Brand New to Fly Tying

Stacey

Stacey

Smolt
As the title says, I’m brand new to fly tying. This is my very first attempt (so, be nice 🙃). It’s supposed to be a Reverse Spider, & while it’s far from perfect, I think I’m hooked (ha).
IMG_4831.jpg

I’m also @Josh 's wife. I decided recently that I wanted to learn to tie flies, & when I asked him which ones I should learn first, his answer was a bit long & rambling (which I suspect isn't a surprise to any of you) - but then, he’s much more into fly fishing than fly tying. So, I decided to make my own account here & ask you all. What was your first fly &/or what would you recommend for an absolute beginner?

Josh already has lots of fly tying supplies cluttering up our garage, so I’ll probably try to work with what I’ve got for the moment. I’m also thinking that maybe some of my sewing/crafting/fiber arts supplies could be used as well, which opens up a whole world of possibilities (though I’m getting a bit ahead of myself there).

Anyhoo, I’d love to hear your opinions! What’s the next fly I should attempt? There are so many that look like fun, I’m having trouble deciding. Josh says bass, sea run cutthroat, and steelhead flies would be most useful for him. But mostly, I just want to work my way up the learning ladder. Do I just pick something that looks interesting and go for it? Or are there certain flies that teach specific techniques that'll be useful down the road?

~Stacey
 
Stacey said:
As the title says, I’m brand new to fly tying. This is my very first attempt (so, be nice 🙃). It’s supposed to be a Reverse Spider, & while it’s far from perfect, I think I’m hooked (ha).
View attachment 51186

I’m also @Josh 's wife. I decided recently that I wanted to learn to tie flies, & when I asked him which ones I should learn first, his answer was a bit long & rambling (which I suspect isn't a surprise to any of you) - but then, he’s much more into fly fishing than fly tying. So, I decided to make my own account here & ask you all. What was your first fly &/or what would you recommend for an absolute beginner?

Josh already has lots of fly tying supplies cluttering up our garage, so I’ll probably try to work with what I’ve got for the moment. I’m also thinking that maybe some of my sewing/crafting/fiber arts supplies could be used as well, which opens up a whole world of possibilities (though I’m getting a bit ahead of myself there).

Anyhoo, I’d love to hear your opinions! What’s the next fly I should attempt? There are so many that look like fun, I’m having trouble deciding. Josh says bass, sea run cutthroat, and steelhead flies would be most useful for him. But mostly, I just want to work my way up the learning ladder. Do I just pick something that looks interesting and go for it? Or are there certain flies that teach specific techniques that'll be useful down the road?

~Stacey
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Welcome!

This is honestly WAY better than my first fly.

Wait, am I getting this straight? "
Josh says bass, sea run cutthroat, and steelhead flies would be most useful for him."
Click to expand...

Are you tying flies for him or yourself ;) ?
 
Welcome Stacey, Mike would approve your reversed spider, very well done for your first attempt!
 
mcswny said:
Are you tying flies for him or yourself ;) ?
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I'm tying whatever strikes my fancy...it would just be cool if they got used! Josh is the fly fisher in this partnership. I get out on the creek/river with him fairly often & have even been known to catch a fish or two - but in all honesty, I'm in it for the hiking/bird-watching/companionship :) The fly tying, however, suits my interests perfectly. I think it's something I could really get into. And I do love it when @Josh & I have crossover hobbies (he's actually an excellent knitter - though I doubt he talks about that much here 😂).
 
Stacey said:
he's actually an excellent knitter
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THAT's why the beanie's took so long to arrive ;)

I'd poke around this thread and tie up some bass flies! You could get really creative with some of your craft supplies you have lying around.

January tying contest thread - and December's winner is:

First off thank you to all that participated in last months Sculpin contest found here: https://pnwflyfishing.com/forum/index.php?threads/december-tying-contest-and-novembers-winner-is.3613/ A lot of great knowledge sharing and patterns shown off. That is what this contest is about! @G_Smolt...
pnwflyfishing.com pnwflyfishing.com
 
That is a very nice fly, hard to believe it is your first! I started on Wooly Buggers, and still tie and fish them a lot.

When I was starting out tying, this book was my go to:

Amazon product ASIN 0811719693
Working through the patterns in it would give you a very solid grounding in the various kinds of trout flies. Not much in there for bass, SRC or steelhead, though.
 
Welcome!

I'd fish that fly. Nice work
 
Nice fly. I think the first for me under the guidance of an experienced tier, was a gold ribbed hares ear. I think the second was the wooly bugger. Picking a fly that builds on the skills you have learned and adds one or two more skills, but not too much was the path for me. At least it was after I tied my first Adams irresistible. That was way over my head, and is undoubtedly the ugliest fly I ever tied.
 
What little I have learned from my 40 plus years of tying flies is.
There are flies tied to catch fish and flies tied to catch fisher persons.
If yer gonna tie to catch fish, keep it simple.
Ask yerself what is the fish gonna see.
I hope you enjoy yer new hobby
 
Stacey that is a very nice spider in anyone's book!

If you are really going to get serious then some reference materials are a good thing. Wet flies by David Hughes is a very good source and wet flies are fun to tie and they catch a lot of fish. You will pickup a lot of basic skills with wet flies. You will also learn that less material on a fly is actually more. Too many flies are seriously overdressed.

Then make a big jump to Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead flies. They are complicated and challenging but very fun to tie. John Sheweys book Steelhead flies is what you want. You will learn so many techniques and you are more than capable. All of Johns books as well as Hughes books are well worth the time and effort to read.

You could tie 10 or so flies in an hour or maybe tie one absolutely beautiful salmon fly in and hour or so and then mount and frame it waiting for your next one. These are historic and the backstory is interesting to say the least. You have the English, Scotch ad Irish fancies and the rivers certain styles were developed for. There are Dee flies and spey flies and yes they are different. The history of the fly is what makes fly fishing so unique in its own right.

Dave
 
Stacey, when I started tying a few years back another member lent me some instructional books to help me get started. I say lent because part of our deal was that I would pass them on to someone else starting out when the time was right. I have sent a few books on their way previously, but still have some if you are interested. A couple of them are dry-fly focused, one is lake-focused, and one is a general collection of some northwest classics compiled by a fly club. Shoot me a PM if you are interested in any of them.
 
Zak said:
That is a very nice fly, hard to believe it is your first! I started on Wooly Buggers, and still tie and fish them a lot.

When I was starting out tying, this book was my go to:

Amazon product ASIN 0811719693
Working through the patterns in it would give you a very solid grounding in the various kinds of trout flies. Not much in there for bass, SRC or steelhead, though.
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Excellent - thank you! I'll pick up a copy. There are so many books out there I didn't know where to start.
 
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@Stacey - at risk of @Josh kicking me off the forum, I'm tempted to call you out on "your first fly" ;-) Amazingly well done. I've been tying flies for probably 45 years now, I doubt I could tie a nicer looking reverse spider. Please share more pics of your ties. (And welcome to the forum!)
 
nwbobber said:
Picking a fly that builds on the skills you have learned and adds one or two more skills, but not too much was the path for me
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That makes perfect sense (& I suppose is the logical path for becoming really skilled in most crafts).
nwbobber said:
I think the first for me under the guidance of an experienced tier, was a gold ribbed hares ear. I think the second was the wooly bugger.
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I'm leaning towards a wooly bugger for my next attempt. It's been mentioned by a few people & looks like it would be fun to tie (and hopefully not too much of a jump in skill).
 
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