First Fly that you tied and Caught a Fish With
- Thread starter N. Metz
- Start date
Pretty sure it was a really poorly tied and extremely ugly looking Royal Wulff.
Divad
Whitefish
Very jealous. The folk that frequent the Merc seemed top notch, would love to spend more time in the future. Lots of gems up that drainage. I tied those worms outside on the porch table while the gal managing (forget her name) and a puppy named Strider played. Always remember dog names...
An olive scud.
Richard Olmstead
Steelhead
My first fly was a black wooly bugger and I was totally amazed when it caught a rainbow on the Yakima near Cle Elum. That was many years ago.
I think it was only 59 years ago that I got my first fly rod - my dad gave me a spin/fly bamboo rod (Perrine automatic reel) after helping him cut firewood for heating our house. This is what we used to saw just felled alder:Since I started tying 66 years ago at the age of 8, quarry was likely a Brookie in a beaver pond in the upper Big Hole Valley. The fly was undoubtedly misshapen, ugly and featured a gigantic head . . .
I do remember having a fly tying kit and making something that looked like a bumble bee that fooled a trout at the mouth of McDonald Creek (that formed the west property line of our farm).
I'm just guessing, but it was probably an elk hair caddis. My other early flies were too ugly for me. One day I opened my flybox for a friend who was giving it a try for the first time, and he selected the ugliest, out of proportion Adams irresistible that has a ever been tied, and he caught fish most of the day on it. I tried to talk him out of it.
That would be a San Juan Worm on the San Juan River in about 2009
Found these a while ago in my childhood tacklebox, inside the bottle dated Nov '76 (I'd have been 9!)
I'm sure that I had never heard of fly fishing, and most likely tied these in hand from sewing thread and feathers from a pillow.
I vaguely remember dangling them off a MN dock with my little yellow Zebco for sunnies
I'm sure that I had never heard of fly fishing, and most likely tied these in hand from sewing thread and feathers from a pillow.I vaguely remember dangling them off a MN dock with my little yellow Zebco for sunnies
Creatch’r
Potential Spam
A Lahontan cutt at Lake Lenore in 99 I believe, on an olive thread and silver rib chironomid, white bead which was also the very first fly I ever tied. I think I let everyone in the bay on the north end of the lake know I tied the hot fly that day 
My first materials were all focused on tying chironomids, couldn’t be any simpler and gave me the tying bug big time.
My first materials were all focused on tying chironomids, couldn’t be any simpler and gave me the tying bug big time.
Gyrfalcon22
Legend
My first fish on a fly I tied myself was a 'squawfish' or now, Northern Pikeminnow. It was on our big coastal tidal river when I was probably 12 years old. A small black leech now that I think about it. My little brother and I were self taught so we had books by Joe Humphreys showing us the way.
Surprised we did not have Penn State hats on and thinking we might catch a Brown trout as if we were fishing spring creeks in Pennsylvania like in Joe's books.. That first fish was not a trout, but it was pretty cool.
First trout on a fly was probably a couple years later. I know we were dropped off up on some old logging roads on an early July morning. Our mission was to pick the various stumps free of little wild blackberries to sell to our grandparents and aunts -who cooked them at holidays that we would eat..what a deal!
I remember taking a break from picking and going to the little stream there and landing a beautiful 12-13 inch coastal cutt on a dry fly in a little riffle pocket.
That was quite a summer day to remember in the mid to late 70's.
Surprised we did not have Penn State hats on and thinking we might catch a Brown trout as if we were fishing spring creeks in Pennsylvania like in Joe's books.. That first fish was not a trout, but it was pretty cool.
First trout on a fly was probably a couple years later. I know we were dropped off up on some old logging roads on an early July morning. Our mission was to pick the various stumps free of little wild blackberries to sell to our grandparents and aunts -who cooked them at holidays that we would eat..what a deal!
I remember taking a break from picking and going to the little stream there and landing a beautiful 12-13 inch coastal cutt on a dry fly in a little riffle pocket.
That was quite a summer day to remember in the mid to late 70's.
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Though my memory isn't clear, I'm guessing the first fly I tied that I caught a fish on was probably a Renegade fished with a bubble on a spinning rod in a mountain lake. I was probably 10 years old.
First on a dry was an alpine lake brookie on maybe a 14 EHC. First river fish was on a size 12 flashback prince nymph. Smaller east side river and a big beautiful fall colored west slope cutt. I was so stoked on the bright, almost fuchsia color on the fish and how it took such a small (to me at the time) fly. I learned how to tie both from the Tight Lines YouTube channel which was super helpful when I first stated tying. Such a great resource for tips and detailed information.
That pill bottle says "White Bear Lake". You grew up in MN or just bought your drugs from there?