Beginning Fly Tying

Learning How To Tie:

Go to an LL Bean, Cabela's, or another local fly store and ask when you can have lessons. You can also look onto YouTube and many other video sites to see quality videos of flies to tie.

What To Buy:

Buy at the store, do not buy online. I got an online kit and it came with a bent bobbin which was an easy fix. The case of hooks was broken so there were hooks everywhere, finally the threads were broken. The spools were bent and cracked making them extremely difficult to use. I advise buying quality equipment, but you do not need to spend a ton of money. I would spend approximately $50 on starter fly tying gear. Finally, when looking for a bobbin, the ceramic bobbins are not for beginners. If you plan to tie with one bobbin your entire life it is a good investment but they are more difficult to use and can be very frustrating. The reason being the ceramic liner buts out at the end of the tube where the spool goes in. This makes getting the thread through the hole very difficult, even with copper wire.

What Flies Should I Tie:

Start easy. If you want to start tying dry flies you are stretching it a little bit. You need to work up to them. You should start on streamers; they are both the easiest to tie and can be used almost year round. Hooks for these flies are all different. For all streamers a size 8 is a safe hook. It is easy enough to work with, as a beginner, and is also a good size for catching most fish. If you are tying for bass you should focus more on poppers and possibly some larger streamers. Saltwater fly fishing is something that I have not done and I have not tied any of those flies. They are often much larger with much more materials on them. They are also more expensive than many of the cheaper streamers. One fly that I suggest tying if you are a beginner is a Mickey Finn. You do not have to use any dubbing which is something that I can't stand. Also, they are good streamers that can be tied with ease. They also give you some practice tying.

Tips:

I suggest tying a few of the same fly at a time. You should stick with the same fly for about three sessions of three ties and tie ten of the same fly before moving on. This gives you practice with that fly and the last few will be nearly good enough to sell depending on your skill and the difficulty of the fly.

Almost all intact flies will catch fish. A fly does not have to look pretty to catch fish. They are less picky than the fishermen. A great example of this is ugly flies. They are instinct flies more than imitators. They are shiny, colorful, and attract fish.

     Thank You for reading

P.S. - On all of my posts please comment if you have any questions about anything relating to that blog or something that you would like me to talk about.

P.S.S. Please visit southernmainefishing.blogspot.com for more southern Maine fishing updates, conditions, and similar posts.

Maple Syrup Fly 8 Step

I will add pictures and videos at a later date but for now I will give instructions and a finished picture. When tying flies, a tip is the fact that the person tying the flies is ofter more picky of how the fly looks than the fish is. The fish will not care if one bit of fur as a tiny bit longer than another.

Here's what your finish fly should look like:

The light brown yarn has many substitutes, as long as it is a light brown or tan yarn of the same size than it will work fine.

How to use this fly is described at the bottom of the page.

Materials:
-About 5-7 inches of light brown/tan yarn.
-Hook size 8-12, a longer shank works well with this fly.
-Yellow Cow Tail
-Black Thread
-Clear Nail Hardener or Head Cement (I prefer clear nail hardener).

Steps:

1.) Tie the thread on in the front 3/4 of the hook near the eye.

2.) Tie back to the curve of the hook.

3.) Tie the yellow cow tail, the fur should stick out a little bit past the end of the hook.

4.) Tie to the front of the hook, about three head spaces back, four if you are a beginner.

5.) Tie the light brown/tan yarn into the front, long side back (stripping some fibers on the end helps tie the yarn in).

6.) Wrap the yarn to the back then back to the front and tie it down with the thread.

7.) Make a small head if you do not have one from tying material in.

8.) Tie the finishing knot and finish the fly.

Your first few Flies will not be perfect but stick to one fly at a time.

This fly is an imitator that imitates a small freshwater shrimp like bug. You can look for these bugs at the bottom of slow moving streams or small ponds. You will often find the bugs under rocks along the edge of the water. These will be eaten by all fish the prey upon the small bugs in the ponds and streams.

Please comment and subscribe to this blog for more flies and tips on how to become a better fly tier. Also, please comment if you wish to ask anything such as a specific step. Please ask for more flies, I will keep doing beginner flies until I get some comments on more specific flies to tie. Also, make sure you look at SouthernMaineFishing.blogspot.com to see more about fishing in Southern Maine.

