by Bill “Bugs” Logan

FOR BEGINNERS, SETTING UP TO TIE FLIES can at first appear every bit as complicated as gearing up to fish. If you’ve been thinking of giving fly tying a try, I’m sure you’ve already been confronted with a bewildering array of tools. Most of them are ingenious and damned cool looking, too. Of course, that doesn’t help clear up the confusion.

Well, guess what? Tools are just tools, and too often, cleverness overreaches itself. Now, keep in mind that I’ve been tying a long while and have become pretty darned set in my ways. I tend toward minimalism. Other folks have different ideas, and they no doubt swear by many of the tools that I think I don’t need. Let me give you my opinions and tell you why I think the way I do. Regardless of whether you agree with me, remember that the only requirements all fly tying tools must meet are that they be comfortable, function well, and make it easier for you to crank out effective fish getters. A surprisingly lean tool kit, wisely assembled, can take you far.

For Starters

Okay, let’s consider the photograph opening this article. You’re probably looking at the madman and the fishing bear at the left, or the cute photos of my wife holding a lamb as a little girl, and when she was being a really, really good sport the first time I took her fishing. These are important! I’ll tell you why in a bit, but first I want you to forget about all the tying books in the background; they’re there to add atmosphere to my shot. Take away the books and the bric-a-brac, and what’s left is a surprisingly small collection of tools. Notice that I’ve put my own kit together. It’s not a prepackaged beginner’s kit; buy such a kit, and you’ll soon outgrow it. And before you do, you’ll have some frustrating, awkward tying that may turn you away altogether. It’s far better (and in the long run no more expensive) to tool up the right way at the beginning.

A vise is the only item that will cost you a bit. And spend a bit. Don’t begrudge yourself a vise that will serve you long and well. The one in my photo is called the Atlas Vise. (A company called Wolff Indiana manufactures the Atlas Vise.) It’s a good example of a high-quality, middle-of-the-road, workhorse vise. A number of other fine vises are equally worthy.

Your new vise should be a rotary model. This means you can spin the head or jaws to turn the fly over while you’re tying to see how things are coming along on the far side of the hook. You have no idea how convenient that is!

Make sure the vise’s jaws are machined, forged, and/or hardened steel. Cast metal jaws are brittle and may chip if you clamp hooks too close to their tips. And give special notice to how a vise is finished. Good production value and an attention to detail are a telling indication of quality. I especially like it if the fly shop sets up a display vise where customers can play with it; that vise almost surely gets a rough workout. After all this, if there is no play in the joints or fittings, no parts are missing, and the action remains smooth, it is well made. And one last thought: Pedestal-mounted vises are the most convenient. You can use them on any flat surface, whereas C-clamp-mounted models require suitable table edges, which are harder to find than you might think.

We also see a bottle of cement in this photo. Flexament (or a similar flexible or vinyl cement) will take care of every need you encounter during general-purpose tying. It works admirably as a feather coating (such as when making nymph wing cases or beetle backs), as an underlying adhesive for wrapping delicate materials, as a sealant over Magic Marker detailing, and of course, as a head finish. I cut my cement by a third with thinner so that it penetrates and dries faster. When it thickens due to evaporation, I just re-dilute it.

Superglue penetrates most materials and sets in a heartbeat. Some tiers don’t even finish off their flies with a head knot, but instead use a superglue! I routinely add a tiny drop to the bases of split tails and hackles on my dry flies. You should also keep gel (often called gap-filling) glue on hand; it is especially handy when tying with foam.

A bodkin cleaner is no more than an old film canister packed with coarse steel wool. Stab your bodkin into the canister a few times to clean and polish the needle.

Good lighting is important to prevent damaging eyestrain. My tying lamp has an adjustable neck. If you live near an IKEA or a similar bargain home furnishings outlet, you’ll find such a lamp shockingly cheap. Be warned: The switch will wear out in a year or two, at which point you must either buy a new lamp or replace the switch. It took me 20 minutes to rewire my lamp with a new switch that will last for years.

