Fly Tying Materials

One enjoyable aspect of fly fishing is tying your own flies. While they are readily available for sale in many fishing and sporting stores, there is something cultivating about making your own flies. With the wide range of fly tying materials available today, your flies can look even more realistic than the brought ones.

Fly tying can be a bit tricky for a start, but with the right guidence and some good fly tying materials and items, it soon will become easier.

You need to have some basic tools such as a fly tying vice, scissors, pliers, and thread. The fly tying materials and equipment you use can make all the difference in quality work and shoddy work. The goal is to make your fishing flies look as identical to a fish’s food source as is humanly possible, or like something a trout or predatory fish will strike out at.

You can find supplies and fly tying materials in various places. Besides the vice, scissors, and pliers, you will want to have on hand the following items:

* Hooks of various shapes and sizes

* Different colors and gauges of thread and textures

* Fake or real fur from animals such as mink, seals or fox

* Feathers from pheasants and peacocks

* Craft cement and varnish

Precision is the key to accurate fly tying, so having a good formula and maybe a picture of the fly you are trying to replicate is a good start. You can find pictures of may flies, beetles, caddis flies, and other natural food sources available. Once you have a picture, just get the fly tying materials that will mimic the look and try to duplicate it's outline and the way it sits or swims in the water.

Start out by wrapping thread around your hook several times and then add fur and feathers as you go securely tying them to the hook. As you go, you will continue to layer the fly materials on, until you achieve the look you are going for. Of course, there’s a little more to it than that, but that is the general idea in fly tying.

You can take classes on how to tie your own flies and you can even find plenty of easy to follow instructional videos. When you start taking an interest in fly fishing, it’s best to stick with some of the pre-made flies, but as you gain more experience, you will want to start experimenting around with different flies and patterns.

Tying your own flies can be a great way to bring you more and more into the fly fishing experience. It certainly isn’t for everyone as you do need to have a lot of patience when you are tying the flies. Good lighting and a secure fly vice will help hold the fly tying materials easier. Fly tying, doesn’t always come easy, but once you learn the basic techniques, you will probably find a new hobby that gives you some great joy!