The Beginner’s Guide to Fly Tying
There is nothing like catching a fish on a fly that you tied. Whether it be a known pattern or something you concocted out of fishing ingenuity, using flies that you built on your own offers another level of satisfaction.
The world of fly tying deserves an entire novel on its own but for the beginner fly tier, knowing the basics of tools and materials in this guide can set you on the right path.
Key Points for Fly Tying
Fly tying is the arts and crafts for the angler. Essentially, you are wrapping materials on a hook with thread to mimic fish prey. There are many tools that help you create flies including vice, bobbins, bodkins, and whip finishers. Fly tying materials range from animal fur, feathers, and hair to synthetic materials.
The following are the essential tools and materials you will need to begin your fly tying adventure.
Basic Fly Tying Tools
The following list are the necessities. There are a wide range of speciality tools for fly tying but the following items will allow you to build the vast majority of flies, especially when you are a beginner.
Vice
This is the tool that holds your hook and allows you to work. The vice pinches your hook and provides a stable base on which you will do all your tying.
Vices come with either a weighted pedestal base or with a clamp-on feature. With a base, you’d be able to set up shop on any flat surface and with a clamp, you’d simply attach it to the edge of your working table. Weighted bases allow a little more versatility while clamps are a little easier to travel with (and often more affordable). I personally like the pedestal base because I can move it around and not be stuck in the same spot.
Vices also come with either stationary heads or a rotary feature. The ability to rotate the fly you’re working on can be helpful in many scenarios but is not a necessary function.
Bobbin
Bobbins hold your thread. They’re usually made with a very smooth ceramic or metallic cylinder that allows the thread to travel effortlessly as you tie. Some bobbins offer an adjustable tension dial that you can set to your preference.
Bobbins are the tool you use with every fly you will tie so it’s important to invest in a quality product that is comfortable to use and won’t cut your thread. You don’t have to break the bank on these but it is good to have one that you’re comfortable with as you’ll be spending a lot of quality time with your bobbin in your hand.
Scissors
Scissors do what they do in every other facet of scissor-hood: they cut stuff. Any pair of scissors will do the job, though it is important to have a couple pairs on hand for different purposes. One pair should be able to cut thicker, bulkier stuff that you wouldn’t mind waring down and another should be for finer, more precise cuts.
Bodkin
Bodkins are strong sturdy needles that serve a multitude of purposes, most commonly picking out trapped materials and applying head cement or glue to specific areas. You’ll end up using your bodkin for a variety of different things and it’s important to have one on hand at all times.
Hackle Pliers
Hackle pliers allow you to grip slippery materials when wrapping around the shank of the hook. You can get away with just your fingers but the grip and weight of pliers can save you a headache.
Whip Finisher
Whip finishers help you tie a strong knot when you’ve completed your fly. While you can do this knot by hand, whip finishers are very quick and easy to use once you get the hang of it. Having a tool that ties these knots can expedite the finishing knot and ties stronger, more consistent knots than the untrained hand.
Hair Stacker
Hair stackers allow you to align hairs evenly. Evenly stacked hair improves the quality and consistency of your flies. A simple, but necessary tool.
Basic Fly Tying Materials
Warehouses can be filled with fly tying materials. Each variation of the following materials can help you build better flies and the nuances of each comes with experience as you learn to tie and figure out what flies you like to tie and how you like to create them.
The following is a general list of materials that you will use, some with multiple purposes.
Hooks
The money maker. Stating the obvious, the hook is what allows you to catch the fish. Different hook styles and sizes are necessary for different types of flies- dry fly, nymph, and streamers all require different hook designs.
What is consistent with all hooks are the elements and parts of the hook that you should familiarize yourself with to understand where materials go.
Weights
Applying weight to your fly allows it to reach different parts of the water column. Weight can be added with coneheads, dumbbell eyes, lead wire, or some combination of those three.
Especially in subsurface flies like nymphs and streamers, it’s important to have the same or similar flies in varying weights to fit whatever the situation calls for.
Thread
Thread allows you to wrap and secure materials to your hook. There are a ton of varieties of threads, mostly in thickness (measured in “deniers”) and material (nylon, polyester, GSP), and color. For the beginner, nylon or polyester thread in the 70-140 denier is a good starting point.
Feathers, Fur, and Hair
Feathers, fur, and hair are the main elements of your fly and are used to create tails, bodies, and heads. In fly tying, feathers usually come from chickens, fur from rabbit, squirrel, or deer, and hair from deer or elk. Many other animals are used in these materials but those are the most common.
The variations are endless and another storage unit may be required to house all these materials, but the main point is that these materials are crucial in tying effective flies.
Synthetics
Synthetics are man-made materials that are used in a variety of different ways in fly tying. Similar to feathers, fur, and hair, they can often be the main component of the fly’s tail, body, or head.
Craft fur, flash, pre-made heads, foam, rubber legs, and brushes are just a few synthetic materials used to make flies. Each can offer a different nuance of movement, buoyancy, or durability than their natural animal sourced products.
Adhesives: Glue/Head Cement/UV Resin
Glue, head cement, and UV resins all help increase the durability of your flies. These securing materials are most commonly used to reinforce the knots you tie once you are completed with your fly and really do increase the longevity of your patterns.
Adhesives can be used in a variety of other functions. They can be used to help build heads on the front of your flies, sturdy tails on streamers, or tie together hooks (using wire) on articulated streamers.
Conclusion
Fly tying sparks the creativity in the fly angler. There hundreds of already established patterns that you can find recipes for, but creating your own variations can be a fulfilling endeavor. Some of my most memorable fish I’ve ever caught have been on flies that I created or built myself.
The more experience you have, the more you learn about the different nuances of each of the tools and materials listed above. Fly tying also scratches the fishing itch during winter months when it’s too cold to wet a line.
Sure, you can catch fish on flies you get at the shop, but from personal experience there’s nothing like catching a fish on a fly you tied. Before you know it, you’ll have boxes full of flies you built and will probably feel strange fishing anything else.