Okay, what’s not in the picture? (Remember, we’re collecting the tools we need, not the tools we want.) First, there’s no bobbin threader. To thread a bobbin, all you have to do is insert the thread in the bottom end of the tube (allow a bit of slack) and suck it through. You also won’t find a whip-finish tool. The most important tools are your hands! The more you depend on them, the better tier you’ll become. It takes just modest effort to learn to tie a head knot by hand, and far less to finish a fly with a series of simple half hitch knots and drop of cement.

The Better to Clip With

You should have two good pairs of scissors, plus a sacrificial pair. If possible, inspect and purchase scissors in person. Check for smooth, tight action, and pay special attention to the thickness of the blades at the tips. There will be variation between scissors, even from the same manufacturer. Look at scissors not from the side but from the tip end. The finer (or thinner) the tips, the closer they will trim.

Finger-hole size is also important. Scissors must feel comfortable; you’ll be using them a lot. Look at the difference between the two pairs at lower right. Even though the pair on top has fabulous blades, the narrow holes and sharp edges made them far too annoying to use.

Fine scissors should be small bladed. They’re meant for general-purpose work, most of which is delicate. Respect them! Don’t try cutting heavy, hard, or bulky materials with them, and never, ever use them on foam. Some tiers prefer slightly curved blades, but I find straight blades more convenient. I’ve used this pair marketed by Tiemco (lower left) for several years.

Heavy scissors, like the flashy pair seen in the  middle (made by Dr. Slick), are meant for clipping or trimming coarse hair, monofilament, ribbing wire, and other materials that would dull fine scissors. They should have slightly larger, straight, serrated blades. I can’t stress that last attribute enough. Serrated scissors grip material marvelously, and I guarantee you’ll be glad for it.

Use sacrificial scissors (at the top) to cut foam or anything else. They can be either reassigned tying scissors that have begun to wear out, a cheap pair of sewing scissors, or even a small pair of household scissors. Chances are you already have some that will do!

The post Tools of the Trade appeared first on Fly Tyer.

[by David Klausmeyer]

It’s a common question: Which flies should I learn to tie I first? I typically recommend that a new tier visit his local fly shop and ask the proprietor which three or four patterns catch fish in their local waters. Tell the fellow behind the counter that you want to learn to tie, so you don’t want anything too complicated. Earn your chops making and fishing those patterns. You’ll soon discover the thrill of catching fish with your own flies!

After you’ve learned to tie the flies recommended by your local fly shop, members of your club, or fellows you meet on the river, you’ll want to add more patterns to your fly tying repertoire. Again, concentrate on making flies that catch your local fish; you ll ’ probably discover that you can use some of the materials you already own to tie more than one pattern and thus reduce costs.

I don’t know where you live and fish, but I’d like to suggest adding a few of the following flies to your fly tying to-do list. A couple of the following 15 patterns are fairly obvious; I selected these for raw beginners. The flies then become slightly more complicated, but any tier with a few months of experience at the vise can make them. I wanted the flies to be interesting but not impossible to make.

Their originators tied a few of the flies, and some actually came from my personal fly boxes. Study the photos for materials proportions and work slowly. Select a pat- proportions a tern, and try replicating the fly you see in the photograph. Tie several copies of that fly, and try making all of them look alike. One of the hallmarks of a good tier is that all his flies have the same proportions; when you open his fly box, all the patterns look like little soldiers ready for inspection.

David Klausmeyer is the editor of this magazine. He is also the author of several fly fishing and tying books. His two newest books are 101 Favorite Dry Flies and 101 Favorite Nymphs and Wet Flies (both by Skyhorse Publishing)

1MOHAIR LEECH

Rather than the Woolly Bugger (boring!), I am offering the Mohair Leech (more interesting) as our first fly. This example came from my own fly box; I believe in the pattern and use it on a regular basis. Make a few wraps of heavy wire on the hook shank to add weight, or omit the weight to create a pattern that hovers in the water column. Tie a shaggy body, and pick out some strands of mohair using your bodkin. Tie this simple pattern in black, olive, and purple, and you’ll quickly be catching trout and bass.

