It is currently 28 Mar 2024, 14:26


New Topic Add Reply
Author Message
Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 00:49 • #1 
Guide
Joined: 12/20/19
Posts: 101
Location: Christchurch, NZ
I’ve tried Z Lon and Zing but find a parachute hackle works best for me when it comes to stream fishing.
What spinner wing material seems to work best for you?

Michael


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 03:59 • #2 
Guide
Joined: 11/23/17
Posts: 314
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Regardless of mayfly species I'm imitating - medium dun rooster hackle, as illustrated by Marinaro in "In The Ring Of The Rise". Essentially, hackle wound in the round, then split with thread to gather all barbs to the left and right. Thread wraps then dubbed over to create the thorax.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 08:17 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/05/10
Posts: 5229
Location: Mid Hudson Valley of New York
I use a light dun hackle as Penzz described. I also use poly yarn which is also sold as "floating yarn."


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 08:26 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Wow, three in a row! Basically the same. Prefer hackle, gathered and/or clipped. When using yarn, prefer clear, but use white also.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 08:39 • #5 
Guide
Joined: 05/02/12
Posts: 100
Location: US-CT
Snowshoe rabbit wings using the hair from the feet.

Image

Hackle wings, wound and split.




I like the rabbit for the larger spinners, and the hackle for smaller ones (size 18 to 28)
tt


Last edited by twistedtippet on 14 Mar 2020, 09:50, edited 1 time in total.

Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 09:47 • #6 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
at some point in your life, visibility becomes everything, and I like white Z-lon for that.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 10:10 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/21/06
Posts: 3080
Location: Orygun
Back when I used to tie smaller stuff, I always went with snowshoe rabbit (calf tail is even better, but only appropriate for large spinners) as mentioned above and when I needed to go smaller and more delicate, I went with CDC. As Ron mentioned, visibility will become a bigger deal eventually and in those situations, I still go CDC but use it as a dropper off of something like a small EC Caddis which floats like a cork, catches fish and is extremely visible.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 11:42 • #8 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/26/14
Posts: 3578
Location: US-MN
I really worked on my "small game" last year, especially tricos, in our spring creeks. Tricos are great, because you can fail with a pattern, modify later in the day, and come back the next morning and try out your modifications. Repeat as necessary. For the spinner fall, I first tried parachute style, then split hackle as Penazz described, snowshoe hare, calf tail, Z-lon, and wound up using CDC as Clarkman did. It was amazing how much better CDC worked, especially for the bigger, more wary fish.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 12:30 • #9 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
I use yarn on anything i want wings on.And i do use generic dry flies,Just a hodge podge of different classic flies.I love tying as much as fishing.Been tying up some dry fly type bugs with small strips of foam with hackle fiber tails poly wings splayed to the side of the body with and without hackle.I tie these on very light wire #14 barbless hooks. Beautiful fur and feather flies get shredded after a fish or two.I had my best day ever on stocked trout using balack foam spiders.Caught 8 in 10 casts on the same bug.I could tie just 3 or 4 patterns for panfish and do well.But if i find fish i will usually start changing flies to see what works.I could also get by with 3 flyrods but where is the fun in that.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 14 Mar 2020, 14:48 • #10 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Re visibility: meaning visibility to the angler or to the fish? I think there is a tradeoff, since a hyaline appearance is "natural" for spinners. How critical, I'm not sure, but I think the flush-lying body profile is most important. After realizing it didn't matter to me how well I could see my spent-wing imitations, I went pretty much to dun fiber or clear poly yarn, and clear tailing material as well. Other than that, the patterns are just varied by size and a few common body colors. If I run short or encounter something different, soft hackles (pale grizzly or dun hackle) in assorted body colors and sizes are in the other box. Trim top and bottom. No, they don't float quite as well for as long, but they only have to float once across a lie. When they start to hang/sink slightly, they can be even better on the next fish.

One other thing, regardless of material, my spent-wings are sparse, sparse, sparse, even if tied in relatively full to bulge the body at the thorax area. A little bulk of floating yarn tied in at the body to form the wings also adds a touch of extra flotation. But I'll pluck or trim out most of the extending fibers. I think this gives a better hyaline appearance, and the fibers are more responsive to nuances of the current, just as the wings of a dying mayfly are swirled at different angles or around its body. A trade off again. Sparse and sometimes relatively soft fibers don't float long--they really just suspend in the surface film and let the body settle. They only have to stay that way once.

