Single Post Wings
TED LEESON AND JIM SCHOLLMEYER

Single Post | Divided Fiber | Feather Tip | Arc | Reverse Half-Hackle | Reverse Hackle

A single clump or bundle of material mounted vertically--often called a "post"--is the most basic type of upright wing. It is most commonly used on parachute flies, though some older patterns use a single-post wing on conventionally hackled flies, and a version of it is employed on thorax-hackled patterns. Perhaps the greatest virtue of this design is simplicity in tying.

Representational accuracy, though, is a mixed bag. Because this wing is fashioned from a bundle of fibers, the tip of the post is somewhat fuzzy and indistinct, lacking the precise, clean-edge silhouette of a natural wing. The post itself is at best only generally winglike in shape. Coloration, however, is a different matter. The wide range of fibers suited to this wing style allows the tier to choose a material that approximates the color or markings of the natural, or one that is highly visible.

Solid hairs (the guard hairs from hides or tails of most animals) and hackle barbs (either dry- or wet-fly) offer the best range of shades and markings, though they can have the drawback of absorbing or wicking water into the wing and diminishing floatation. Two exceptions here are calftail--a popular material for post wings--and CDC barbs, both of which have a crinkled texture that resists wicking. The same is true of poly-yarn, a widely used material and the easiest to tie.

Reflective fibers such as Krystal Flash and Antron also resist absorption and can be used alone or in combination with natural materials to make a highly visible wing. Hollow hairs, such as deer and elk, are a good choice to imitate mottled-wing flies, such as Green Drakes, March Browns, and Callibaetis, and their tendency to flare under thread pressure gives the tier some latitude in controlling wing shape.

Here are the basic steps for dressing an upright post. These also furnish a foundation for some of the other wing styles that follow. Except where noted, the wing is generally the first fly component mounted on the hook.

PHOTO #1: Spin the bobbin to twist the thread and lay a thread foundation on the shank; twisted thread provides a rougher surface that helps hold the material in place. Secure the material at the winging point; for slippery materials, such as the calf hair shown here, you can use the "noose loop" shown in Photo 7 to aid in keeping the hair positioned atop the shank. Cut the butts at an angle to help form a tapered underbody on the fly, then bind them tightly with thread.

PHOTO #2: Pull the wing fibers upward and rearward, and build a bump of thread to stand the wing upright. This bump is really cone-shaped, with the wide base of the cone butting the wing.

PHOTO #3: Consolidate the wing fibers by taking a few wraps of thread horizontally around the base of the post, as shown in the upper left corner. If you intend to use a parachute hackle, make certain to build the base high enough so that it projects above the body material, as shown at the upper right. This foundation will provide a more secure base for the hackle.

This photo also illustrates other post materials--CDC in the upper right and teal flank in the middle. The two lower flies are tied with deer hair. Since the material flares, you can control the wing shape by adjusting the thread tension used to consolidate the wing fibers. The fly at the lower left is tightly wrapped at the base to produce a widely flared wing. The fly at the lower right is base-wrapped with a looser thread to gather the fibers more compactly.

PHOTO #4: Poly-yarn is an excellent post material, particularly because it can be affixed to the hook with a very low-bulk mount for slender flies, such as those using quill, biot, or floss bodies.

Mount the yarn securely atop the shank with crisscross wraps, as though you were tying a spentwing, as shown at the left. Then simply raise both halves of the yarn above the shank and wrap horizontally around the base to consolidate them into a single wing. Cut the fibers to length, as shown on the right.


PHOTO #5: Sections cut from feathers can make attractively marked posts. At the left are two segments of turkey flat, stacked back-to-back. These are mounted using a pinch wrap, and posted upright using a thread bump, as shown on the fly in the middle, to produce a wing style typically seen on thorax-hackled patterns. The fly at the right has a mallard flank wing that is dressed oversize and trimmed to a more winglike shape.


PHOTO #6: Though most flies with post-type wings are dressed with parachute hackle, the style shown here, the Yarn Wing Dun designed by Gary Borger, uses a standard collar hackle. All fly components are dressed prior to winging. A length of yarn is then attached behind the hook eye, slanting rearward as shown at the left. An angle cut brings the wing to length and gives it a more natural shape, as shown on the right.

Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer are authors of The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference to Techniques and Dressing Styles (Frank Amato Publications). Leeson lives in Corvallis, Oregon; Schollmeyer lives in Salem, Oregon.

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