The post 15 Trout Flies You Must Tie appeared first on Fly Tyer.

by Loren Elliott

Swinging flies for winter West Coast steelhead is a great thrill. Whether using single-hand or Spey fishing tactics, the goal is the same: feeling that heart-stopping tug at the end of a tight line. In the way, however, lie the inevitable challenges of constantly changing river conditions.

Ostrich Intruder
Front body shank: 55-millimeter Waddington shank.
Stinger hook loop: 25-pound-test wire.
Stinger hook: Gamakatsu Octopus, size 2.
Thread: Red 3/0 (210 denier).
Butt: Blue Angel Hair.
Collars: Turquoise and chartreuse ostrich herl.
Body: Copper Diamond Braid.
Front dubbing ball (behind the front collar): Orange UV Ice Dub

Rain or snowmelt make water levels, temperatures, and clarity all extremely variable during winter and spring months. Checking the flow to see the river running high can become all too familiar. Later in the season, even if the rains hold off, hot days can result in snowmelt that can quickly discolor glacial rivers. If rain or snowmelt does not create tough fishing conditions, an extended period of no rain and little snowmelt can lead to low, clear conditions and subsequently very spooky steelhead.

What’s the bottom line? During the winter and early spring, West Coast steelhead rivers are often not at optimal flows, and a successful angler adapts to a wide array of fishing conditions.

A significant part of successful winter and spring steelheading is choosing the right flies. I organize my flies according to fishing conditions because the shape of the river largely dictates a steelhead’s mood and what it will grab. Although many variables must be taken into account, and there are no hard and fast rules when selecting the right flies, my choice typically boils down to two basic styles of patterns: I have a “dirty water” fly box and a “clear water” fly box. The dirty-water box contains patterns that are larger, flashier, and heavier; the clear-water box is filled with flies that are smaller, less flashy, and lighter in weight.

THE DIRTY-WATER FLY BOX

Most of my dirty-water flies are specifically designed for fishing in low-visibility conditions. Two things happen when the water is off-color. First, steelhead are less finicky because they feel less vulnerable. Second, they have to struggle to find a fly if its physical and visual presence is not adequate to attract attention. Oftentimes, the gaudier the pattern, the better, which makes tying these flies a lot of fun. Dumbbell eyes are a welcome addition for fishing deeper runs where flies that do not sink to the fish will go unnoticed. These patterns are a great opportunity to explore your creative side.

MOAL Leech
Front body shank: Gamakatsu T10-3H cut at the bend.
Hook: Gamakatsu Octopus, size 4.
Hook connection: 20-pound-test Dacron.
Thread: Purple 3/0 (210 denier).
Body: Purple crosscut Zonker strip wrapped on the hook connection and front shank.

The Ostrich Intruder is one of my all-time favorites for fishing muddy or glacially silted waters. Because of its enormous profile, I have confidence that fish will sense it with their lateral lines even if visibility is extremely limited. Its creation is credited to Scott Howell and Ed Ward, two of the most respected steelhead anglers in the Pacific Northwest. Known for their roles in pioneering the Skagit style of Spey fishing, they helped to revolutionize winter steelheading. With Skagit casting, it became possible to throw heavy sinking tips and monster flies like never before. Many of the flies I fish when the water is high and off-color would be practically unusable without the power of a line with a Skagit head. Howell found inspiration for the first Ostrich Intruder variant in a pattern Ward was tying for catching king salmon in Alaska. The concept was to create as large a profile as possible using a minimum of materials; he wanted a pattern with a truly gigantic underwater silhouette that was still possible to cast—at least with a Skagit head.

He wrapped feathers in front a ball of dubbing, chenille, or deer hair to make them stand up and flare out. Using fewer materials makes a fly that casts easier and sinks faster, allowing an angler to fish a pattern larger than ever before. Different feathers were used in the evolution of the Intruder, but ostrich herl is a favorite because of its long fibers and incredible movement in the water.

