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blakejd

Teaching Fly Tying?

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I'm usually a lurker with the occasional comment but I could use some help here. I've been asked to put together a basic fly tying class for a local outdoor recreation facility and knowing some of the guys here teach classes any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm trying to put together a basic format for the class now to base a brief overview powerpoint on as well as integrating videos to highlight the basic techniques. Would anyone be willing to share a bit of knowledge, do's and dont's? Thanks,

 

Josh

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I'm not really an instructor, so take this with a grain of salt and weigh others input more heavily.

 

I have taught a few folks some basic things and helped instruct some similar local classes you are describing. If I was to do a full on class i'd have a curriculum in mind, broadly review it (go over the sylabus so to speak) on day one and then go from there.

 

I'm brainstorming here, so this is not an ordered list... but include things like basic thread skills. Simple stuff like starting thread, wrapping a base on the shank, tying half hitches, whip finishing. Review how you lay material down - for example, putting tail material slightly on your side of the hook shank as you start to wrap so it "rotates" into a nicely centerd spot. Those are simple basic things but would help a new tier a lot over the long haul.

 

I find a lot of basic tying classes I've seen go straight to "heres how you tie a wooly bugger". that's great and good learning... but if you took a lesson and just messed with thread and a few basic things, I think you can tie up a wooly bugger at class 2 wayyyy better and have good skills to build on.

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Start with the bugger for fresh, clouser for salt ....

 

I think any class should start with a heavy over view of materials

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When I but the Angling For Youth Development (AFYD) course together I started by breaking fly tying down into a set of individual skills. These became the "Learning Objectives". Then, once you have them in some kind of order, you can choose patterns aimed at teaching those skills. That way you can do the "Lesson Plans" based on that. Start by looking at the end point. What do you want the students to be able to tie at the end of the course. Break that down so you can see all the things you need to teach them.

When I was taught to teach I was taught to use SMART objectives. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Scaled. Apply this to each part of the course you plan.

Specific- You know what you are trying to get across.

Measurable- Usually this will be that the student demonstrates the skills that you are trying to teach. (I had to do much more for the AFYD course as it was for a national qualification. It involved a course book and a box of flies to be submitted by the student.)

Achievable- If you find that your students don't have a skill needed for a fly you have probably, either got the order or Learning Objectives wrong, or haven't chosen an appropriate pattern.

Realistic- How long do you have and how much can you teach in that time? They will not be producing built wing classic salmon flies in lesson 3

Time Scaled- You do not have as much time as you think! Better to let the students have plenty of time, rather than cram so much in that they can't get through the lesson. Have a few alternate patterns "in your pocket" so the faster ones can tie something different, but develop the same skills.

 

All this seems like a lot of trouble to go to, I'll borrow two sayings from the British Army to answer that.

"To fail to plan is to plan to fail"

"PPPPPPP"

(Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents P%$£ Poor Performance)

It is only a lot of work the first time. Once you have your course, it is really easy to teach it. Do it well, and you'll get to do it again. Also you will give the students a firm foundation.

 

If you want to get in touch for any help in this please feel free.

Cheers,

C.

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I usually work the teaching table at conclaves.

#1 skill to learn is using the bobbin. Thread skills as mentioned above are not intuitive and most tyros will get the bobbin as much as a foot from the hook shank. How to lay down a thread base is the primary skill. How to make a figure 8 pattern around bead chain eyes is important, as is applying materials (see #3 below)

#2 skill to learn is how to use a half-hitch tool (frequently found on the opposite end of a bodkin). This is a perfectly acceptable substitute for a whip finisher, especially if you do a double or triple wound half-hitch.

#3 skill to learn is holding materials against the hook with your off hand while winding thread on the material with your bobbin hand. The pinch method is mandatory for so many materials it is a high priority.

 

The easiest patterns are the easy foam patterns or you can look me up under "Features" at flyanglersonline.com and see several of my patterns listed in my articles as "Easy". If you can get a beginner to just apply foam to a hook and a pair of legs it will catch fish. That's what counts.

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Thread skills and fundamentals of tying are definately first, but pick an easy pattern (San Juan Worm?) so they go home with not only new skills, but maybe a handful of flies as well. This will keep them at the vise between classes, too.

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I've taught a number of beginners' tying classes. I structured it in 4 sessions of two hours each. Session #1 was split 50/50 between Intro to Tools (setting up the vise, mounting the hook, loading the bobbin with thread, basic thread handling, what to do when the thread breaks, scissors, bodkin etc.) and Basic Techniques (basic thread handling, starting the thread on the hook, thread wrapping, half-hitch and whip-finish), parts of the hook and basic terminology.

 

Session 2: caddis larva (green rockworm) - review of basic techniques from Session 1, plus all about dubbing. Easy fly, hard to screw up, confidence builder.

 

Session 3: woolly bugger - mounting materials on top of the shank (demonstrate both "the pinch" and thread torsion technique), wrapping stranded body materials, palmer hackling.

 

Session 4: Elk Hair Caddis - working with smaller hooks, more dubbing practice, ribbing, more palmer hackling, stacking and mounting hair wings

 

For each of the sessions 2-4 where we actually tie a fly, the first hour is spent introducing the fly, what it imitates, how it's fished etc. on PowerPoint, and then having the students watch and follow along in their printed instructions while I tie the entire fly start to finish. After a quick Q&A, they tie the fly on their own with me circulating around, observing and helping as needed. They will moan and groan about this at first because they want to jump right in and go for it, but if you let them do that you'll run yourself ragged trying to give instruction faster than they can make mistakes and answering the same question a hundred times in a row. I taught up to 12 students at a time, and this was the only way to make it go smoothly -- everyone doing the same thing at the same time.

