 | CDC Paraloop Mayfly Emerger
by John Terje Refsahl
Hook: tmc 2487 #14Body: two pieces of antron yarn, wovenThorax: alpakka dubbingParaloop: cdc paraloop
The paraloop is made with cdc on this one, but i also sometimes combines both cdc and ordinary hackle when making the paraloop. The cdc soft ... read more |
| The Sulpher Primer
Out of all the common names, Sulpher seems to be the one which get's the highest number of aquatic insect species lumped into it. At first, it seemed that any small, creamy or yellow bodied mayfly got referred to as a Sulpher. After more experience, I've talked to guys who lump just ab ... read more |
| How To make Your Own Dubbing
This morning Keith, at the Singlebarbed blog, published an excellent article on how to make youy own dubbing. If you're sick of being stuck with small quantities, or more importantly, the wrong colors of dubbing, you shouldn't hesitate to think about blending your own.
"Mate ... read more |
| Realistic Stonefly Nymph
Seems like forever ago since I tied this...
... read more |
| The Next Big Project
The next big project has entered the designing phase. I'll be designing a fly tying work station that will allow me to store all my tying supplies in one place. It will also allow me to keep everything hidden from view. I'm calling it a rolltop desk on steroids.
This
Tu ... read more |
| Live! Online Tying Classes
In case you didn't know, www.flytyingforum.com is set up with some fancy schmancy computer thingy that allows users to learn how to tie flies via live video feed from an instructor somewhere across the country- all while in the confort of their own home. Students can ask the instructor questions- or ... read more |
 | Eyes for Tying
by Russ Forney
Winter is fly tying season in northeastern Wyoming. As fresh snow piles up behind the garage and mercury shivers in the thermometer, I am filling boxes and bins with flies for the coming year. The short days and long, cold nights are tailor-made to fly tying; with a c ... read more |
| Double Bead Stonefly Nymph
Hook: Nymph Hook of ChoiceThread: 6/0 BrownTails: Brown Turkey BiotsUnderbody: Two Strips of Lead, One on Each Side of Hook ShankAbdomen: Rubber Leg MaterialBeads: Two, GoldThorax: Yellow Angora Goat Dubbing, Colored BrownWingcase: Yellow Web ... read more |
| Much Ado About Color
I spent the better part of Saturday evening taking underwater pics of some of the dry flies I've tied for '09 in the bathtub. One recurring theme I noticed when looking over the pictures on Sunday was that on almost all of them, colors were faint, at best.
I'm not sure what th ... read more |
| A Few Minutes with Bob Mead
The first time I talked with Bob Mead was via email while I still lived in northern Michigan in the Spring of 2006. Coincidentally a few months later, I wound up living 15 minutes from him in New York's Capital District. I didn't meet Bob in person until the November '06 Somerset, NJ fly t ... read more |
 | Sparkle Spider
Tying the by Lucian Vasies
Hook: daiichi d1180 /d1130 #12-18Thread: Unithread 17/0 whiteUnderbody: uni mylar green peacockBody: opossum dubbing yellow-olive, claretHackle: chocolate feathers or partridge feathers - one turn
... read more |
| First Trip of the New Year
Geoff got Kenichiro Sawada's Tube Fly book for Christmas, but had to pick it up at Malinda's Fly Shop on the banks of the Salmon River. Since he was going up there anyway, he figured he might as well fish, too. And since he was going fishing, he figured he might as well invite a couple f ... read more |
| The Green Drake- Ephemera guttulata
I ran into each phase of the green drake life cycle this past season. To see the pics,
The burrowing nymphs are powerful swimmers. I had a hell of a time catching one before it emerged. Keeping that in mind, I can't imagine nymph or emerger patterns are worth carrying. I did catch m ... read more |
| Got Milk?
... read more |
| Last Call
It's the final call for the 2008 Fly Tier of the Year Contest. I haven't entered a fly in the contest since my rookie year tying. Somehow, I managed to win two categories. Okay, I admit, I was the only person to send a fly in for the pike category that year, but the emerger pattern I ti ... read more |
| Merry Christmas!
My Christmas gift to you is a sneak peak at the March Brown Emerger pattern I'm working on. I've still got a couple minor things I need to tweak, but this is pretty darn close to the look I'm going for. Wanna see it? Well then
This fly floats beautifully. Thanks to the 371 ... read more |
| Flies Matters
You always hear people say that the fly pattern doesn't matter, so long as your presentation is good. This is true, to some extent, but really, it's a way for guys who can't tie a woolly bugger to make themselves feel a little better about their boxes.