The MOAL Leech, another killer winter steelhead fly, is the brainchild of angler Derek Fergus. Bunny-strip leeches, usually tied in the string-leech style with one or two rabbit strips secured to a long-shank hook, have been around for a long time. Because of the way rabbit breathes in the water, it looks alive even when just dangling in the current. Fergus wanted to maximize this quality by creating a pattern that had more freedom of movement. The MOAL Leech accomplishes this by wrapping the rabbit strip around a length of gel-spun or Dacron fly-line backing instead of just the hook shank. This makes an extremely flexible design that undulates in the water. Because of the design, it has a larger profile than a string leech, adding to its effectiveness in low visibility fishing conditions.

Squidrow
Front body shank: 35-millimeter Waddington shank.
Stinger hook loop: 30-pound-test Dacron.
Stinger hook: Gamakatsu Octopus, size 2.
Thread: Red 3/0 (210 denier).
Weight: Silver dumbbell.
Body: Gold Diamond Braid and purple UV Ice Dub.
Collars: Pink/purple Sili Legs.

The Squidrow, created by Skagit pioneer Scott Howell, is a great dirty-water fly. True to its name, this pattern is designed to look like a squid, one of a steelhead’s primary food sources in the ocean. This gets at the “instinct” tactic behind some steelhead fly designs, roughly imitating oceanic forage that might elicit an instinctual response borne out of life-long habit.

This fly is derived from Howell’s Ostrich Intruder, but it is tied with rubber legs. You can use a wide variety of legs, from ones with hot-tipped fluorescent ends to legs containing flashy, shiny flecks. The legs come alive when swinging through the current, and they don’t soak up water like many natural materials. You can fish a Squidrow with a stinger hook an entire season before having to replace the hook; you might swap hooks after fighting a bunch of fish or hitting several rocks, but it takes more than a couple of tussles to chew this fly into retirement.

Much like the Ostrich Intruder, the Squidrow has a large profile to push water and stand out when visibility is low, but it requires minimal materials. This makes it easy to cast. The Squidrow is a radical departure from traditional swinging flies of the last century. Although traditionalists might turn their noses up at it for looking more like a bass spinner bait than like a classic Spey fly, there is no denying that the Squidrow is a deadly winter steelhead pattern, and it always has a place in my dirtywater box.

The post Best Guide Flies for Winter Steelheading appeared first on Fly Tyer.

by Ed Shenk

THE FLIES WE USE FOR FALL FISHING in spring creeks are the same ones we used in late summer, with a few additions. My favorite local streams in south-central Pennsylvania are the LeTort, Falling Spring, the outlet of Children’s Lake in Boiling Springs, and Big Spring near Newville. I also fish Spring Creek near State College.

My favorite autumn streamer flies are the Shenk White Minnow and Shenk Sculpin, both in black or olive. I also use a Woolly Bugger and a small white marabou streamer. My nymphs include the Cress Bug and a mink-fur nymph that suggests a shrimp. My top dry flies are the LeTort Hopper, LeTort Cricket, and Poly-Wing Trico.  Early in the fall when the ants mate and grow wings, I fish a black ant with a tuft of cul de canard and a smaller cinnamon ant with the same type of wing. In addition to these flies, I carry the Adams and Joe Humphrey’s Flying Beetle.

Fishing Streamers

Cast a streamer upstream and retrieve with short, bouncy strokes. The White Minnow suggests a dead or dying minnow; fish it with a dead drift and slight twitches to simulate a dying baitfish. Trout always seem to be looking for dying minnows. I once landed a large rainbow trout at Big Spring that spat up a dead white sculpin. I picked up the dead fish and tossed it six feet into the stream, and it was immediately inhaled by a monster brown trout. I took my largest LeTort brown trout, a 30 ¼-inch male, in a steady rain when he sucked in what he thought was an almost-dead White Minnow. Fish a little White Marabou like a standard wet fly, across or down-and-across stream with twitches as it swings through the water.

