Tying Flies for Fly Fishing

One of the best parts of fly fishing is learning the art of fly tying. While you can buy pre-made flies, there’s nothing more satisfying than tying your own flies and being able to share with your friends the fact that you caught a 20 pound fish using a fly you made yourself. While it’s not complicated, fly tying for fly fishing can be a very delicate art.

Fly Tying Tools

Fly tying isn’t as difficult as it might first seem. You need to have some basic tools such as a fly vice, scissors, pliers, and thread. The equipment you use can make all the difference in quality work and shoddy work. The goal is to make your flies look as identical to a fish’s food source as is humanly possible. You can find supplies for tying in various places. You will also want to have on hand the following items:

Hooks of various shapes and sizes
Different colors and gauges of thread
Fur from animals such as mink or fox
Feathers from pheasants and peacocks
Craft cement

The first piece of equipment you will need when undertaking fly tying is a fly vice. These hold your hook while you are tying it together. You’ll want a vice that can hold all sizes and shapes of hooks and that is easily adjustable.

Get a bobbin that will hold your thread. A bobbin will keep your thread tight and organized while you are tying your fly. Bobbins come in a variety of sizes, but they all basically do the same thing. Spend just a little bit more money on a bobbin and you won’t have to worry about cut threads before you are through.

You need to also splurge on a good pair of scissors. To start out with, one pair of scissors is enough, but as you get better at fly tying, you’ll want to have a variety of shapes and sizes to meet the needs of the flies you are tying. The loops should fit your fingers comfortably, and they should be kept sharp.

Hackle pliers are small pliers with enough constant tension designed to wrap hackle feathers around the hook. As with scissors, they come in all shapes and sizes, but they all do basically the same thing.

Find a good bodkin too. A bodkin is basically a needle in a handle. You can use a bodkin not only to tie the fly, but also for delicate work that requires a small, sharp point like separating out pieces of feather and fur.

Of course, you’ll also need a large selection of feathers and fur to match the different types of flies you want to match. Mink fur and pheasant feathers are good materials to work with as are peacock feathers.

Tying Flies

Precision is the key to accurate fly tying. You should start out with a picture of the fly you are trying to replicate. You can find pictures of may flies, caddis flies, and other natural food sources in many places on the Internet. Once you have a picture, just get materials that will mimic the look and try to duplicate it.

Start out by wrapping thread around your hook and then add fur and feathers as you go securely tying them to the hook. As you go, you will continue to add materials until you achieve the look you are going for. Of course, there’s a little more to it than that, but that is the general idea.

You can take classes on how to tie your own flies and you can even find instructional videos online. The best way to learn how to tie your fly fishing ties is to experiment and keep doing it. You’ll eventually find techniques that work for you and be well on your way to becoming an expert on fly tying for your fly fishing needs.

When you start taking an interest in fly fishing, it’s best to stick with the pre-made flies, but as you gain more experience, you will want to start experimenting around with different lures to bring the fish to your line.

Tying your own flies can be a great way to bring you more and more into the fly fishing experience. It certainly isn’t for everyone as you need to have a lot of patience when you are tying flies. It doesn’t always come easy, but once you learn the basic techniques, you will probably find a new hobby that gives you some great joy!