I Started Tying My Own Flies

                        I started tying my own flies about one year after I learned to fly fish. The thought of catching a fish with a lure that I created was very appealing to me. It is a craft and a very special craft considered by most who tie. Some flies are very intricate and require many minutes of tediously squinting at the smallest hooks and bit of materials. Whether you fish ten days a year or are in the water every other day, tying flies is a fun opportunity to take fly fishing to the next level.

                      Many believe that by tying your own flies you will save money. This statement is untrue. Many flies are mass produced in countries far from the United States for dirt cheap. My original start up cost was around eighty dollars. Hooks are probably the most expensive aspect of the hobby and materials are relatively cheap. If you can buy your hooks in mass quantities, this will vastly keep costs lower than if you were to buy twenty to fifty hooks at a time. Some flies however such as the San Juan worm can be very cost effective. Besides the loss of time if takes to tie, I believe I come out even when tying San Juan worms. Most flies in the big retailers are around one dollar and flies at fly shops run from one fifty to two dollars a piece. Keep this in mind while tying and you may find ways to cut your own costs. One tip I'm happy to share with my readers; buy some materials from hobby stores instead of fly shops! Copper colored beads from a fishing retailer can cost five dollars for twenty five and at a hobby store you can purchase over one thousand for two dollars and fifty cents! Not to mention hobby stores sell beads in all colors and sizes and also sell many other materials for the half the cost. Money aside, the art of fly-tying is about creating an imitation of an insect that catches fish for you. The feeling of hauling in a hungry trout that fell for your very own hand-tied fly is a worthy experience. After dozens of happy trout and hundreds of flies, one may experience catching a trophy with their very own concoction of materials; this will catapult the tier into a new level!

                      I started out with a fifty dollar fly tying kit that included all the necessary tools to begin pumping out basic flies. I quickly purchased one hundred and fifty more hooks, plenty more material, and burned through all of it quickly. My fly box was filling overnight! Granted many of my first flies looked like frankenstein versions of how they were supposed to look but a month later I'm producing premium quality flies. Before I knew it I had several fly boxes full of my very own hand tied flies. Dozens of fish later I started to rely heavily on my flies and my flies only. As of now I only buy dry flies from the store and all other I make myself. I haven't yet mastered the skills of tying dries well, but also I have not focused on them entirely. Hackle, which is used for dries, can cost a bit more than most materials. Some full hackles can cost upwards of fifty dollars or more, YIKES!

                    Getting started: Like I mentioned before I used the fifty dollar kit I purchased to get me started. I highly recommend this route because it included all the tools one would need. The kits include a vice, bobbin, bobkin, scissors, hackle pliers, a hair stacker, along with the basic starter materials. These materials consist of black and white thread, peacock hurl, maribou, hackle, biots, bucktail, deer hair, assorted hooks,  assorted feathers, and chenille. The kit should also include a booklet for simple flies and a guide to different fly hooks. Start by tying some easy flies and learn to master the tie-in wrap and practice the "whip finish". Both of these techniques secure the thread at the start and end of the tying. The tie-in wrap tightly secures the thread for the initial first wraps and a whip finish gives a secured knot at the end without having to do over hand knots. Both of these techniques are required for any fly and its important to get the skills under your belt. When tying flies its important, in my opinion, to always tie from the eye of the hook back towards the bend of the hook. Depending on how much material you use, its ok to re-wrap over and back over and back again until you get the desired "profile" you're looking for. Some flies require just one layer of thread, while others require much more. Typically you'll want to whip finish near the eye of the hook but sometimes I find it necessary to finish near the back of my materials. Usually the case where this would be ok is if the eye of the hook is over-crowded with materials to whip finish at the eye.

                    Now that you have the basics to work with, its time to talk easy flies to tie. I personally started with some common pupae-stage flies such as the zebra midge or black midge. These flies only require a build up of thread, usually black, to make the body profile. The zebra midge has an added spiral of white thread over the body and its done. The black midge can have a copper bead behind the eye for flashy appearance. Not only are these two patterns difficult to tie poorly but they both incorporate the tie-in and whip finish methods. Not to mention these patterns are very popular for western trout and work year around. Once a dozen or so of these are tied, its easy to move onto the next stage of flies. Another popular fly that is easy to tie is the San Juan worm. The San Juan worms that I tie are with either a 16 or 18 hook, red chanille, and pink or red thread. Some people add a bead to give it some flash and make it easier for the fish to spot. Once you've mastered these flies, moving on to the easy to moderate flies are much easier. These flies include the brassie, copper john, wooly bugger, and the black leech.

                  Since I've become a fly tier, I'll be adding some easy tutorials for tying flies with step by step photos and tips for anyone interested. Like I mentioned before, this is not a way to save money but instead its a great way to spend time during the off months. Flies also make great gifts for your friends. I've bought several cheap fly boxes that I will fill and hand out to people interested in starting the sport. Since fly fishing is somewhat difficult to learn, I believe its important to keep those interested busy and on track. Maybe those who receive one of my boxes will be more willing and motivated to keep pursuing trout. Please stay tuned to my blog for more fly tying articles. Thanks for reading and may your lines always be tight!