 

I would say it is an absolute must to have some kind of projection system whereby you can project a close-up image of the teacher's vise on a screen, ideally above and behind his tying station. It's the only way the students can see what he's actually doing.

 

That's how I did it. I'm sure others will have different methods. You just have to find what works for you in the particular situation and environment you're teaching in. Good luck!

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Whatever you teach them make sure they go home from the first class with a few flies they've tied or you probably won't see them very often. Take heed to what was written above. I start with a the bobbin and how to tie a jam knot on the bare hook shank. I then go with an easy fly like a dubbed caddis larva so they get the feel of dubbing, and then teach the whip finish. They're pretty pleased with themselves by then and they have a couple flies for their efforts.

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Thanks for the replies everyone. Great points brought up about some specific techniques such and offsetting materials and using the pinch technique to apply materials. Many things I do just as instinct anymore and I am going to have to go back to the basics to be a good instructor. Byron thanks for breaking down how you set up and managed your class. I may have to adopt some of your approach. For now I'm looking at three 3 hour lessons. I'm thinking of starting with 1.5-2 hour overview of what a fly is and represents and the tools. After the initial presentation I would get hands on with basic techniques that I would also have video taped and showing on the big screen in a loop as I go around. I figure I should be able to hit the major stuff in the first day and have everyone a decent san juan worm or two to show for it. For the two following 3 hour sessions I figured I should do almost completely hands on with the multimedia as a helper. I'm thinking I could do a brassie and wooly bugger as a subsurface day and then a griffith gnat and a EHC the 2nd. I'm also thinking of filming each fly so that I can show it and the techniques clearly to everyone before starting. Thanks again and as alway I appreciate suggestions.

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You might also think about keying the lessons to a particular beginner's tying book that they could purchase so they'd have something to review between sessions. I usually teach individuals rather than classes, and recommend that they get one good book on technique (and perhaps a DVD) before they begin. If you don't mind potentially violating copyright law, you could photocopy relevant pages for distribution.

 

I generally recommend Skip Morris's Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple (and the DVD) or Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying. The Morris book has the advantage of being available in paperback, and having a DVD that illustrates the techniques and patterns. Craven's book is more expensive (it seems to be available only in hardback), but goes a lot farther and will be useful to your students for a lot longer.

 

BTW, if you want to get an idea of what great fly-tying instruction is, try to watch Charlie Craven do a demonstration at a show. He breaks down everything into the smallest steps possible, explains exactly why he does everything, and leaves nothing unexplained.

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Here are a few notes from the classes I teach (first class):

  • Brief overview of tools, materials and overall "This is what fly tying is"
  • Start off with quick demo and getting thread tied to hook, followed by whip finish or half-hitch. No flies yet.
  • Have them tie materials to the hook a few times, with each time practicing a whip finish. Cut thread, repeat.
  • Tie a simple brassie chironomid so they have a fly to take home.
  • Time-permitting, we work on the ol' wooly bugger or a simple sow-bug or scud with just dubbing and a wire ribbing.

Keys: Keep it simple, repeat it, help them as they tie. Teach proportion and thread control throughout. A lot of this also depends on the time available and the audience. Just my 2 cents...

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Also - during/after wrapping a thread base...pull the thread until it snaps. Do this with 6/0, 8/0, etc. They need to know where it will break and also that it's OK if it breaks. They'll get a quicker understanding of pulling hard enough and pulling too hard.

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Here are a few notes from the classes I teach (first class):

  • Brief overview of tools, materials and overall "This is what fly tying is"
  • Start off with quick demo and getting thread tied to hook, followed by whip finish or half-hitch. No flies yet.
  • Have them tie materials to the hook a few times, with each time practicing a whip finish. Cut thread, repeat.
  • Tie a simple brassie chironomid so they have a fly to take home.
  • Time-permitting, we work on the ol' wooly bugger or a simple sow-bug or scud with just dubbing and a wire ribbing.
Keys: Keep it simple, repeat it, help them as they tie. Teach proportion and thread control throughout. A lot of this also depends on the time available and the audience. Just my 2 cents...

very good suggestions on how fly tying should be taught

 

Also - during/after wrapping a thread base...pull the thread until it snaps. Do this with 6/0, 8/0, etc. They need to know where it will break and also that it's OK if it breaks. They'll get a quicker understanding of pulling hard enough and pulling too hard.

as said above, teach them that breaking the thread is not the end of the world and is quickly recoverable by simply attaching hackle pliers to the broken thread and reattaching the tying thread. there is no need to strip the hook and start all over.

 

thread management is one of the most important attributes of fly tying.

 

show them the difference on how you can better control the tying thread with just 1 inch of thread from the bobbin tip vs 6 inches of thread from the bobbin tip

 

show them a manual whip finish and a tool made whip finish

 

show them how to start the thread on the hook

 

show them how to untwist the thread to make a ribbon and explain to them why it should be done and what can be accomplished with flat thread

 

explain to them the differences in fly tying thread vs grannies sewing thread

 

wow thread can be a 1 hour session all by itself!

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