Ginger Henwing

[letumgo]

Ginger Henwing
Hook - Mustad Dry Fly/Model R50 (Size 14/12)
Thread - Kimono Silk (#363/Dilly Bear Brown)
Body - Nature's Spirit Hare's Mask Dubbing (HMD-26/Callibaetis)
Wing/Collar - 4B Hen Flank Feather (Ginger)


The scissors are pointing at the flank feathers used for this pattern. These feathers are nice and soft, and give a nice shaped delta wing and hackle.


Preparing the wing/collar hackle:


TYING SEQUENCE:
Very simple fly (form body/tye in hackle/wrap collar/secure wing/whip finish):













FINISHED FLY:


Sorry for the redundancy, but I am still having fun tying these henwing style flies. I've been playing around with different (hopefully fishy) color combinations. They all just looks so darned buggy that I am looking forward to fishing with them. Figure the wing can always be plucked off, if the fish seem to disapprove. Nice to have simple options, rather than swapping out patterns.

[Variant]

Great job Ray!
I really like simple patterns and using natural materials.
Lou

[ronr]

Ray.. I have that same hen skin. With your help, I now have another pattern to use some of them. Thanks.

[hankaye]

Ray, Howdy;

Okay, what's the 'trick' to get the 'wing' portion to end up centered on top?

hank

[letumgo]

Hank - Good question. The trick I've found is to adjust the gap between the wraps as I wrap the hackle forward. By slightly adjusting the wrap spacings, it allows me to get the hackle wing to generally fall on the top of the hook shank.

- Tight wraps (closely spaced) have a reduced circumference, so use up less of the hackle stem.
- Wider wraps (openly spaced) have a larger circumference, and use up more of the hackle.

Keep in mind, that if the wing position doesn't work out, you can always unwind the hackle wraps and to adjust the spacing of the wraps so the wing hopefully ends up on top of the shank. Final adjustments can be done with your thumb nail (pressed firmly against the stem), to tweak it a bit more.

They are never perfect, but good enough for fishing flies.

[Mike62]

Thank you, Ray!

[Oenophileangler]

Ray, what is that thing sticking out of your bobbin holder? It looks like a disabled whip finisher.

Dale

[letumgo]

Dale - I think you are referring to the hook on the side of my bobbin. This is part of this tool (Wasatch Mitch’s Bobbin Whirler). A terrific tool. This bobbin holds the Kimono silk spools without modification.

[Oenophileangler]

OK, kinda like a crochet hook. I just watched a YouTube video of it. Thanks!

Dale

[hankaye]

Ray, Howdy;

Thanks for the explanation, helps make sense of the process.

hank