For what ever reason I have bypassed this thread till this morning. I like others was concerned that I would get the razzberry's for talking about weight. My fishing partner and I have fished all winter and if it weren't for weight we would not have caught anything.
What I do is fish S/H's with weight and a nymph as the point fly. I also use a sinking leader, either by Orvis or Airflo and then I still, on occasions have to use a little weight, no lead.
Last fall I happened to be on a streach of the Madison when another board member talked me into using garden hackle, I as lead astray, and was seduced into thinking this was the right thing to do.. The water was running full because the damn was busted and it was had to fish let alone catch anything. So we threw GH'S with weight and caught the wiley trouts and that is a trick to have that much weight on the end of a 4 wt.
Although GH's are not made with silk, feather and fur they don't have wings.
I hope there is no repercussions for this violation of the unwritten code.