A
lthough I use and prefer mainly
natural and synthetic hair mate-
rial as wings on my personal
flies, I still get a lot of questions
and requests from participants at my
workshops on how to work with synthetic
wing sheets. After 43 years of fly-tying,
I have collected a few special folding and
cutting techniques that I have used in my
classes and will line them up for you in
this article. I must confess that some of
the techniques were more the result of
trying to hook fishermen rather than
aiming at producing a very fishable fly. I
also include some techniques aimed at
broadening your fly-tying skills, as they
did for me, especially when you combine
synthetic with natural materials.
Synthetic wing materials are no longer
frowned upon. Nowadays they appeal to
creative fly-tyers anxious to experiment
with new patterns, and the range of flex-
ible wing sheeting has never been greater.
I immediately think of Poly 2 sheets,
Virtual Nymph Polywing and Chitin, Bug
Wing, River Wing sheets, Magic Wing,
Poly Yarn, Micro Organza, Organza,
Sedge Wing, Sheer Wing, Muddler Wing,
Sparkle Wing, Microweb, Shimazaki
Fly Wing, Wyngs, Web Wing or Wonder
Wing, Virtual Nymph Waterwing, and
that is by no means an exhaustive list. All
the more reason for explaining how to
use wing materials, for I have discovered
many people who aren’t sure how to go
about it.
WING MATERIAL CRITERIA
But let’s start at the beginning. Most
synthetic and realistic-looking wing
materials are not only too expensive, in
my opinion, but are also highly affected
by ultraviolet light. The majority of the
TCFF | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 | 61Above: Steve Thornton’s Needle Fly
with wings made from Chitin.
Below: A piece of Virtual Nymph Chitin.samples that were sent to me over the
years easily fray or curl once they’ve been
cut into shape, and many were not very
durable either. Vigorous casting has a
great impact on the natural shape of
synthetic wings, but I’ve even had flies
change over time in my box that have not
been touched, let alone fished. To be
honest, I don’t like synthetic wing sheet
materials on my flies unless the material
is extremely durable and easy to work
with. I want materials that do not fray
and they must also take a waterproof
marker pen. Once you decide to use a
wing sheet it must be a material that
makes it possible for the fly-tyer to pro-
duce a reasonable replica of the natural
wings of an insect. Once you’ve com-
pleted your creation, the fly must retain
good floating properties so it’s important
that your wing material has a low specific
gravity. The best material I’ve come
across is Wonder Wing or Web Wing. In
my most successful flies I achieve the best
results by combining natural and synthetic
wing materials in good harmony.Above: A selection of sheets of
Wonder Wing or Web Wing.