Trout always seem to be looking for dying minnows. I once landed a large rainbow trout at Big Spring that spat up a dead white sculpin

I use dry flies meet different situations. Cast the Poly-Wing Trico to rising trout. The male Trico hatches at night; I’ve seen them all over the screen door on my motor home on numerous western trips. In the morning, as the temperature rises, the females hatch and fly in droves above the water’s surface, where they mate with the males. In the late morning in the fall, they descend and cover the water. Trout sip the floating insects rhythmically. Time the rises and present your fly a foot or so ahead of a rising fish; time the drift to meet the next rise. Do not cast the leader over the fish; your position should be to the side of the rising trout. The drift must be timed perfectly; it often takes numerous casts before your fly meets the open mouth of the fish.

Terrestrials for Autumn Fishing Success

Cast the Jassid to sipping trout, dropping it a foot or so upstream so the fly drifts to the fish. If the fish doesn’t strike, recast the fly and try again. There is no need for a long drag-free float; that’s a waste of time.

Use the Beetle, Cricket, and Hopper when the fish are not rising. You might also want to cast one of these patterns to trout rising to Tricos or midges; I’ve done this successfully many times. Otherwise, cast these patterns so that they land with a plop.

Cast terrestrials along the bank, near logs, or any other place you feel there should be lurking fish. Do not make more than one or two casts to any location. There are times, however, when a longer drift is effective, such as when casting broadside to a nice run. As drag sets in, lift the rod so the fly twitches on the surface, then lower the rod tip so the fly floats freely again. This extra motion of a struggling insect will trigger an explosive rise.

The Adams and Humphrey’s Flying Beetle are searching patterns. Cast them perpendicular to the drifting current. Twitching and lowering your rod tip works well, but in all cases follow the drift with the movement of the rod; as soon as the fly hits the water, begin moving your rod to match the speed of the current.

How to Fish the Cress Bug and Shrimp

Drift the Cress Bug and Shrimp into the face of trout that are visible but lying deeper in the water. Cast the fly upstream of the fish and let it drop to the depth of the trout. I sometimes drift the Cress Bug adjacent to undercut banks or the edges of weed beds when I don’t see the fish, and I select a slightly larger pattern. Sometimes, when the water is clouded from rain, the shrimp seem to line up along the edge of the stream; under these conditions I choose a shrimp imitation. Let the fly swing into the edge and retrieve it back upstream tight against the bank in a jerking manner.

One other idea comes to mind: with no visible insects on the water, check streamside spider webs for trapped insects. This is often key to understanding what has been available to the fish. Try matching what you find in the spider web.

There is more than one way to skin this autumn fly-fishing cat. Don’t be a slave to one technique, but vary your methods to suit the conditions. I must point out that I do not fish to brown trout while they are on their spawning beds. Once they are hooked and played, some of these fish fail to return to those beds, so please leave them alone.

Ed Shenk has been fishing and tying flies for more than 50 years. Ed still ties a few flies commercially, and he freely shares what he has learned over the decades. Ed is a living legend among fly fishers, and we are proud that he is a member of the Fly Tyer family.

Fly Box

Woolly Bugger

Hook: 3X- or 4X-long streamer hook, size 10 or 8.
Thread: Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: Black marabou.
Body: Black chenille.
Hackle: Grizzly.

Shenk Sculpin (Black)

Hook: 3X- or 4X-long streamer hook, size 10 or 8.
Thread: Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: Black marabou.
Body: Black sculpin wool.
Head: Black deer hair.

Shenk Sculpin (Olive)

Hook: 3X- or 4X-long streamer hook, size 10 or 8.
Thread: Olive 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: Olive marabou.
Body: Olive sculpin wool.
Head: Olive deer hair.

Shenk Sculpin (White)

Hook: 3X- or 4X-long streamer hook, size 10 or 8.
Thread: White 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: White marabou.
Body: White sculpin wool.
Head: White deer hair.

White Marabou

Hook: 3X-long streamer hook, size 12 or 10.
Thread: Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Body: Flat or embossed silver tinsel.
Throat: Small patch of red feather.
Wing: White marabou and three strands of peacock herl.

Joe Humphrey’s Flying Beetle

Hook: Dry-fly hook, size 14.
Thread: Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: Brown deer tail.
Underbody: Tan Superfine Dubbing.
Body: Deer hair.
Hackle: Mixed brown and grizzly.

