Wallywing May


Originator: Wally Lutz, Fly: Wally Lutz, Photographs: Hans Weilenmann

Hook: 94840 #14 Mustad or equivalent dry fly hook
Thread: as fine a dia. you can manage
Tail: Brown cock or elk leg hair or any stiff bristly hair
Wing: One mallard body feather or any water foul or pheasant body feather. (for instructions, see below)
Body: two or three barbs from a large tail feather or a dyed goose biot (or any other body material you prefer)
Hackle: coachman brown (ginger is good too), tied the classic way, or parachute, the wings make a very durable post

Wallywing May - Steps to a better Dry Fly Wing:


  1. Soak the waterfowl feather in water to soften the stalk. Leave them for about 10 minutes or more, even overnight.

  2. While the feather is wet, brush feathers' barbs back against its stalk, against the natural grain and leave a "V" (the feather's tip), pointing ahead.

  3. When brushing the feather's barbs back against its stalk be careful to have them all stacked on the top side of the stalk. Looks like one end of a little canoe in your fingers (Fig. 1). Hold the feather so that the barbs are snug against the stalk and mount the feather to the shank that way. Keeping the feather wet, helps to control the barbs. Mount the feather to the shank with the butt toward the hook bend and the barbs stacked on top.

  4. Clip off feather butt for a gentle slope to ward the flies tail.

  5. Take a barb in your fingers, one that isn't tyed down, from the bottom of the "V." Gently pull down along the stalk toward the butt of the feather (fig. 2).

  6. Peel the barbs off the stalk right down to the tying thread. Repeat for the other wing on the other side of the fly. When you're done, it should look similar to figure 3.

  7. Clip out the husk of the center stalk.

  8. Stand up the wings and secure in that position. Clip off the barbs that are sticking out on the top of your wings. Or if the wings are too tall, clip off the top of the wing to bring it down to the right proportions, (hook shank length). Pull out extra barbs after adjusting wing size. For better balance separate the upright wings to about 30 degrees.

  9. Now for the rest of the dressing (start with the tail), and those wings are a great post for parachute style hackling.




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© 2001 Hans Weilenmann
Please don't copy/distribute the contents of this page without my explicit permission.