I can't argue that a horribly pre ... read more |
| James Brown Nymph
Before I give you the recipe for this fly, let me give you some background info.
Last night was a very productive night at the vise. I left work with an idea for a new style of emerger pictured in my head. One of those ideas that has you nearly forgetting to shut the door behind you as you fli ... read more |
| Bringing My "A" Game
I ended up putting a good dent in my trout box on Saturday. When I finally called it quits at around 2am, I had 3 rows of my C&F box filled with Hendricksons. That takes my fly count for the winter of '08/'09 to 36 flies. There's still a lot more tying to do until April , but it's n ... read more |
| Hendrickson Para-Spinner
I ran across a great step by step for a foam post para-spinner over at the Small Streams forum a couple days ago. To celebrate the Fall '08 semester coming to an end at school, I decided I ain't doing squat this weekend, other than tying flies, and maybe do a little read ... read more |
| A Fly Tyer's Christmas
Here at 40 Rivers, we're always looking for innovative use of flies. Tom in North Carolina shared these pics with us of his family's Christmas tree. We've always known that tube flies would change fly tying, but now it looks like they're changing Christmas, too.
... read more |
| Flies for Carp! The Mixed Media
I think of all the different species of fish I targeted this season, the Carp was my favorite. This was definitely a learning year, but I came away with a few fly patterns that will forever have a place in my Carp box. We'll talk much of Carp flies and fishing here, but today, we' ... read more |
| My Damselfly Nymph
Hook: 2XL Nymph HookThread: 6/0 OliveAbdomen/Tail: Single Clump of Olive MarabouWingcase: Olive Swiss Straw or Medallian SheetingLegs/Thorax: Olive PartridgeEyes: Damsel Eyes, or Burnt Mono
This is my favorite pattern for imitating damselfly nymphs, not only for it's effectiveness, but ... read more |
| How To Make Crystal Meth
My good friend Geoff, writer of the big fish packed, Angler's Net Blog, as well as owner of the website of the same name, uploaded a video demonstrating how to tie the Crystal Meth, a popular Great Lakes fly pattern for Salmon and Steelhead, on YouTube in April of 2007. This simple fly pattern has ... read more |
| I'll Pass On the Glue
There's a nice little piece in today's installment of the Singlebarbed blog showing us how to save a ton of money on head cement. I don't know about you, but I love to save me some money, unfortunately, I won't save a penny from Keith's advice. Ya see, I don't t ... read more |
| A Dying Breed- The Commercial Fly Tyer
You can’t tie commercially because you have to. You have to want to.
I have a lot of respect for commercial fly tyers. To be successful, they must have some special attributes that go beyond being able to tie cookie cutter flies. Tying flies in bulk for others takes a certain mental tough ... read more |
| Getting Skunked
Fly fisherman have a name for those days when the fish aren’t cooperating. We call it, “getting skunked”. It’s an experience that occurs way more than we’d like to admit. As you’re getting skunked, you’d swear there wer ... read more |
 | Santa at the tying bench
by Russ Forney
With the holidays approaching, you might think Santa is too busy for the tying bench. But I would not be surprised if, like many of us, he finds comfort at the vise - dubbing, spinning, and hackling until the wee hours of the morning. And I'll bet Santa knows ... read more |
 | Cinderella Emerger
: Emerger design inspired by a fairy-tale princess Text and photos by Russ Forney
Cinderella rocks! I mean that girl has got it going on! The whole magical transformation from hapless, cinder-covered servant to elegant, upwardly mobile princess is timeless inspiration. Fly tiers t ... read more |
 | Flatwing Steelhead Fly
by Frank G. Swarner III
Hook: Daichii 2451 - size 4 shownThread: 6/0Platform (tail base): White Calftail/KiptailTail: 1 pink saddle tied over 1 slightly shorter white saddle featherDubbing: Ice dubbing - Pearl in dubbing loopThroat #1: White Calftail/KiptailThroat #2: ... read more |
 | Beyond the basics: A few more twists for the overhand weave
by Russ Forney