Harvey Beetle

Hook: Dry-fly hook, sizes 16 or 14.
Thread: Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Body: Black deer hair.

Cress Bug

Hook: Mustad 3906B, size 12.
Thread: Gray 6/0 (140 denier).
Body: Muskrat belly fur.

Wingless Adams

Hook: Dry-fly hook, sizes 16 or 14.
Thread: Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: Grizzly hackle fibers.
Body: Gray muskrat or gray dry-fly dubbing.
Hackle: Mixed brown and grizzly.

LeTort Hopper

Hook: 2X-long dry-fly hook, size 14 or 12.
Thread: Yellow 6/0 (140 denier).
Body: Yellow Superfine Dubbing.
Wing: Mottled turkey.
Head and hackle: Tan deer hair.

Shrimp

Hook: Mustad 3906B, size 12.
Thread: Brown 6/0 (140 denier).
Body: Mink fur dubbing with the guard hairs.
Rib: Gold wire.

Jassid

Hook: Dry-fly hook, size 18.
Thread: Black 8/0 (70 denier).
Body: Black Superfine Dubbing.
Hackle: Brown.
Wing: Jungle cock eye feather.

LeTort Cricket

Hook: 2X-long dry-fly hook, size 14 or 12.
Thread: Yellow 6/0 (140 denier).
Body: Black Superfine Dubbing.
Wing: Black crow, or turkey wing dyed black.
Head and hackle: Black deer belly hair.

Trico Spinner

Hook: Dry-fly hook, sizes 22 and 20.
Thread: Black 14/0.
Tail: Three strands of white bucktail.
Body: Cream Superfine Dubbing (female) or black Superfine dry fly dubbing (male)
Wings: White polypropylene.

Flying Black Ant

Hook: Dry-fly hook, size 18 or 16.
Thread: Black 8/0 (70 denier).
Body: Two clumps of black Superfine Dubbing.
Hackle: Black.
Wing: White cul de canard.

Flying Cinnamon Ant

Hook: Dry-fly hook, size 18 or 16.
Thread: Brown 8/0 (70 denier).
Body: Two clumps of cinnamon Superfine Dubbing.
Hackle: Dark ginger.
Wing: White cul de canard.

Shenk Minnow

Hook: 3X- or 4X-long streamer hook, size 10 or 8.
Thread: Yellow 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: White marabou.
Body: White Sculpin Wool.

The post Eastern Spring Creeks in Autumn appeared first on Fly Tyer.

[by Mark Halperin]

COCKED UPRIGHT ON THE WATER, an extended-body fly rides so naturally, it’s easy to see why a trout would mistake it for a real insect. Even on the dry land of a tabletop, such a fly also succeeds in catching the fly fisher’s eye.

When we’re trying to entice strikes from finicky trout, we often pause and survey our stock of flies with care. After selecting the correct size, how common is it to think of matching the color of the natural insect? We forget that the spectral ranges of fish and human beings differ, but when it comes to shape, fish see what we see: a fat thorax, a tapered abdomen, and splayed tails.

Tiers have traditionally used the rear portion of the hook for tying the tails and abdomen, the front for the thorax, wings, and hackle. The extended-body fly uses the hook only for those last three components. On such a fly, the abdomen is an extension that protrudes from the hook bend, curves up gradually, and thins toward emerging tails. And the extended body offers at least one other advantage: If you’re attaching only an abdomen, you don’t need so much metal for your hook. Think of the weight savings.

Among the many techniques for making extensions, one is better for tying narrower, smaller bodies, and another is more suited for making larger flies. Some extended bodies are delicate, some are stiff, and others are flexible. They appear more lifelike than flies with abdomens tied using the hook as a base.

Why aren’t all dry flies tied with extended bodies? Tradition may have something to do with it. Then there are trade-offs such as appearance for durability; a body tied on the hook shank might create a stronger fly. Finally, constructing such a fly seems more time consuming, and handling it requires additional care. Despite the challenges, I think more tiers would try making extended bodies if they better understood the process.

