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Beginner's
Corner
Fly Tying Information for the beginner
tyer...
Fly
Tying Glossary
A - Z information...
Dry Muddler
Twenty-plus years ago Bruce Staples gave Al his
start as a regional/national, demonstration fly tier
when he invited him to participate in the Western
Rocky Mountain Council Conclave. From that start
Al's demonstration tying career progressed to a high
point when he was the recipient of the...
Fly
Pattern Forum
Forum of Freshwater and
Saltwater Patterns...
The
Challenge of Fly Organization
This obsession is not limited to fly fishers. Have
you ever looked into the tackle box of a
well-equipped (and well-heeled) bass angler? The
difference is that we must carry our entire
inventory on our backs...
Getting
Organized (Fly Tying)
If
you
have
been
at
fly
fishing
for
any
length
of
time,
you
have
probably
begun
to
tie
your
own
flies
by
now,
or
have
at
least
given
the
matter
some
casual
thought.
If
you
number
yourself
as
one
of
the
later,
consider
yourself
lucky.
You
are
about
to
be
saved
a
tremendous
amount
of
aggravation...
Dying
Materials
Dyeing your own feathers and fur is often the only way
you have to get the exact colour you want for that
special pattern or even that old traditional that you
want to tie. If you use a well proven dye like Veniards
fly tiers dye it is not
difficult or messy and
can develop into an
interesting pastime for
when you are not at the
fly tiers bench...
From Guide
to Aquatic Trout Foods
I carry this box in my
vest wherever I trout
fish. It is stocked with
a selection of general
aquatic and terrestrial
imitations in a range of
medium small (size 16)
to medium-large (size 4)
patterns. Most fly
designs in this box
simulate the largest
possible range of foods,
water situations, and
seasons...
The
Magic Midge Larva
Yes, I do fish nymphs and midge larvae.But only when
I have to. I’m not a very good nymph fisher to begin with, so I’m always
looking for a little edge over my fishing companions (who are pretty
good nymphers)...
Wing
Pads on Nymphs
A nymph is probably the first fly most
of us learned to tie, because it is easy to learn, and incorporates
several basic tying techniques. Generic nymphs, such as the Gold Ribbed
Hare's Ear, require only three or four different materials, and no matter
how poorly tied your instructor or fishing buddies may think they are,
they'll catch fish...
Tying
the RS2
Those of you who have ever fished an RS2 know that it’s a deadly pattern
that often produces when nothing else does. I think it’s because the fly
imitates a number of midge and small mayfly nymphs and larvae...
Silk
Dubbing
I've always preferred tying my flies with natural
materials. I tried all the fine, super-fine and ultra-fine synthetic
dryfly dubbing I could get my hands on, but I couldn't seem to get my
mayfly bodies tight enough using synthetics...
Tying
with Quills
I’ve been getting quite a few e-mails and phone calls lately
about problems tiers are having with cracked and split quills.
There are a lot of remedies being used that I’m afraid are
totally unnecessary and will...
Avoiding
Cone-Shape Hackle Collars
If your mayfly dries float downstream with their tails
sticking straight up, chances are that one (or both) of the
following is true: 1) The hackle collar is set too far back
behind the eye of the hook...
Controlling
Marabou
I have about three pounds of strung
marabou in every color I could possibly
need, including white. Marabou is an amazing
material that fly tiers have been using—and
swearing at—for decades. Tiny tufts and
complete feathers are used for everything
from tailing on damselfly nymphs to wings on
fresh- and saltwater flies...
Standby
Mayfly Emerger
I got this pattern from a book or magazine, but so help me, I
cannot find the name of the originator—and I've searched my entire library at
least three times. The man (or woman) should be sainted! I began tying and
fishing this fly about 30 years ago and haven't felt the need to give up on it
because it always produces...
Trico
Duns
Fishing a #12 Green Drake is a lot of fun in
several ways. You can use a heavier tippet, trout love them
(the flies), you can easily see them (again, the flies), and
casting accuracy isn't all that critical. But I think the
most fun I can have fly-fishing is casting a #22 Trico dun
on 18 feet of leader with a 40-inch 7X tippet...
Tiny
Soft Hackle Flies
We have known for quite some time that
soft-hackle wet flies are very effective almost any time we go
fly-fishing. Most of the soft-hackle wet flies I have seen in fly shops
and even in some of my friend’s fly boxes are no smaller than size 14. I
think the reason for this is...
Simple
Stonefly Nymphs
There is a great temptation to tie stonefly nymphs that are
anatomically correct, right down to elbows and eyeballs. This is simply because
the naturals are so big compared to most mayfly and caddis nymphs we normally
tie. But when you fish your stonefly nymphs where and how you really should,
you'll lose a lot of them...
Tying
Parachute Wing Posts
I’m getting to the point where whenever I encounter the
beginning of a hatch of mayflies and can see trout rising, I’ll tie on a
parachute of the corresponding size and color of the natural. I do this because
I spend a little time watching an individual trout in an attempt to determine if
it is actually eating those little sailboat duns...
Diffusion
Hackling
Diffusion Hackling is not hackling in
the traditional sense-winding a material like a feather around
a hook or a parachute post to produce legs and/or wings. Rather,
Diffusion Hackling splays (or diffuses) materials to achieve
similar (and in some cases, much better) effects. Originally,
this technique was a European method for "parachuting" deer
hair...
Making a Fly Tying Bench
I've found that I
really would like to have one of those fly tying benches -- the ones
with the work area and a place for your tools and your spools...
Three
Fly Patterns Imitate Variety of Forage
It's easy to spend $100 on a little plastic cup of
specialty flies. I know, I've done it...
The
Zen And The Lure Of Realistic Fly Tying
Fly-tier Bill Logan creates fantastically detailed
flies that are never used for fishing, take 150 hours to create and start
selling at $4,000...
Hand-tied
flies: Priceless and Viceless
Harry Lemire is fly-fishing's
version of the Latin scholar, a singular crusader who keeps alive one
dead and forgotten dialect in the language of fly-tying...
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