[bassrecord]

My son and I are upgrading my Moth Patterns and need your help making the wings. I don't want to insult your intelligence so if I state the obvious, please forgive me.

Moths fly with their wings out and hit the water with them extended. See the BlkWhtOrg Moth attached. On land, moths fold their wings, see the Darth Vader moth. To avoid wind resistance when casting, moth wings must be folded and to invoke strikes on water wings must be extended. In the past to make extended wings, I trimmed turkey flats into triangular shape, glued their stems into the body and this Miller Moth pattern looks great on the water. Problem is, they don't cast worth a darn. But they work fantastic at night with a Coleman lantern suspended out over the water - but that's another story <G>.

So how to achieve the wing effect? Lance and I are experimenting with wings made of spray-painted rubber film (rubber gloves), glued to thin plastic strips that are "V" shaped. Each "V" tip is glued into the moth body. When casting the wing collapses with wind resistance and when the bug hits the water the wing expands back to "V" shape.

So what kind of tool can I make to bend and hold the thin plastic strips in a "V" shape while gluing? We're open to any ideas of material or jig or fixture.

Thanks for any help.
John

[clemmy]

could you post a pic of one made and the parts? I'm having a hard time visualizing it...

Off the top of my head, you could try finding plastic already folded from something easily available and cheap?

Perhaps take a drinking straw and flatten it so each side would have your bend, then cut out the desired shape with scissors....

Just brainstorming..

Clemmy

[bassrecord]

Originally Posted by clemmy

could you post a pic of one made and the parts? I'm having a hard time visualizing it...

Here's the black body with cream turkey flats for wings. These are "fixed" wings and impossible to cast.

Originally Posted by clemmy

Off the top of my head, you could try finding plastic already folded from something easily available and cheap?

Perhaps take a drinking straw and flatten it so each side would have your bend, then cut out the desired shape with scissors....

Or use the plastic coffee stirrers! If the rubber film can be crimped or glued in the rib of a stirrer, it could be the "V" we are looking for. Thank you!

The Fixed wing version has the turkey flats pressed down on clear wrapping tape which is cut to fit the flat. Then coating the top of the turkey flat with Dave's Flexament, Orvis SoftSkin or Softech liquid bonds the feather with the plastic making a bullet proof (and Bass proof) wing, except when the stem breaks off.

Sorry to beat the same ole drum but it's comments like yours that make this forum so great!
Thanks again and Good luck!
John

[LaPala]

If you search for realistic fly/fly tying; you will be able to find several techniques they use for wings.

Raffein or Swiss straw might be the ticket.

For a wing that would "compress" in a cast maybe just use mono as the wing veins, trying different poundage that will allow the wing to fold back while casting and spring back out once it has landed in water. This might produce unique action in water as well since the mono "spring" attached wings can play in the water as well.