hi all,
i was bought a fly tying set off ebay for a gift last year, and i would like to make the most of it. trouble is there is that much gear im not sure what a lot of it is for.

i must of tied 300 buzzers (caught lots on them ),
maybe 30-40 different lures.some have caught plenty, most have caught very few if not none,
and a few dry patterns (not very well admittedly) when i first got the kit (again with mixed results). all with the aid of the internet. mostly you tube.

1 year on i have had plenty of practice having maybe tied some 4-500 flys in total, im feeling more confident in my tying ability, and as it is that time of year i have returned to tying up some drys.

today i have tied up some klinkhammers and daddys to a much better standard then my previous attempts. today i learnt to tie my own legs for daddys out of pheasant tail and now i am getting more adventures i am starting to wonder what patterns i could use some other materials i have for.........

so if you fellow tyers could take the time to advise me along the way i would be most gratefull

here is the first of many questions to come:

question 1, i have 2 draws full of various wings(not capes), probably around 20 different packs/sets. what patterns will i use wings for as i have yet to see any wings used in anything?

also whilst making the daddys today i have around 10-15 different colours of super bug yarn and wasnt sure if i could use this in the bodys? also any other patterns this could be usefull for?

no doubt i shall keep returning to this thread to ask "wots this for & wots that for"

i appreciate these may be very silly and/or basic questions to some of you but "if you dont know youv gotta ask" and like iv said i really want to get the most out of my quite large set of materials cos its got me hooked

thank you for taking the time to help a fellow tier

Wings are used for both dry and wet flies. Are you serious that you have never seen a winged fly?

Here's a starter for 10 to get you going

Traditional Wet Fly Pattens

Wingman (among many others) on the fly tying forum here ties some very tasty traditional winged wet fly patterns and has also done a good Step By Step (SBS) in the fly tying, step by step section on how to wing flies.

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"Take not out your 'ounds on a werry windy day" Surtees.

yes mate. i have about 15 capes so i use them for hackles or wings on a daddy

but havnt really found any patterns telling me to use wings?

when i say wings i mean like starling, snipe,swift,some look like owls or birds of prey wings. quite different to the capes i do use

I'm not expert This site is worth a look Flydirectory.co.uk the most comprehensive fly pattern database in the making, wet fly, dry fly patterns
Also if you don't already have it "The Fly Tiers Bible" is a great investment.

I'm sure there will be someone along shortly with more specific answers.

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Eddie
"We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation."
Voltaire

thanks for your quick replys chaps....iv not tied any 'wet flys' at all yet.

this maybe the reason why ive never used any wings?

You can also use the small feathers on the wings as hackles e.g. in a Snipe and Purple, the hackle is one of the small feathers on the wing - on its upper side - the end of the wing closest to the bird's body.

thank you shpeil. gonna google them now