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| Brown Bait Flatwing tied by Steven Bird |
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| Top: Pacific Mackerel; Bottom: Spanish Jack tied by Steven Bird |
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| Top: Spanish Jack; Bottom: Pacific Mackerel tied by Steven Bird |
“In nature most things are dynamic, and dynamism and motion combined equals life.” ~Barry Craig
We seek the perfect illusion.
There is no telling when the
first angler received the notion to tie a horizontal feather to a hook creating
a flat wing intending to simulate a baitfish. The idea has been around for a
long time, flatwing style Spey flies were popular in the 1700’s & savvy New
England tiers have been catching trout & landlocked salmon on them since at least the mid 19th century, yet somehow this is a style that has been a long time developing, confined mostly to the Northeast, despite its effectiveness – & I suspect there are several reasons for that,
foremost, I’m guessing, is the radical departure from the conventional & a
perceived difficulty to tie. That & the fact that it seems, at first glance,
that a feather viewed front or back in
profile looks a lot more like a baitfish than a feather viewed from the side.
But what happens when
feathers are laid horizontal, perpendicular to the hook shank & stacked to
simulate a baitfish’s layers of color?
Magic. Or at least an illusion
that approaches magic in its subtlety.
Not satisfied with the
conventional streamers used for striped bass, it was Ken Abrames, an artist/writer/angler from Rhode Island
Form follows function.
In the creative crucible of
the Pacific Northwest, canny Puget Sound
anglers seeking better baits to match the slender baitfish of the Sound picked
up on the flatwing design approach & adapted it to suit the native baits, producing
high art in the process.
In my article on the
Soft-Hackle Sculpin I mention tailing as the simplest way to impart
articulation to a fly. The flatwing style takes that notion a step farther,
with nearly the entire fly tied as a ‘tail’, the sum of its materials fully
articulating & breathing, blending with reflected light
& light passing through in exquisite obfuscation to create the almost
perfect illusion of a baitfish swimming.
Flatwing streamers are the
philosophical match to soft-hackle nymphs. As with soft-hackle nymphs, the
approach relies mainly on the superior virtues of natural materials to create
motion & subtlety of coloration. Other than a few strands of flash,
flatwing patterns utilize very little synthetic material. Ironically, the
flatwing style harkens to things I said about ‘tradition’ in ‘Spey-Inspired
Trout Flies’ just prior to this post, as the break from conventional tradition
that flatwing streamers represent is actually packed with tradition in its
purist reliance on natural materials, & even down to the jungle cock eyes,
the result decidedly ‘classic’ in appearance – tradition reincarnated.
Flatwings might be 1 to 15
inches long & tied with one to four, or more, rooster saddle hackles,
though smaller neck hackles may be substituted in tying smaller patterns, if
you lack the saddle tips in desired colors.
The basic tie:
Hook: Straight
shank, 1x long or up-eye salmon/steelhead hook for baitfish patterns, longer shank for
squid imitations.
Thread: Your choice -- I like 3/0 uni for larger saltwater patterns. Many Puget Sound tiers prefer clear mono. Mono can be used for tying the entire fly, but I’ve found it easier to tie
with thread & switch to mono for tying in the topping material &
finishing the head – the dark topping & white thread will show through the
mono to create a realistic head coloration. A good alternative is to use white thread, coat the head with Loon Hard Head, then darken the top with a marking pen & apply another coat of Hard Head over that. Makes a slick, realistic head.
Base: White
bucktail tied in even with the hook point. Press into it with your thumbnail to
make it spread to the sides in a V.
Winging: This operation can be frustrating to those tying their first flatwings, but with a bit of practice it becomes fairly easy. Hang in there, the result is worth it. For a single-wing fly: choose a straight saddle, pull the fluff from
the base of the feather & dub a small amount onto
the thread to create a ‘pillow’ for the feather (this will help to keep the
feather from twisting away from perpendicular when you tie it in, which it will want to do -- the cause of that frustration I mentioned). Don't strip any fibers from the stem, simply cut the feather to finished length. Position the
feather on top of the hook, concave side up, grasp the feather fibers both sides of the stem between your thumb & forefinger & fold them downward over both sides of the hook shank while applying 2 loose turns
of thread. Let go & make sure the feather is still positioned, tweak it if necessary, then wind toward the hook eye with only bobbin tension on the thread until the wind comes just past the end of the feather stem, about 5 or 6 turns from the tie-in point, then add tension while winding back to the tie-in point. Another method is to eliminate the dubbing pillow & simply set the feather in place, apply 2 loose turns of thread, then apply a drop of Loon Hard Head at the tie-n point & let it set for about 15 minutes, then proceed to wind the thread as above. Takes longer, waiting for the Hard Head to set, but it does make it easy to tame uncooperative saddle hackles. If more than one saddle is to be applied, use a
rooster neck hackle as the base feather. The thicker-stemmed neck hackle acts
as a support for the materials tied in above it. Repeat the above procedure,
tying in the hackles concave side down, adding a couple strands of flash
between layers, as desired. I add the topping as the final step, after
everything else is tied in.
Body: Braided
mylar body material. Tie in after the base feather, & wind forward after
the other saddles are tied in (except the topping).
Beard/Cheeks: White
bucktail (or choice) &/or soft-hackle tied in behind the hook eye.
Eyes: Jungle
cock nails are my favorite, though other types of eyes may be used, including dumbbell
types.
Hold the finished fly under running hot water for a minute to set the shape. Coat the head with Loon Hard Head -- as it is water based, it can be applied while the fly is still wet -- a couple coats will produce a beautiful, slick head.
Hold the finished fly under running hot water for a minute to set the shape. Coat the head with Loon Hard Head -- as it is water based, it can be applied while the fly is still wet -- a couple coats will produce a beautiful, slick head.
I’ve barely touched on the
subject of flatwing streamers here. If you’d like to pursue it further, check
out these links to some great articles, photos & tying instructions:
Puget Sound versions: http://dougroseflyfishing.com/blog/?p=833
Tom Keer article/tying instructions: http://www.tomkeer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Feature.ArtoftheFlatwing.FlyTyer2.pdf
Incredible Ken Abrames creations: http://www.stripermoon.com
And here's an imagination-cranking take on the style contributed by the ever vigilant Bert. Exquisite streamers by David Nelson: http://www.squimpishflies.com/galleryfish-collaredstreamers.php
And here's an imagination-cranking take on the style contributed by the ever vigilant Bert. Exquisite streamers by David Nelson: http://www.squimpishflies.com/galleryfish-collaredstreamers.php
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| Yellow Perch tied by Steven Bird |
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| Flatwing Sculpin tied by Steven Bird |
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| Mickey Finn flatwing tied by Steven Bird |
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| Copper Boss flatwing tied by Steven Bird |
