Wonderwing dun

Wonderwing dun

Fly: Henk Verhaar, Photograph: Hans Weilenmann
Hook:	Standard dry fly hook, e.g. TMC 900BL
Thread:	UNI, size 8/0
Tail:	Hackle fibers, or moose body hairs
Body:	Dry fly dubbing, e.g. muskrat, dyed
Wing:	Two hackles, tied wonderwing style
Hackle:	Grizzly cock hackle

Any upwinged dun can be tied as a wonderwing dun -- its just an alternative winging style. Al Beatty gives a good description of wonderwings in an article on the VFS Bench site (www.flyshop.com). Leeson and Schollmeyer also have a good section in their piece de resistance, Flytiers Benchside Reference. Basically, a wing is formed by taking a webby hackle, and selecting a portion that is to be used as wing. Clip off the butt section below the section of feather to be used, invert the barbs of the section to be used by stroking them towards the butt of the feather (with wet fingers) and tie in this inverted section so that the stem (rachis) is just free. After securing both feathers, they are forced upright by making wraps in front of them, and are optionally split by figure-eighting between them. The tip section is clipped off. The barbs pointing backwards can be used as tails. Back to Thumbnails