Buying a premade extended body is the simplest way to tie this style of pattern. Look for Tube Bodiz, available through such distributors as Rainy’s, and X-Bodies, made by the Montana Fly Company. Both products come in a wide range of sizes and colors. In addition to mayfly bodies, these companies make bodies for constructing adult caddisflies, stoneflies, and even nymphs. One manufacturer describes them as “quick and easy to use” and claims that its products result in “a realistic-looking fly that is very durable.” Most of us, however, would rather make our own.

A stock of needles is the only equipment you’ll need. It’s handy to have several different sizes; you can purchase inexpensive variety packets of needles at your local craft store. Your vise will hold a needle most securely if you first put a 90-degree bend in it just past the eye. Heat the area you will bend with a lighter, and bend the needle using pliers or hemostats.

And finally, a word about hooks: short-shank hooks are the best choice because there is no need for space to tie abdomens. You can use regular hooks, but the extensions will be partially masked by the longer shanks.

Varieties of Extended Bodies

One of the simplest extended bodies is made using a flank feather. The feather should suggest the color of the natural insect. Bear in mind that a mayfly is lighter on the bottom than on the top. This type of extension is relatively flat when viewed from the side, but it looks fine from underneath. This technique is best suited for making small, lightweight extensions.

Making a Flank-Feather Extended Body

Make the largest extended bodies using wrapped deer hair. Some of the earliest extended-bodied flies were Hexagenia mayfly imitations. Deer hair is buoyant and, with a little practice, easy to use. This buoyancy and the relative stiffness of the extensions also make them ideal for tying smaller flies for fishing rough water.

Hair-Extension Extended Body

I considered leaving furled extended bodies out of this article because of the difficulties I encountered when adding tails to them. None of the patterns in Ken Hanley’s book, Tying Furled Flies, have extended bodies. Ian Mouter, in his book, Tying Paraloop Flies, and Darrel Martin’s Fly Tying Methods offer methods for adding tails, but I was unable to duplicate their results. But the ease of making a flexible furled abdomen made me continue experimenting until I came up with a comfortable way of adding tails.

Making a Furled Extended Body

Porcupine quills (American, not African, quills) make fine semirigid extended bodies. They are the right diameter for crafting abdomens for flies in sizes 20 to 12. Quills don’t absorb water, and their taper creates an exceptionally lifelike appearance. They are also very lightweight.

Making the Semirigid Extension

Making extended bodies using dubbing and glue is a relatively new method. This technique requires using a waxed needle placed in your vise. Wrap dubbed thread on the needle, and coat the dubbing with cement. In one of his fly tying videos, Norm Norlander, the inventor of the Norm Vise, demonstrates a variation that eliminates the thread, but you must have a vise that is capable of spinning. (To see all of Norm’s Norlander’s great instructional videos, search www.youtube.com.) Norlander touches some loosely gathered dubbing to a rapidly rotating waxed needle. The dubbing wraps around the needle to form a tapered abdomen. Norm coats the dubbing with cement and later removes the body from the needle.

Making a Glued-Body Extension

There are other ways to construct extended mayfly bodies; no doubt some are closely guarded secrets. This survey covers the basics and will get you started.

Mark Halperin is a talented tier and regular contributor to this magazine; his name has appeared in these pages many times. Mark lives in Washington State.

The post Tying Extended Bodies appeared first on Fly Tyer.

Here we are breaking down Thread Control into its simplest form – Constant Tension. Whether the goal is maximum pressure, or tying as light as possible, constant tension must be kept on the thread through a smooth and circular bobbin path.

Aside from the circular pathway, this video focuses on the bobbin design and how to manipulate thread tension for the desired effect.

The post Thread Control – Controlling Thread Tension appeared first on Fly Tyer.

The post Hook Basics – Hook Sizes appeared first on Fly Tyer.

[by Mike Hogue]

FOR MANY YEARS, MY FATHER AND I FISHED TOGETHER in Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri. Roaring River State Park, locate din the Tom Sawyer National Forest, was one of our favorite places to visit. The Roaring River is one of Missouri’s infamous “trout parks” in which you buy a daily tag to fish, and the number of trout that are stocked is based upon prior tag sales.

