Tying your own flies is one of the best parts of fly fishing, and you can take it from us. You can always opt to buy them pre-tied at your nearby store, but as it is with many other things, you can tie them on your own and make them look even closer to the real thing.
Fly tying may seem challenging but it really isn’t too hard at all. All you need are a few easy to find items such as scissors, pliers, a fly vice and some thread. However, you should only use the best equipment as this could determine whether you will come up with a work of art or a piece of rubbish. You want to make your flies resemble the flies that fish eat as their primary food source.
You can find supplies for tying in various places. Aside from the three basic tools mentioned, below are a few other items you may be needing:
Different types and sizes of hooks Different colors and gauges of thread Animal fur – mink or fox is preferable Feathers from birds like peacocks or pheasants Cement
Precision is the key to accurate fly tying. Have a real-life picture of the fly you are trying to mimic when preparing to tie your flies. You can go online or take the picture from a book – regardless of your choice, precision in mimicking the look and feel of these food sources is important. Use the picture as a reference and use the necessary materials to make sure you get things right.
The operative word in this process is “as you go” – keep this in mind when adding fur and feathers to the thread you have wrapped around your hook. “As you go” will also apply to how you add the materials until you have accurately duplicated the real fly’s look and feel. 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. But if you’re a novice to the wonderful sport of fly fishing, you’ll want to start with the prefab flies you can buy at the store, but if you are fairly experience, you can definitely try different lures and even make your own.
Tying your own flies can be a great way to bring you more and more into the fly fishing experience. Since a lot of patience is needed, as well as precision, this technique may not be suited for everybody. If you’re up to it, though, your dedication will be rewarded as you acquire a new hobby of your own while getting more out of fly fishing than you ever have!
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