You asked for it!

[Green Hornet 0]

Beginners Corner...post your ugly flies here....OK!

I have been tying a lot of simple Clousers. My first fish on a fly was on one(a Puffer fish of all things!), store bought as was the first fish I caught on one I tied myself(LM Bass). Quite a rush. I had the simplest of tools, my daughter bought me a starter kit as a gift. I fish both fresh and salt and fell into some easy flies. The black spider has been a good item. I have gotton a bunch of Bluegill on that one. The foam dragonfly came to be when I was casting the spider this summer and noticed almost every time I pitched it out a red dragonfly would buzz it. The surrounding fish seemed more interested in that than my fly, until it flew off. Hmmm....give em what they want!

The other set is the saltwater flies that work well in the Indian River Lagoon.

The final 3 flies are something I wanted to try, to ramp things up a bit. I had been offered a whole pile of supplies from an guy that bought 10x whatever he needed when he started fly tying. I sorted through the stuff and found some cards that had some neat flies and materials, but no real instructions to follow. I had the materials listed and thought this might actually be a good warmwater fky here. So here is my version of it.

[Bryan Wright 0]

You have had a great progession of flies there. Nice start with the simple stuff and the more difficult ones look good too. Keep it up and post lots of pics.

[Mr. Vegas 0]

Good job! The more you tie the better you will get. I would suggest getting on youtube and see how other tie the patterns you like and tie with them. You would be amazed how much of a better tier you will become cause you can mimic what the tier does.

[Green Hornet 0]

Good advice Mr Vegas! Thusfar my fly tying has been buy and fish with a store bought. If I like it I try to figure out the steps it took. Like reverse engineering it. I tried one today, a little minnow, and when I was almost done with the body and head, I realized I forgot to figure out the tail!

I like your idea better....less headaches that way!

[Voodoo 0]

great first few flies! what size thread are u using? Its looks thick, i would recommend 6/8 to 8/0. I use these 2 for 98% of my stuff.

[Mr. Vegas 0]

Good advice Mr Vegas! Thusfar my fly tying has been buy and fish with a store bought. If I like it I try to figure out the steps it took. Like reverse engineering it. I tried one today, a little minnow, and when I was almost done with the body and head, I realized I forgot to figure out the tail!

I like your idea better....less headaches that way!

I have only been tying for 5 months and I have progressed a lot. Mostly because of this site and youtube. I have never in person seen another person tie and I am very visual so youtube was a great learning tool.

 

Keep tying!

[Team Fnish 0]

They all look pretty awsome! The streamers really grabbed my attention. I like them. Keep up the good work.

 

:thumbsup:

[mike15851 0]

keep them and compare them to your flies in 6 months then a year and every 6 months to see how far you come and remember where you started.

[Mr. Vegas 0]

^^^ That is what I am doing. I keep my very first fly always on my desk so I can look at it

[Chris Patterson 0]

Yep, those look great to me. Absolutely a solid start :thumbup:

[Hairstacker 0]

Green hornet, looks like you've been having fun, good for you!

 

As a beginning tyer, there are certain basic, fundamental aspects of tying that you want to pay particular attention to and master in order to progress quickly. Unless you have someone who can show you the ropes, so to speak, I highly recommend you obtain an excellent book like Skip Morris' "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple." Youtube videos are great for established tyers who are merely trying to verify the sequence of steps necessary to tie a certain fly but most of these videos don't give the specific, detailed instruction that a beginning tyer really should have to develop basic material handling and thread control skills.

 

Moreover, it is probably more useful to stick with one pattern and tie it at least a dozen or more times before moving on to the next fly pattern. In other words, master the fly pattern and strive to tie it as well as anyone else does before moving on. The point is not just to be able to tie a certain pattern perfectly; rather, it is to force yourself to master the techniques and thread control necessary to duplicate the fly rather than just blow by these skills. The book I mentioned above is extremely detailed and addresses these things while teaching you to tie a dozen or so useful fly patterns.

 

Anyway, as you tie flies, pay particular attention to where you're supposed to tie on to the hook, where you attach materials on to the hook, etc. Strive for economy of wraps (e.g., don't do 4 thread wraps if 3 will do, etc.), avoid crowding the hook eye, and pay constant and critical attention to proper proportions -- i.e., is the tail the right thickness and length? How about the wing? etc. Developing an eye for proper proportions is a critically important beginning skill. Once you have mastered this aspect, by all means vary the proportions on a fly as you deem warranted. But in the beginning, stick with generally accepted proportions so you master the skill and ability to duplicate them.

 

As you tie each part of the fly, stop, look it over -- if the tail is supposed to be equal to the length of the hook shank, for example, is it? If not, unwind, and re-do until it is. If you do this for each part as you go, your flies will improve dramatically -- it's perfect parts that make up a perfect fly and it's not simply practice that will make you a better tyer quickly, but rather perfect practice.

