Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”
by Rusty Dunn
Deceit is the key to success in fly fishing. If your fly imitates the appearance and behavior of trout food, you will have memorable days. In Isaak Walton’s 1653 classic The Compleat Angler, Piscator asks Viator, “Is it not an art to deceive a trout with an artificial fly?” Indeed, it is. Deceit is good. Deceit is effective. Deceit brings trout to hand. Open your fly box, and you’ll see all manner of deceit. Wet flies, dry flies, nymphs, emergers, streamers. All deceitful. All designed for the grand masquerade … the old switcheroo … the tools of smoke and mirrors. “Fool a trout, catch a trout” are words to live by.
Most fly boxes contain both wet and dry flies, and we take for granted the ability to switch between wets and dries as needed. For much of fly angling history, however, only wet flies were available. Dry-fly methods developed in the mid to late 1800s, yet wet-fly fishing prospered for many centuries beforehand. Most wet flies of that period had conspicuous wings of feathers or feather quill slips. The flies imitated adult insects even though the flies were fished underwater. Such flies are known today as winged wet flies to distinguish them from other subsurface patterns such as nymphs and wingless (aka. soft-hackled) wet flies.
Angling authors struggled for centuries to understand why winged wet flies were effective. The term “winged wet” appears to be a contradiction. Airborne adults have wings, but underwater juveniles were supposed to be wingless. Yet winged wets were very effective fished subsurface, often on a down-and-across wet-fly swing. As Andrew Herd noted in his excellent 2003 historical treatise The Fly,
“Fly design later in the nineteenth century studiously avoided the inescapable fact that winged duns are not to be found several inches under the surface, breasting the current.”
Period anglers, though, didn’t care too much about why winged wets were effective. Trout were eager, creels were filled, and they were satisfied.
Decades elapsed before entomologists caught up with anglers and established that some insect species have winged underwater phases. For example, certain mayflies and caddisflies hatch from their juvenile skin underwater and ascend to the surface as winged adults. Adult females of other species dive or crawl underwater to lay eggs. Thus, winged insect adults are indeed subsurface trout fare.
Early American settlers fished winged wet flies with great success on Eastern brook trout streams. Highly visible flies were especially effective, and American winged wets grew increasingly bright and garish through the 1800s. Nothing dressed up a fly box or a mountain stream quite like a Parmachene Belle, Scarlet Ibis, Grizzly King, Silver Doctor, or any of hundreds of other wet-fly patterns. All were brightly colored flies fished to brightly colored brook trout.
Rivers of the East were in serious decline by the late 1800s, and brook trout numbers declined in parallel. Brown trout imported from Europe largely replaced brook trout in these degraded waters, but anglers discovered that their favorite winged wets no longer worked as well. Brown trout are more opinionated than brook trout about acceptable flies, and anglers adapted to the changing conditions by embracing imitative dry flies, nymphs, and wingless wets. Traditional winged wets faded from use, and such flies are rather uncommon onstream today.
Do winged wets have a place in your fly box? Nymphs and wingless wets are probably superior in most subsurface situations, but winged wets can still provide memorable days of effortless pleasure. Fish winged wets with short quick movements or swung through riffles. The cross-current movement and prominent wings will provoke eager strikes, and trout will hook themselves. The results might also hook you on the subtle charms of vintage flies and old-fashioned methods.
Copyright 2022, Rusty Dunn
Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Winged Wet Fly
Silk thread is traditional, but any orange thread will work fine. The body should be rough and scraggly with fur fibers poking out between the tinsel wraps.
| Hook: |
Wet fly / nymph, #12 – #16 |
| Thread: |
Orange, 6/0 or 8/0 |
| Hackle |
Furnace hen, length to hook point |
| Tail: |
Furnace hen feather barbs |
| Rib: |
Flat gold tinsel, narrow |
| Body: |
Hare’s mask fur |
| Wings: |
Quill slips of hen pheasant or partridge, length to midpoint of tail |
Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Winged Wet Fly
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Last Updated: November 1, 2022 by Drew Kasel
by Rusty Dunn
Deceit is the key to success in fly fishing. If your fly imitates the appearance and behavior of trout food, you will have memorable days. In Isaak Walton’s 1653 classic The Compleat Angler, Piscator asks Viator, “Is it not an art to deceive a trout with an artificial fly?” Indeed, it is. Deceit is good. Deceit is effective. Deceit brings trout to hand. Open your fly box, and you’ll see all manner of deceit. Wet flies, dry flies, nymphs, emergers, streamers. All deceitful. All designed for the grand masquerade … the old switcheroo … the tools of smoke and mirrors. “Fool a trout, catch a trout” are words to live by.
Most fly boxes contain both wet and dry flies, and we take for granted the ability to switch between wets and dries as needed. For much of fly angling history, however, only wet flies were available. Dry-fly methods developed in the mid to late 1800s, yet wet-fly fishing prospered for many centuries beforehand. Most wet flies of that period had conspicuous wings of feathers or feather quill slips. The flies imitated adult insects even though the flies were fished underwater. Such flies are known today as winged wet flies to distinguish them from other subsurface patterns such as nymphs and wingless (aka. soft-hackled) wet flies.
Angling authors struggled for centuries to understand why winged wet flies were effective. The term “winged wet” appears to be a contradiction. Airborne adults have wings, but underwater juveniles were supposed to be wingless. Yet winged wets were very effective fished subsurface, often on a down-and-across wet-fly swing. As Andrew Herd noted in his excellent 2003 historical treatise The Fly,
“Fly design later in the nineteenth century studiously avoided the inescapable fact that winged duns are not to be found several inches under the surface, breasting the current.”
Period anglers, though, didn’t care too much about why winged wets were effective. Trout were eager, creels were filled, and they were satisfied.
Decades elapsed before entomologists caught up with anglers and established that some insect species have winged underwater phases. For example, certain mayflies and caddisflies hatch from their juvenile skin underwater and ascend to the surface as winged adults. Adult females of other species dive or crawl underwater to lay eggs. Thus, winged insect adults are indeed subsurface trout fare.
Early American settlers fished winged wet flies with great success on Eastern brook trout streams. Highly visible flies were especially effective, and American winged wets grew increasingly bright and garish through the 1800s. Nothing dressed up a fly box or a mountain stream quite like a Parmachene Belle, Scarlet Ibis, Grizzly King, Silver Doctor, or any of hundreds of other wet-fly patterns. All were brightly colored flies fished to brightly colored brook trout.
Rivers of the East were in serious decline by the late 1800s, and brook trout numbers declined in parallel. Brown trout imported from Europe largely replaced brook trout in these degraded waters, but anglers discovered that their favorite winged wets no longer worked as well. Brown trout are more opinionated than brook trout about acceptable flies, and anglers adapted to the changing conditions by embracing imitative dry flies, nymphs, and wingless wets. Traditional winged wets faded from use, and such flies are rather uncommon onstream today.
Do winged wets have a place in your fly box? Nymphs and wingless wets are probably superior in most subsurface situations, but winged wets can still provide memorable days of effortless pleasure. Fish winged wets with short quick movements or swung through riffles. The cross-current movement and prominent wings will provoke eager strikes, and trout will hook themselves. The results might also hook you on the subtle charms of vintage flies and old-fashioned methods.
Copyright 2022, Rusty Dunn
Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Winged Wet Fly
Silk thread is traditional, but any orange thread will work fine. The body should be rough and scraggly with fur fibers poking out between the tinsel wraps.
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Category: Fly Tying, Rusty Dunn Fountains of Youth
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