Divided Fiber Wings
TED LEESON AND JIM SCHOLLMEYER

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

As the name suggests, wings of this style are fashioned from fibers split into two separate bunches, in part under the theory that many mayfly duns drifting on the water hold their wings slightly separated and thus are best imitated by a divided wing. Tying divided-fiber wings can be seen as an extension of dressing arc wings.

This wing design is most often used on two nearly opposite fly types. First are the heavily dressed, fast-water patterns such as Humpies and Wulffs. Though almost any hair or fiber can be used on such patterns, two particular materials are favored for their special advantages. Hollow-hair wings, deer and sometimes elk, may contribute little to a fly on flat water, but can significantly assist floatation in rough, broken water where the fly is tumbled and washed over by waves. They can help refloat a fly that has been momentarily submerged.

The other favorite material, white calftail (some tiers prefer yellow or orange), makes wings that are highly visible and easy to track in foamy, turbulent water.

Poly-yarn is often overlooked by tiers dressing divided wings on bushy attractor patterns. Though not as buoyant as deer hair or as visible as calftail (though visibility can be improved by adding strands of a reflective synthetic like Krystal Flash), it provides a satisfactory compromise between these two materials, incorporating the virtues of both while being faster and simpler to tie than either.

The second category of fly most often tied with divided fiber wings includes the more traditional, more delicate, sparsely dressed, Catskill-type patterns such as the Quill Gordon and Hendrickson. The favorite materials here are webby feather barbs; the barred flank feathers of wood duck, mallard, and teal produce beautifully mottled wings, while hen hackle can produce both marked wings and solid shades. Rooster hackle could conceivably be used, but the absence of web produces a rather sparse wing.

Divided-fiber wings have a few drawbacks. Though not technically difficult to tie, they are a bit more involved and time-consuming than some other styles. While materials can be chosen to match the color of most naturals, reproduction of wing shape is not a strong point, though in nonimitative attractor patterns, this isn't a significant consideration. Wing definition is further obscured by the hackle, since most divided-fiber patterns use a standard collar hackle. The broad base of the wings yields a foundation too irregular for good parachute hackling. With care, it can be done, though few tiers dress flies this way.


PHOTO #13: To form divided wings, mount the material (calf hair is used here) just as you would for a post wing. Pull half the fibers to the far side of the shank to form a gap, and make a series of crisscross wraps between the two halves, as shown here, to separate them permanently.


PHOTO #14: To consolidate the wing fibers, make thread wraps around the base of each wing half, as shown here. If the wings are not fully upright at this point, build a small thread bump to elevate them to vertical.


PHOTO #15: Many materials can be used to form divided wings. Shown here from left to right are: the calf-hair wings from the preceding demonstration; deer hair; poly-yarn; and wood-duck flank.

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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