Fly Tying

Despite the fact that I’ve been tying flies for more than 60 years, I’ve never really tackled the parachute or paraloop tying techniques with any gusto. Yeah, I’ve tried and if you examined parachute or paraloop flies that have made it into my fly boxes, you’d immediately conclude that I didn’t know what I was doing and you’d be spot on. Notwithstanding having watched countless videos of tiers of creating perfect parachute patterns, I had not even come close to producing a decent parachute style fly. This had to change and with good reason.

Some fly fishers are fairly casual about color. They will simply buy whatever flies are on offer in the in the fly shop bins.  Or, if they tie their own flies, they will purchase a packet of tying material labeled as appropriate for the hatch in question.  Other fly fishers can be quite obsessive on this issue.  They have a very definite search image of what the “right” color is for a given purpose.

Maybe you’re one of those hard-core types who fly fishes all winter. Or perhaps you have the means and opportunity to travel, and pursue your fishing in warmer climes. If not, by the time December rolls around you have most likely packed up your gear until spring.

Pheasant, in particular the feathers of the Common or Ring Neck Pheasant, couldn’t be more versatile—"able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities” for the fly tyer. 

Beads are a common and versatile component used in fly tying. Beads serve various purposes in fly tying and can enhance the effectiveness, attractiveness, and functionality of your flies. Here's some key information about beads for fly tying.

The first step in any fly recipe is ‘choose your fly hook’! Therefore, understanding the various shapes, components, or parts of a fly hook, the ‘ fly hook anatomy’, is a great place for any beginner fly tyer to start.

J. Stockard Pro Tyer John Satkowski reviews Anadromous Fly Company and their line of high-quality, reasonably priced fly tying scissors.

Guest Blogger: Joe Dellaria, Learning from the River  Years ago, I thought parachute st...

Blogger Joe Dellaria tells the back story of the girdle bug, an easy-to-tie, durable fly. He then goes in depth on how to tie it, useful variations, and the products he finds work best to tie this reliable fly.

I assumed the grasshopper was floating (I find assumptions most often get me into more trouble!). I kept thinking about this as I had been using a grasshopper for over a month and had caught a few browns and turned a couple of decent fish in riffles that had missed the fly (I have often wondered whether lending these trout my trifocals would help them see the fly better!). None of the fish I had seen were anywhere near 16”. Eventually it occurred to me, maybe the grasshopper wasn’t floating. I asked him at church the next week.

Guest Blogger: Mike Cline, Bozeman, Montana An inshore Gulf Coast flats trip to Florida in t...

About the Gurgler Fly Fundamentally, there couldn’t be a more straightforward, simpler fly to ti...