Burnt Wing Moth



     This is an easy dry fly to tie. Creating the tool with which to sculpt the wing takes longer than tying the fly. Since you'll need to make this tool before you can tie the fly, let's start with the tool.

     Wing burners have been around for centuries, and no one can recount today where the got their exact start. Claims are wide spread as to their origin, and the odds are, there were numerous cases of this tool being invented independently. But they aren't that difficult to produce. The best raw material I've found for simplicity of construction and economy is the aluminum pie plate. Cut a strip from the flat bottom, about an inch wide and about eight inches long. (Needless to say, a square casserole pan will make more uniform sized burning tools than a round pie plate, but whatever is available is the best bet.) Fold the strip over at the middle and insert a piece of wire (the same diameter as the quills of the feathers to be used in burning) into the skinny open end along the center, down the full length to the fold. Press to conform the aluminum around the wire on the top side only. Keep the lower side flat. Once you have created a lengthwise interior channel, remove the wire. Align the two ends and cut out the wing pattern at the tip with scissors. Get them as symmetrical and identical (top and bottom layer) as possible along the channel axis. Different styles and sizes can be cut for the collection. If you mess up, make another.

     For the moth here, the wing should be shaped to create a wing that appears as such. (Image is considerably larger than life size. Length should be 1.4 X the tied body length.

Hook: Mustad 94840 (standard dry fly)
Body: Beige dubbing, clear antron/polypropylene blend
Wing: Female mallard breast feather
Thread: Monochord

     Set the feather in the wing burner, quill in the channel, base of the feather at the fold of the tool. Singe off the exposed portion. Strip away 1/8 inch of fibers at the narrow (base) end and cut the quill there. Set foundation to the shaft and, spin the body dubbing to the thread, and tie in the body. Tie the wing flat to the body and finish off. As simple as they come.

     This is a great fly for tormenting the fish into striking. It's not one to be fished sitting patiently on the surface. It's used to drop onto the same spot, time and again, like a nervous moth flittering and landing, flittering and landing, time and again. Consequently, the more balanced the wing, the easier it is to be accurate at placing the fly repeatedly where it will do most good, next to a stump on a channel, in a crease in the weeds, wherever looks like a good surface strike zone. Only every now and then do you let this fly sit to see if you've stirred any tempers below the surface. Often, you don't even need that. Whap!
     After a run at a zone, check the line for twist. If the fly is imbalanced at the wing, it will have twisted the leader and tippet. Tie on a fresh fly if any twist is noticed. This fly does not repair itself when it becomes imbalanced.
     This is the sort of fly for use at moderately close range. It is easy to pick up off of the water, even when the body gets soaked. All in all, a very useful and durable dry fly for the warm months and well into fall.

     One variation of this fly is to tie it with a paler body and use the spotted breast feather of the drake Greenwing Teal. Some people I've known swear on this variation with heart and soul. Just how much better they are than the mallard hen feathers, I'll leave to the individual angler to decide.