Your favorite fly tying tip?

[BobHRAH 0]

If you're tying a new pattern, tie just a few and fish them before cranking out dozens. Make sure the fly performs the way that you want it to before investing time, effort and materials.

 

Thanks, Bob H

[PENZZZ 0]

At our local TU chapter fly tying program I suggest: when dubbing a dry fly "use half as much dubbing as you think you need, then you'll only be using twice as much dubbing as you really need".

[NohackleHS 0]

Before tying a batch of the same fly take the materials you will be using outdoors and look at the colors of the materials. I've found that colors and shades of colors when viewed with indoor lighting can look quite different than when viewed in sun light. Quite often a material that looks dark under indoor lighting will look a lot lighter in full sun light. Also, when you are looking to buy a material at a fly shop, take it over to a window; you'll get a better idea of its true color by doing this.

[PABrownie 0]

Clean hands, washing hands prior to tying makes dubbing much easier!

[TerryMH 0]

Clean hands, washing hands prior to tying makes dubbing much easier!

I agree. Another thing I do to help with dubbing and a few other things is to have a small plastic container with a wet sponge on my desk. A quick touch of the finger tips on the sponge provides just the right amount of moisture and avoids licking the fingers as I often see tiers do. Given all the dead animal parts we deal with, the finger licking is probably not a good idea.

[Sight Cast 0]

If you're tying up a Kwan or crab fly and are using sections of EP fibers to build the body, I like to use a small hair clip or alligator clip to hold back each section as I tie in the next section. The clip holds the material back and out of the way and allows the next section of EP to tied in much easier.

 

Also, instead of spending $8.00 on EP fibers, use Congo Hair instead. It's like $2 and is almost identical.

[Chase Creek 0]

If the hackle slips from the jaws of the hackle pliers, slip a piece of shrink tubing (Radio Shack) over ONE of the jaws, and hold a candle or lighter under it to shrink it to the jaw.

 

Don't use the tension adjustment on your bobbin holder - set it just enough to keep the thread from unspooling while it's hanging there. Palm the spool, and any tension adjustment should be done with your palm.

 

A higher end, better vise will not make you a better tier. It's just something to hold the hook while you attach dead animal parts to it. It just needs to grip the hook well.

[Chase Creek 0]

One more. Smear the threads on your head cement bottle with a THIN coat of Vasoline. That way, the cement won't glue the bottle shut, and you won't have to ask your wife to open the bottle for you.

[Chase Creek 0]

OK, ONE more.

 

Put small square of Velcro on the bottom of your head cement, and the opposing (hook or loop) piece on your tying desk. Then you won't be constantly knocking the bottle over and yelling what my daddy called "helping words".

[Chase Creek 0]

This is a really good thread/topic. Can't stayy away.

 

If you crowd your hook eye, clear it by heating the tip of your bodkin (if it's metal, of course) with a candle or match, then poke it thru the eye. Have saved many a fly this way. I always keep a lighter on the bench.

[missin44 0]

Two things:

 

1. Tie, tie, and tie.

2. keep tying don't get discouraged even if flies look like crap. They still catch fish.

 

put the time in and you get better.

[RickZieger 0]

I have a spool of thread that is a pain to whip finish with. I used it to put underbodies on flies and then tied off with the color I wanted to use.

 

Rick

[notenuftoys 0]

 

Saving master patterns helps in all sorts of ways. It speeds up your tying schedule, allows you to exactly duplicate a given pattern, particularly when the exact color is important, etc. Over the years you'll develop a library of sorts documenting things that have worked (or were never requested a second time....). Nothing more frustrating than to come up with something new, have great success with it on the water -then realize you're not sure of the exact materials or dimensions later on when you're only operating from memory...

 

 

I wish I had read this or thought of it a couple years back. I tied up 3 flies of a foam hopper pattern I come up with before a Reel Recovery retreat, and it turned out to be a great pattern. Unfortunately, a couple were lost and I gave the last one to my participant as a souvenir after catching a few fish on it. When I got home I realized I didn't have any more, but couldn't remember the pattern! D'oh!

[j8000 0]

When using tying wax, I've found it much less messier to cut a small piece of plastic in a rectangle, put a small amount of tying wax on it and fold it in half. Then just slide the thread through the open end to use the appropriate amount. Some say you need to keep the wax warm on your hand, but I use a lamp in my tying area and 1/2 minute under the lamp keeps it nice and soft.

 

I don't use dubbing, was, but I don't see why this wouldn't work either.

[Biologist Angler 0]

When tying for the first time, try using hooks that are 1x or 2x long, they give you more room for error when learning how to use shank space. Tying videos on YouTube often give you a warped, magnified perspective that exaggerates how much space you have to work with. If you can't tie a pattern in under 8-9 minutes (after accounting for a learning curve) it's probably not worth the effort. The most effective pattern I've ever tied is the mop fly, and it is just a mob segment with a few turns of shaggy dubbing, done in under 2 minutes. I used to tie a fairly elaborate golden stonefly, usually took over 10 minutes, but it looked really good/realistic. It didn't catch any more fish than a basic pheasant tail or zebra midge. I no longer tie it.