Please fill out the poll at the bottom of the page to support this blog. I will constantly update old posts and will always be adding new ones. Every ounce of support helps this blog grow and allows me to post more fly tying instructions.

Mickey Finn 10 Step

Just to let you know I will be adding pictures and videos to each of my flies at later dates. For now I am going to give basic instructions on how to tie the flies. Each of these flies should be tied ten consecutive times, at least three in the same sitting. This is how you should improve the quality of your flies. Also, when tying flies (unless tying saltwater or for bass) less can be more. You do not want a fly with tons of material. It may be harder to tie, will most likely take longer, and it doesn't always work as well. These are tips that have helped me learn to tie flies and I would like to share them with everyone else who wants to learn to tie flies. Have fun tying and please comment, subscribe, and share this page with your friends to help grow this blog. Comment on anything that seems confusing to you or if you want a picture, video, or a new fly to be tied. Everything that I tie with is picked up with for small prices at a local LL Bean store. Many of the materials can also be bought at smaller Fly Stores. Have fun tying.

Here is what your finished fly should look like:

The silver wire on top of the tinsel is optional and should not be used if you are just beginning tying this specific fly or beginning tying in general.

This fly and how to use it will be described at the bottom of this post.

Materials
- Hook sized 8-12. (8 for beginners 10 or 12 as you get farther in).
- Red Buck Tail
- Yellow Buck Tail
- Flat Silver Tinsel
- Black Thread
- Clear Nail Hardener or Head Cement (I prefer the clear nail hardener).

You are going to need a fair amount of tinsel, I suggest cutting a piece about 6-8 inches long depending on what hook size you are using.

Steps -

1.) Start your thread about 3/4 of the way towards the eye of your hook.

2.) Tie to the curve of your hook.

3.) Tie in the silver tinsel so that most of it goes off the back and about an inch stays over the hook, GOLD SIDE UP. (When you wrap the tinsel the silver side will be up.)

4.) Tie your thread back to the front of the hook, about three head spaces back from the eye if you are a beginner, two if you have had practice.

5.) Wrap your tinsel up to the front overlapping each wrap barely over the other so the entire fly should be wrapped in silver tinsel.

6.) Tie in a small amount of yellow deer hair, about 10 strands that are just longer than the hook shank.

7.) Tie in a slightly larger amount of red deer hair the same length as the yellow hair.

8.) Tie in an amount of hair in between the last two amounts. More than the first time, but not as much as the second time, this will give your fly a balanced color difference.

9.) Wrap the head with the thread, heads should normally be relatively short and small but that is a hard task of a fly with this much material.

10.) Tie of the head with a knot of your choice. (I will post a set of directions for at least two different ways to finish a fly.)

Your first few Flies will not be perfect but stick to one fly at a time.

This fly is an excellent imitator. It looks like a baitfish that you see in almost any stream, pond, or lake. It is multipurpose and will catch trout almost anywhere. You can also use this fly for many other species including bass. There are also many variations of this fly. To see some of these variations follow this link. (Variation for Salmon and for deeper ponds/lakes).

 http://globalflyfisher.com/patterns/mickey-finn/

Please comment and subscribe to this blog for more flies and tips on how to become a better fly tier. Also, please comment if you wish to ask anything such as a specific step. Please ask for more flies, I will keep doing beginner flies until I get some comments on more specific flies to tie. Also, make sure you look at SouthernMaineFishing.blogspot.com to see more about fishing in Southern Maine.

Here is a Mickey Finn video which I have not created. I take no credit in making this video. Some aspect may be slightly different. I hope to start posting my own videos soon. This video uses silver wire. This looks better but is harder and makes only the slightest difference. It also starts the thread very close to the head. This can be done if you have been tying for a while, but if you are a beginner to this fly or tying in general than you do not want to start that close to the eye.

Please fill out the poll at the bottom of the page to support this blog. I will constantly update old posts and will always be adding new ones. Every ounce of support helps this blog grow and allows me to post more fly tying instructions.