I’m sure there is a complex behavioral theory that describes my own, personal fly tying. Basically, the more I tie the more I enjoy tying. The more I enjoy tying, the better my flies seem to look. (Note that I said seem.)

And while the long, dark nights of winter are by no means the only time one can and should tie flies, there is no time like the present.

Today’s posts all involve fly tying.  While I’ve considered adding step-by-step instructions for  some of my favorite patterns and techniques, I’ve opted instead to talk about tying concepts:

• The prominence of hackle
• The pros and cons of types of weight
• The things beginner tyers should know

To read the entire article, click on the image or title below:

They Only Care About Hackle

I respect the heck out of those who are artful in their pursuit of creating museum quality Catskill dries. And from experience, I know that there are plenty of fish in lots of rivers that are incredibly discerning. But I also think that most trout out there just want to see something that looks buggy.

It isn’t just fish that are opportunistic from living in high gradient mountain streams. Tailwater rainbows and spring creek browns have fallen prey to glorified Griffith’s gnats. Tan or grizzly  hackle palmered around a light wire hook is deadly in the employ of a skilled angler. To whit, I’m not that great and I still catch a lot of fish that way.

Heavy Metal for Fly Tying

Especially come winter time, your prayers for trout will only be answered if you get your flies running deep.

You’ve got two choices in the matter. You can fish harder or fish smarter. Fishing harder means calculating the best position from which to present your fly. It means learning new casts that plunge your fly deeper, quicker. It means fiddling with different lines, leaders, and boring. It means mending and mending and mending some more. It means working. Fun, right?

Fishing smarter means packing the weight on.

3 Things I Wish I Knew – Fly Tying

I’m not an expert fly tyer. …so why listen to 20 minutes of what I have to say on the subject?

While I’m not an expert, I am proficient enough to tie what I need. But I’ve taken the circuitous route to get to this point. I’ve started and stopped. I’ve used the wrong materials and tried to do things the hard way. I’ve made frustrating mistakes. And with all that, I can look back on some of the things that I wish I would have known about fly tying back when I started.