The starling wing is slightly darker than the snipe and therefore this will be used on flies that are to be used during early and late season hatches,and the snipe is used later in mid season when the naturals lighten. The one here has been tied with the wing of snipe,and it’s a rolled or folded wing.
The blae and ginger is an up wing fly meant for casting upstream and allowed to come back in the current on a dead drift,the same as a dry,hence the up wing.
You will need
First of all tie the thread on at the eye of the hook and come down three or four turns. Remember to wax the thread first.
Now take a secondary feather from the snipe. First find the section of feather to use,which begins after the fluffy stuff at the base of the feather.
Before pulling off the section of feather to be used,first pull it out at 90 degrees from the stem. This will square the fibres up before pulling them off.
Now roll or fold the wing section up on itself and tie in facing forward on the hook and tie it down with a pinched loop before winding down another few turns. Now cut off the waste.
Continue to wind the thread down two thirds of the hook shank and then tie in a length of flat gold tinsel. Trim waste and add two turns of the tinsel before tying in.
Wind the thread back up to within a couple of turns of the wing.
Take a small feather from near the bottom of the hen cape and tie it in with one turn before winding the next turn of thread in front of the wing close in,in order to stand the wing up,then wind thread another couple of turns.
With hackle pliers,wind one turn of the hackle either side of the wing before tying in with a whip finish.
After a tidy up
A traditional Clyde style wet,the blae and ginger is a must have on any river.
