Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2015 - 53

Peacock has iridescence and bugginess, but it can be delicate
and brittle for the young tier. Pheasant tails are familiar feathers
that kids have tied with in previous beginner patterns. Finally,
introduce your fly tier to some feathers from the Pennsylvanian
state bird, the Ruffed Grouse.

Body and ribbing

The body is possibly the easiest component of the wet fly
pattern. Tiers can produce a floss body in multitudes of color and
ribbing material such as tinsel, wire or Krystal Flash. Sometimes,
UNI-Stretch thread can be stretched and tapered to create the
wet fly body along the hook shank. Allow your tier to enjoy and
experiment with floss, wire, dubbing and thread to design his or
her creative wet fly bodies.

Wings and collars

To finish off the wet fly, teach the collar technique of tying
in hackles. First, have the fly tier strip the fluff off the bottom
of the feather, and stroke the fibers back to create a tie-in point
for the feather. After tying in the feather tip, your tier can make
a loose wrap with hackle pliers sparsely around the shank and
trim. One or two turns will do the trick. Try not to let them
overwrap their hackle turns, as children will have a tendency to
crowd the hook eye.
To create more traditional wet fly wings, teach the pairedwing technique. Cut a small section of left and right wings from
a winged feather. When measuring the wet fly wing, the tips
should extend just beyond the hook end, and the thicker ends
With a minimum amount of tying materials and tools, tying
should be tied in at the hook eye. The Fontinalis Fin mentioned wet flies with children can be entertaining and challenging.
earlier contains married wings from orange, black and white
mallard feathers, which mimic another state symbol, the fins of
the Brook Trout.

Books on Wet Fly Patterns

Match the hatch

For intermediate young fly tiers, introduce them to more
realistic representations of wet flies. Dave Allbaugh, Wet
Fly Waterguides, suggests using the traditional techniques
of tying wet flies while combining realistic
representations of Pennsylvania's familiar
hatches. His Grannom, Sulphur Spinner and
March Brown wet patterns all are effective when
a hatch occurs. Furthermore, many familiar
Pennsylvanian dry fly patterns such as the
Light Cahill, Blue-Winged Olive and Black
Gnat can easily be transformed into a wet fly by
manipulating the materials and fly pattern.
Share wet fly history, tradition, innovation
and diversity with your young fly tier as well
as feathers and tying materials, which make fly
tying such a wonderful craft. Your young tier will
begin a base of understanding, experimentation
and growth with your guidance in tying these
wet flies.

Dave Hughes, "Wet Flies," 1995
Sylvester Nemes, "The Soft-Hackled Fly," 1975
Ray Bergman, "Trout," 1938

Introduce intermediate young fly tiers to more
realistic representations of wet flies.
PFBC website: www.fishandboat.com

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * March/April 2015

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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2015

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