I have some flies that i aquired a while back, my problem though is how do i tell if they are dry, wet or whatever? do i need to put them in the bath with me see what they do!?

Cheers

No it's not quite that simple. Wish it was.

Gazza, seriously, tell me where you want to fish and we'll arrange day out and hopefully I can answer your questions in person as it is easier to do that than through the power of typing.

Gazza...............very generally.......if the fly is stiff hackled it's a dry, if it's soft hackled it's a wet. If the wing is laid along the flys back it's a wet. If the wing is upright it's a dry, there is very often a small hackle in FRONT of the wing. Hackles behind the wing usually denote a wet fly. These are general rules and are not exclusive but they should give you a rough idea. Some flies can be both wet and dry just to make it awkward. There are plenty of books on the subject, have a chat with your library............birdsnest

__________________
Fear not if I steal from your side, as of yore, from paradise streams to fish Teifi once more.
BN based in Wolverhampton

Hi', Gazza and welcome to FFF. Just a very simple test. Chuck a chosen fly on the table; if it's a dry fly with a decent hackle, it will bounce. To get a better result, drop the fly on the table. This also tells you how good the hackles are on your proven dry flies. The better the hackles, the bigger the bounce. TC

BTW, dry copies of sedge, stonefly, hawthorn (and other dipterans) should have their wings tied as close to the horizontal as possible to match the naturals' profiles.

Hi Gazza if you are able to could you put some pictures up and Im sure that some could identify them.

P.S dont take them in the bath with you it may be painful