Looped Wonder Wings

[jbomb]

I was reading about tying techniques on midcurrent the other day and came across tips for tying a "looped wonder wing." I did a little more research and came across this tutorial.

I've never seen this style of wing before and thought it was interesting so I thought I'd share it here. They look great and use those big feathers that would otherwise only get used for tails. A bit hard to tie on smaller flies, but I'm sure that it gets easier with practice.

Here's my first try. Shorter hackle would help, and I could have used more stem and therefore wing fibers, but it illustrates the idea...

 

[PhilC]

I saw them I Bob Miller's "Tricos" look nice but beyond my effort point

 

[jbomb]

I hear you, my first attempt on a size 10 went really well and I thought it'd be easy. So I tried a 16 and the first three attempts got the razor ... the fourth proved to be a little easier, I don't think it was any harder than tying wings with wood duck flank. Nevertheless, I thought it was an interesting idea, had never heard of it and wanted to share.

 

[PhilC]

I think the hackle stem is supposed to be attached

 

[jbomb]

PhilC: Thanks for the comment. I read that the attached hackle stem makes the wings sturdy enough to cause the fly to twist the leader a lot when casting (like when one has their fly stuck in a small leaf). The article suggested that not attaching the hackle stem when tying the wing in the upright position corrects this problem... In my attempt I may have over compensated. I'm pretty new to tying and fly fishing in general so this is a very much a "new" technique to me. I will try a few with the hackle attached to see if I experience the twisting problem that was described.

 

[mutzinbaugh]

thanks for sharing jbomb, well done. i have never seen that before.
i wonder how durable they are when a tooth or two starts to cut through the fibers of the feather on the wing...

 

[lv2nymph]

Nice job on the wings. I fooled with that years ago but for a trailing shuck not the wings. They look cool as all get out but don't last very long, at least not mine. I didn't snip the stem out when I was doing it, that might make even more fragile don't know.

 

[dryflyguy]

I've tied up a few of these.
A little tough to get them to look just right.
And they are rather fragile. I remember a few of the fibers breaking and sticking out after the first fish or two

 

[TLoomis]

Awesome tie! Especially for someone who is new to this...could've fooled me! I've never seen this before, but it sure does look good

 

[jbomb]

Thanks Ty: I was just silently admiring your streamers in another thread. the article I linked to in the OP includes some pics of flies tied after mastering the technique. I'll admit that it's a little difficult to get the hang of, but I stand by my previous statement that they're not much more difficult than tying wings with wood duck flanks. I'm a little discouraged by reports that they're not durable, but I do most of my fishing from the bench, and when I do get out I don't catch enough fish for durability to be much a problem, and if durability does become a problem I think it'll be problem I'm willing to live with

 

[boychick]

Nice job on that fly. Those wings look great; but I wonder if trout can see them?

 

[flipnfly]

to make them a little more sturdy if you feel it needs it try scotch tape although it may make it a bit heavier question did you use a section of a feather long enough to use the tips as the tail too ?

 

[jbomb]

flipnfly:

I think that one could use the extra fibers on the feather to do the tail as well. I have thought about this, but have not tried it yet. So far the remaining fibers in my experiments would produce a tail that I feel would be on the short side, however using more of the stem might provide the extra length.

 

[Festus]

I swear by the wonder wings. I have a devoted list of customers that swear by them as well. As far as durability, they can be touchy, but it seems as if the more beat up they get, the better they work. A touch of reinforcing cement of your liking on the tips and the base of the wings goes a long way in added durability.

 

[Festus]

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[Festus]

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[afishinado]

Very nice WWs. Do they work on the Provo River, tho?

 

[Festus]

Thanks. Will letcha know how they do on the Provo in July Lord willing

 

[jbomb]

Great flies! I've had some luck with the BWOs I've tied using the wonder wing, but I have not been very successful tying them in sizes smaller than a 16.

 

[Festus]

I have a customer who swears by the Flav WWs out west. He uses them in size 16 and 18. 16s aren't bad, but those 18s get a little rough.