 

I noticed it appears you're using what looks to be about a 4x-long streamer hook for all of your ties. Although it isn't necessary to have the exact hook model for every pattern you attempt, you should consider building up an inventory of at least a basic variety of hook styles so that you can select hooks more appropriate for the flies you attempt. For example, Clousers are typically tied on much shorter hooks.

 

Anyway, just trying to be helpful.

 

-- Mike

[notenuftoys 0]

keep them and compare them to your flies in 6 months then a year and every 6 months to see how far you come and remember where you started.

 

I agree. I started tying at the beginning of 2010, and a couple of months ago went back through one of my boxes, and marveled at how... well... bad the flies looked. It was a "really, did I tie that?" moment. So I stripped everything off and stuck the hooks back in the box!

 

Hairstacker's advice on proportion is spot-on. I read that here shortly after joining, and it really makes a big difference. If you have store bought flies, closely examine them to see how long the tails are, how thick the dubbing is, how much thread head there is, etc. That and watching youtube videos has made a big, big difference for me.

[Mr. Vegas 0]

Green hornet, looks like you've been having fun, good for you!

 

As a beginning tyer, there are certain basic, fundamental aspects of tying that you want to pay particular attention to and master in order to progress quickly. Unless you have someone who can show you the ropes, so to speak, I highly recommend you obtain an excellent book like Skip Morris' "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple." Youtube videos are great for established tyers who are merely trying to verify the sequence of steps necessary to tie a certain fly but most of these videos don't give the specific, detailed instruction that a beginning tyer really should have to develop basic material handling and thread control skills.

 

Moreover, it is probably more useful to stick with one pattern and tie it at least a dozen or more times before moving on to the next fly pattern. In other words, master the fly pattern and strive to tie it as well as anyone else does before moving on. The point is not just to be able to tie a certain pattern perfectly; rather, it is to force yourself to master the techniques and thread control necessary to duplicate the fly rather than just blow by these skills. The book I mentioned above is extremely detailed and addresses these things while teaching you to tie a dozen or so useful fly patterns.

 

Anyway, as you tie flies, pay particular attention to where you're supposed to tie on to the hook, where you attach materials on to the hook, etc. Strive for economy of wraps (e.g., don't do 4 thread wraps if 3 will do, etc.), avoid crowding the hook eye, and pay constant and critical attention to proper proportions -- i.e., is the tail the right thickness and length? How about the wing? etc. Developing an eye for proper proportions is a critically important beginning skill. Once you have mastered this aspect, by all means vary the proportions on a fly as you deem warranted. But in the beginning, stick with generally accepted proportions so you master the skill and ability to duplicate them.

 

As you tie each part of the fly, stop, look it over -- if the tail is supposed to be equal to the length of the hook shank, for example, is it? If not, unwind, and re-do until it is. If you do this for each part as you go, your flies will improve dramatically -- it's perfect parts that make up a perfect fly and it's not simply practice that will make you a better tyer quickly, but rather perfect practice.

 

I noticed it appears you're using what looks to be about a 4x-long streamer hook for all of your ties. Although it isn't necessary to have the exact hook model for every pattern you attempt, you should consider building up an inventory of at least a basic variety of hook styles so that you can select hooks more appropriate for the flies you attempt. For example, Clousers are typically tied on much shorter hooks.

 

Anyway, just trying to be helpful.

 

-- Mike

 

This will be the best advice you will get ^^^^^^

[Green Hornet 0]

WOW Mr Vegas, you are not kidding!

Thanks for that insight Hairstaker.

You nailed a couple of the problems I was facing with too many wraps and hook sizes. I did not want the things to come loose on the first cast so I prolly over did things in that respect. The hooks I bought in bulk. I have a lot of toothy critters here and figured that would work the best. So I can tie most fairly far back on the hook so I do not have to mess with wire leader.

Your points are well taken and I think I am going to make a copy of it and keep it near the vise!

[perchjerker 0]

A couple of quick 'critiques'.

 

The length of both colors of deer hair on a Clouser should be equal. The colors are not of an even length on any of these. Remember, you are representing the 'basic' colors of both the belly and the back of a baitfish; and they are more or less the same length on most baitfish.

 

You clearly have crowded the head on your Edson tigers, with perhaps an exception for the last one. There are a couple of primary causes for this: 10 using too large thread; and, 2) tying in materials too close behind the eye. you should always leave at least one hook-eye length of the shank behind the eye clear to form the head. Anything tied in closer to the eye than this will cause crowding, such as you have.

 

Don't fret; every beginning tier makes the very same mistakes. Trust me! I have been involved with teaching some 200 beginners during the past 12 years. You definitely are off to a good start. ( I have had a couple down through the years who couldn't even tie their shoe laces!)

 

perchjerker