We really learned to love this place when we discovered that following a holiday weekend, up to 10,000 fish might be stocked in a single day. While I am not a fan of stocked fish, it gave us a thrill to sight-cast to fish in the clear spring waters.

One of my father’s favorite patterns evolved out of a very simple fly that was sold in Roaring River Lodge. My father is a bit of an old fox, and he has humbled a fair number of very accomplished anglers by using their flies and tackle to catch very large fish when no one else could.

Usually, when we fished the Roaring River, he’d begin by asking, “Give me one of those black-and-yellow things—something I can see.” If he’d break the fly off on a fish, he would run up to the lodge and buy a few more streamers.

Those streamers were really nothing more than a few clumps of marabou twisted around the hook, and I thought they were actually were a little crude. I later discovered that these simple marabou-winged streamers are actually a very traditional, old pattern that has been used in the Ozarks for generations.

Many of the guides in this region used this type of pattern in local waters to catch native smallmouth bass long before trout were stocked. The pattern has great motion when cast down-and-across stream; pausing and then stripping the fly, will make it dance and pulse in the water, causing fish to strike.

After several trips, I began anticipating my father’s need for these flies and started dressing them up a bit. The artist inside me couldn’t make a crudely tied fly, so I adapted several ideas from old New England streamer and salmon patterns. After experimenting, I discovered the wonders of a stacked-wing marabou fly.

Tying Mike’s Ozark Marabou Streamer

More than Marabou

You can use this tying technique on almost any bucktail streamer to create a fresh pattern with traditional designs. Flies like Dace, Shiners, and other meaty fare take on a whole new look with layered wings; the ingredients are inexpensive, easy to locate, and don’t require much skill to use once you’ve learned how to manage and work with the material.

The hardest part in building this fly is selecting the correct materials. I use blood marabou; it comes in packages at your local fly shop. The tips must be straight and the ends clean with no chips, bumps, or twisted edges. Ideally, the feathers have very thin stems. When sorting through marabou, maybe 20 to 30 percent of the package is usable. Select the straight feathers with even tips; save the remaining feathers for tying other flies.

I tie the wing using the exact center of the feather. Hold the feather by the tip, and stroke the fibers down. (I sometimes lick my fingers and then stroke the fibers.) Pinch off the excess base fibers before tying the wing to reduce bulk and make a slim, professional-looking thread head.

Mike Hogue owns a fly tying outfit called Badger Creek Fly Tying. He lives in Upstate New York in a 200-year-old restored farmhouse with his wife and collection of cats, dogs, and birds. You can find Mike on the Internet at www.eflytyer.com.

The post The Ozark Mountain Streamer appeared first on Fly Tyer.

Enjoy!

(from Orvis)

This week, the main part of the podcast is a long interview with Dave Klausmeyer, editor of Fly Tyer Magazine. He talks about his Golden Rules of Fly Tying and then also gives his 10 Cannot-Do-Without natural and synthetic materials. If you keep count, you will find that Klausmeyer is even worse at addition than I am.

In The Fly Box, we ramble from fishing soft hackles to checking fly lines and backing for damage. There are also a couple questions about finding big rainbow trout feeding in still, shallow water. And we have a couple great lists of suggestions from listeners—one on ways to carry a second rod when wading; the other on “suggestions for a novice from a kinda novice.” If I keep getting great responses like this from listeners, I can let them take over the whole podcast.

Click here to listen

The post A Throwback Orvis Podcast with Dave Klausmeyer appeared first on Fly Tyer.

Here’s another tip for tying a very small head on a dry fly, and get this: We wrap the collar using two hackles. It’s so easy, we are almost ashamed to share it. The key word is almost. Who said fly tying tips have to be hard?

Have you ever noticed that some flies tied with a mix of grizzly and brown hackles do not always look consistent? In some cases, the brown almost drowns out the grizzly, while in others the colors look more even. Here are a couple of tricks we use so all our flies with mixed hackles look the same.

The post Tips for Hackling Dry Flies appeared first on Fly Tyer.