Gosh I haven't used snowshoe hare's fiber for a long, long time. Great reminder here and will have to try it again. About time I revisited any visual advantage.

And wow, those are great pics. Thanks.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 15 Mar 2020, 04:07 • #11 
Guide
Joined: 09/12/12
Posts: 120
Location: France
For spent wing I use Aero Dry Wing tyied sparse, I only tie small size (16 the bigger) as I only need small.
Visibility (for the fisherman) is an issue so you can add a bright spot (a little bright yarn tied up).


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 15 Mar 2020, 06:26 • #12 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
I don't recall the last time I tied a spent pattern, but it was with white UVC "floating yarn". Mostly all my flies are wing less, often with oversized hackles that can be trimmed at a whim. Bottom cut almost flush to body sorta gives a spent profile and if the top is also cut it becomes more so. Then trimming the sides back to stubs makes it sorta nymph like. I also sub grizzly for almost all colors of hackle. I've never been good at seeing small flies and have gotten by just letting the fish get hooked.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 15 Mar 2020, 14:27 • #13 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
I have been trading with a guy at my local tackle shop,he bought out an estate of a friend of a friend and has a boatload of tying stuff,many vintage items,a few i think are banned,I have several cards UVC floating yarn and like it more than the modern stuff i have.I like what WP said about them barely riding on the surface,I fish them more as a bug that crash landed than an actual hatch scenario.I cast and let em sit for a moment ,a couple twitches and pauses,pick it up and cast again.Nothing like seeing a fat bluegill go airborne and grab the bug on reentry.A stream smallmouth mostly will sip a dry fly off the surface then go airborne.I think the yarn imitates a wing better than a feather in this situation.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 15 Mar 2020, 15:58 • #14 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
I don't even know what the modern equivalent of the UVC yarn is, I still have most of a card of black and 1/2 a card of white. The black wasn't really what I wanted for beetle or cricket.
I like to crash land flies too, and trout will also race to get them on many occasions.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 15 Mar 2020, 17:14 • #15 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
My friend has a couple more boxes of stuff for me to thru.If i find a mother lode of floating yarn i will gift you some.It is a different texture than today's material .I have a card of dark gray .Will tie up some generic black bugs with this.I think we might have diving caddis here in early spring and when they are active on a calm warm spring day i see lots of fish feeding on them.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 15 Mar 2020, 18:47 • #16 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/05/10
Posts: 5229
Location: Mid Hudson Valley of New York
[quote="Driftless" It was amazing how much better CDC worked, especially for the bigger, more wary fish.[/quote]

Yes. I have fished CDC and other soft-hackles during spinner falls with success. I'll post some pictures later but wanted to say that in my experience flies tied with soft hackles -- the feathers I use most are starling, hen, and the light blue dun colored feather fibers from the lower end of jungle cock feathers -- make nice spinner wings. I tie mine with thread or a biot bodies and hackle them sparsely -- a few turns of the feather. When fishing a spinner fall I dress the fly. But you can let it sink too Both floating and sunken flies will work depending on the situation. CDC does a fine job. The CDC spinner, like other soft hackle flies, are impressionistic, and I believe trout will take them when fished as emergers, cripples, or spinners. One fly does triple duty.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 03 Apr 2020, 13:29 • #17 
New Member
Joined: 10/24/15
Posts: 9
Location: US-IN
I use hen hackle for just about everything. The right placement is everything.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Spinner wings
Post 03 Apr 2020, 14:28 • #18 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/30/09
Posts: 1525
Location: Hamilton,Ontario,Canada
I used a poly yarn and put a gray ink on it.The fly looked terrible with the wings bent every which way when wet.The browns just pounded it.I got 4 browns in about a 1/2 hour and they were 12,14,15, and 16 inches.The 16 incher was rising about 5 ft. to my left and didn't even notice me.This was a small stream with quite a few browns in it.Nowadays the browns tend to feed on young steelhead in the stream and it isn't easy to find them rising.The spinner I was using was for the Hendrickson hatch.


Top
  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  

New Topic Add Reply



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 16 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
Google
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group