pnptrapp

The green is Master Bright? According to the label it's a type of dubbing? Is that correct?

Got the book "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple" by Skip Morris. So glad I did! This is the first fly in his book that he calls a Rick's Caddis. It's tied on a size 14 hook. Not sure the brand, or length or type as it wasn't labeled in the kit I got, but I think it looks pretty good for a first attempt. Please let me know what you think!

Wow! I learned a lot from the replies. Let me paraphrase to make sure I understand correctly. Typically tails are used in the streamers, such as the clouser minnow. These should have 1/8 to a 1/4 of the thickness of a pencil as a reference for the amount of a bundle. Body hair is used for stacking, or clipped hair bodies, and you should use about a pencil thickness for these, as a starting point. Figuring out how much I can handle. I am talking about buck tails right now as I have been working on getting some nice Lefty and Clouser flies tied as Christmas gifts. But I'm glad that you guys told me about the body hair for the clipped hair bodies as that was something I was also interested in. (isn't that what you use to make the egg flies?) So this also bring up another question then. When you're talking about stacking hair for spinning, what's the difference between that and stacking the hair for a streamer?

Just curious how many do use egg patterns to fish with?

Welcome. They are a good bunch here! I can attest to that as they've helped me get started and learn things in the few weeks I've been a member!

One of the problems I"m having is trying to decide just how much hair to clip off my deer tail in one bundle. It's hard to tell just how much hair the person tying in the videos is using and I always seem to either get way too much or not nearly enough. Are there any tips or tricks that can help remedy this?

Crackaig, That makes a lot of sense! Bugsy thanks for posting the video. I think I'll have to give that a try and see what happens!

I think for me and our dog Star it's going to be a lifelong challenge to keep her out. She's my husband's hunting dog, so all of the stuff I use to tie flies with is stuff that is very similar to what we use to train her to hunt with. I'll just have to be more vigilant on keep my stuff put away and out of reach. As for the nit comb is that something you use to comb out the under hairs? Why do you use one if not? Why do you base which stacker you use on the length of the hair? I would assume it would be based on the thickness of the bundle you were trying to stack. Thanks for the ideas and help!

You beat me to it. Another I like is David Cammiss.

Holy Cow. I had no idea there was so much to think about for a Christmas present. I think I'll browse the suggested patterns and tie the ones that I like the looks of best, and that I think I can make a good fly of. I'll also through in one or two that maybe I might find challenging just to keep things fun! Is there anyone out there who fishes in the Yellowstone area? that would be the most likely area he'll be fishing.

Sorry I haven't responded yet. Crackaig, I do look at all my flies that way. I'm an older "student" so have long since learned that often times when you think you are learning one thing you end up learning a lot more than you bargained for! The title was a play on words. I do appreciate the feedback. I do not have a hair stacker, although I hope to remedy that this upcoming weekend, and need to get better materials to really be able to learn to manipulate them the way I want. It's a slow process and I wish I had found this site earlier. I would've started my fly tying stash a lot differently, and focused more on tools rather than what would give me the most materials and tools in one go. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to fish this fly as my dog ate everything off it but the hook. I guess that's what I get for leaving feathers down around a lab. I'm just glad she didn't eat the hook as well. When I get an opportunity to I'll tie another and post it on here to see if I've made any improvement!

What size hook is it tied on? What kind of hook?

Nope me too! It's happened a couple different days. I notice that it happens more often the later, or earlier I'm on the site browsing.

I really like it! Gives me ideas to make my own!

So I decided to try a new pattern today. Was pretty excited to try the Lefty deceiver. Found a how to on here and also found a good slow video on you tube. Apparently it wasn't slow enough. . . after I "finished" the fly I realized I forgot to wrap the middle of the hook shank with the braid! Oh well I guess we'll see just how important that step was. Here's a couple pics. Please let me know what ya think.

thanks!

I have some materials that were in the kit I got. The pink and red fuzzy stuff was labeled as "Body Fur" and the brown rubbery stuff is labeled "Body Stretch". I've done searches using both those terms but still haven't been able to figure out what they would be used for? I've included pictures of both. I really wish there would've been a list included telling the names and descriptions of the products and what the most common uses are for the materials. In lieu of that, I'm so glad I found this forum and all the helpful people on here.

Thanks for all the replies. I've never fished for trout outside of a hatchery, and that's been many, many moons ago. I had no idea there were so many different types. I'm getting excited to try tying some of the flies mentioned here and see how they do next year. I'll post pics if my brother-in-law catches anything! (if he doesn't it won't be because of my flies ) Please keep the information and ideas coming. I'm learning so much.

thanks. looking those patterns up now. any more ideas?

Every year in my family we draw names for Christmas and this year I got my brother-in-law who was very excited as he learned I've started tying flies. That's what he's asked for Christmas. When I asked what kind of flies do you want, he responded with "the kind that catch brookies." I know brookies are small trout. But what things should I be aware of when trying to tie flies for them? He lives in Wyoming and fishes all over the state and Idaho and Utah as well. What size hook should I be using for his flies? Thanks for helping point me in the right direction!

I'm live in Sorento. It's a tiny town that nobody knows about....

Hello. I first posted in the beginner's sections since I hadn't scrolled down far enough to find this one! So I guess I should introduce myself. I've always been fascinated with flies. I've always been more of a "caster" than a "fisher". At least that's what my family told me. This year for Father's Day my husband asked for a fly rod, which he received. He tried talking me into using it for a couple weeks, but I kept insisting I was only interested in tying flies for him. Finally he challenged me and now I'm hooked on both tying and fishing! It probably helped that I caught the tiny fish in my profile picture on one of the very first flies I had tied. We live in Illinois and are both learning how to fish the lakes, ponds, streams and rivers near our house. Can't wait to learn as much as I can from everyone on this forum!

Thanks!

Ya I wasn't sure if I was going to be really into tying flies so didn't want to spend a lot of money. The materials that were included seem to be pretty divided. The thread, fur and extras are all seemingly good quality but the feathers, I'm finding after googling, searching here and watching videos are very sub par.

Thanks. We fish for mainly bass and bluegill/crappies, any suggestions on what patterns I can use these in?