location: Fort Wayne Indiana

Winged wet fly spinners

Post by wsbailey » Fri Feb 08, 2019 1:06 pm

In "Brook & River Trouting" the authors list two winged wet fly spinners. I don't think that I've ever seen an example online anywhere. Has anyone tied any of these?
Greenwell
Posts: 346
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:05 pm

Re: Winged wet fly spinners

Post by Greenwell » Fri Feb 08, 2019 7:34 pm

There is a Red Spinner, #26 and a Ginger Spinner, #23 shown in B&RT, both using hackle fiber wings, and also two very modern dry spent spinners, #s 35 & 36 with split and divided hackle wings.
I have been tying and fishing versions of winged wet fly spinners for many years, in fact I just dressed some on size 16 Sneck hooks. I'll try to post some pics soon. I use pale starling primaries and secondaries for the wings, which I often split. The Red Spinner is a pattern that appears in many books over a long period of time so it must have had some success. There were a number of published patterns for the fly but I have settled on the following as being both effective and reasonably authentic.

Hook: TMC 3769 size 12-16
Tails: 3 fairly long light dun hackle fibers.
Body: Fine rusty red crewel wool teased apart and dubbed on either Pearsall's #11a, Scarlet, #6a, Orange or #19, Hot Orange depending on how light or dark I want the body. Other furs or a simple thread body work well also.
Rib: Fine gold wire.
Wings: Rolled starling primary or secondary, either as a single down wing or split and divided.
Hackle: Red brown or Greenwell, fairly long.

You can also tie it as a lighter pattern using a color palate more suitable to the Sulfurs, Pale Morning Duns, or Pale Wateries, but I've found that the rusty/red pattern works best for me.

I believe that many of the popular Spider patterns may be taken as submerged spinners, especially the Partridge & Orange. This can be a very effective fly during Hendrickson time in the Catskills.
Last edited by Greenwell on Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
wsbailey
Posts: 990
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 6:30 pm
Location: Fort Wayne Indiana

Re: Winged wet fly spinners

Post by wsbailey » Fri Feb 08, 2019 8:00 pm

Thanks John for the awesome reply. I bought quite a bit of undyed crewel wool from England. Not sure if I dyed any that color so I’ll have to check.
Greenwell
Posts: 346
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:05 pm

Re: Winged wet fly spinners

Post by Greenwell » Fri Feb 08, 2019 8:03 pm

Rusty Spinners.jpeg
Rusty Spinners.jpeg (201 KiB) Viewed 3847 times
Sorry for the poor quality photo but this should give a good idea of my interpretation of the Red Spinner wet fly.
wsbailey
Posts: 990
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 6:30 pm
Location: Fort Wayne Indiana

Re: Winged wet fly spinners

Post by wsbailey » Fri Feb 08, 2019 8:21 pm

Thanks John. That’s exactly what I needed, a photo.
daringduffer
Posts: 2195
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:11 am

Re: Winged wet fly spinners

Post by daringduffer » Sat Feb 09, 2019 7:10 am

Very interesting topic - long may it live!

I like these spinners.

(Not much of an addition to the topic, I know). I suppose that not a few of the nibblings on our offerings by the poorly educated fish are aimed at drowned spinners whatever our intentions were.

dd
REE04419
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2018 5:40 am

Re: Winged wet fly spinners

Post by REE04419 » Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:02 am

Interesting topic. Thanks for bringing it up, Bill. John, excellent response and impeccable fly dressing, as always.
tjd
Posts: 363
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 4:20 am

Re: Winged wet fly spinners

Post by tjd » Sun Feb 10, 2019 1:21 pm

For a traditional pattern, how about the Female Beaverkill wet?
Using this fly for a starting point, I've tied "wet rusty spinners"/"soft hackle spinners" with an egg sack and soft hackle. I've had my best luck with them following a Hendrickson or March Brown spinner fall. Tie it on a dry fly hook and fish it in the film, or tie it on a heavier hook to fish as a drowned spinner (usually the morning after the spinner fall).
Thread: Rusty Brown, Uni 8/0 or similar.
Tail: A few hackle fibers.
Egg Sack: Fine yellow/orange dubbing.
Body: Rusty/Mahogany dubbing.
Rib: Optional, fine gold tinsel or wire.
Hackle: Soft dun, cree, etc.
Wings: Optional. I've used duck primary slips (traditional material), hen body feather clumps (a better wet fly wing, in my opinion) and you can also add a touch of antron, zelon, or other yarn to the wing material, or you may also consider tying the wing from strands of yarn.
So, this can be tied as a soft hackle or a winged wet, tyer's choice.
Tim
Greenwell
Posts: 346
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:05 pm

Re: Winged wet fly spinners

Post by Greenwell » Sun Feb 10, 2019 6:37 pm

Tim,

Good post. The Female Beaverkill was considered a go to fly during the height of the spring hatches in the Catskills for many years. I'm sure that it and many other winged wet fly patterns were and are taken for spinners. The down wing aspect of these flies mimics a drowned mayfly or caddis quite well and wing materials such as mallard and wood duck flank feathers and duck quill slips can look very natural. A down wing wet also has a good entry into the water and fishes effectively on the swing, an advantage when covering larger rivers. My friend Galen Mercer and I have been bitten by the wet fly bug recently and are looking forward to fishing a number of traditional patterns in the Catskills this coming spring. I'll have to add the "Nice Nelly" Lady Beaverkill to my list of patterns to dress.
upstatetrout
Posts: 379
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 8:47 am
Location: New York

Re: Winged wet fly spinners

Post by upstatetrout » Sun Feb 10, 2019 6:41 pm

It's gonna be a wet fly season this year ! That's for sure!!!!

Tom!
"We argue to see who is right but we discuss to see what is right"
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