“Mastering the Overhand Weave” appeared in the 2008 issue of Hatches magazine and introduced many new tiers to the overhand weave; a versatile technique for building durable, segmented fly bodies. There are many more variatio ... read more |
 | Steelhead Caddis
Tying The by Jason Akl
Although you almost certainly have to many go to patterns in your spring season fly box, adding one more to the collection really couldn’t hurt. I am almost positive that most early season anglers carry a few of the time-tested standards like leeches, marabou ... read more |
 | The Foam and Fur Stone
by Jason Akl
Some of the earliest hatches to keep an eye out for during the spring fly-fishing season are those of the insect order Plecoptera (stoneflies). Adult stoneflies normally emerge during the cold and dreary winter and spring months they usually are just getting going ... read more |
 | Hollywood Casting Couch
The by Will Mullis
For the past several years I have been very excited about the new generation of fly fishing films that has given us a breath of much needed new life into our world. Films like the Trout Bum Diaries, Fishizzle and many others has brought excitement to our sp ... read more |
 | Tying The Stimulator
by James Daly
Material ListHook: Daichii 1560 nymph hook size 10 (or any other brand curved dry or nymph hook size 2-12)Thread: Uni 6/0 Black. Red for the headTail: Elk Hock (or other hollow hair)Body: Peacock herl, 3 strands twistedHackle: Brown over Peacock. Grizzle (Br ... read more |
 | Todd's Wiggle Minnow
by Todd Boyer
Materials UsedHook: TMC 8089np Sz. 2 for trout, bass. For salt and heavier fish, Gamakatsu B10s 2/0Thread:Danville flat wax.Mono loop: 20 lb mason Tail: crystal mirror flashTail: polar fiberBody: Wapsi foam cylinder 3/8 diaeyes: plastic eyes "with stem"Markers: Cha ... read more |
 | Tying a Basic Spey Fly
Frank G. Swarner III
Materials You Will NeedHook: Daiichi Alec Jackson - size 1Thread: Uni 6/0 BlackBody: Wool Yarn - OrangeHackle: Whiting spey hackle – Heron GrayRib: Oval tinsel - large - SilverCounter Rib: Oval tinsel - small – SilverRib: Flat tinsel - large - Silver ... read more |
 | The Irresistible
by Breck Miller aka Deeky
I found this fly as I was looking for a very buoyant dry fly. The multitude of little panfish in our lakes would take the ordinary dry and drown it without ever even giving a chance at a hookup. In looking at the Irresistible, I knew r ... read more |
 | Holographic Bloodworm
by Darren MacEachern a.k.a. Pacres
Bloodworms are the common name given to Chironimid larvae. Chironomids or midges as they are commonly referred to, are often an overlooked food source for trout and pan fish. With over 2500 species of midges across North America, chances are y ... read more |
 | Tying the Letumgo Minnow
(tube fly)by Raymond Tucker
Tying Difficulty Rating - Medium
Materials (in the order of construction):
HMH Plastic Tubing (Small, 3/32” OD) or hollow Q-tip handle. Cut to 1½” long.
Junction tubing (roughly ½” long)
Thread – Danville’s 6/0 (White)
Keel - Lea ... read more |
 | Tying the Disco Leech
Tying The Disco Leechby Daryn Smith
Recently a FlyTyingForum member posted two flies, wanting to know if anyone knew what the pattern was made with. I have not checked the original post to see if an answer was ever found. I saw a material that is simply called Disco by Bernat. It is a f ... read more |
 | Epoxy Head Clouser
Tying the Epoxy-Head Clouser
By James A. Capes
The Epoxy- Head Clouser has become one of my go-to flies when fishing for northeastern saltwater gamefish such as Striped Bass, Weakfish and Bluefish. It can be tied in varied sizes and colors to match the needs of particular waters, se ... read more |
 | The D5 Wooly Bugger
by Matt Erny
Materials You Will NeedHook: Daiichi 2220 Size 6.Thread: Ultra Thread 140.Tail: One Marabou Blood Quill.Body: FTD (Fly Tiers Dungeon) Hair Web Black Dubbing.Hackle: One Saddle Hackle.Flash: H2O Flash and Hologram H2O Flash from FTD.
Step 1: Tie threa ... read more |
 | Tying the Pheasant Tail Nymph
Tying The Pheasant Tail Nymphby Jim Browning
Step 1: Insert the hook into the vice.
Step 2: Start your thread about 1-½ eye-widths behind the eye and trim off excess.
Step 3: Run thread to just before the bend of the hook.
Step 4: Tail: Select four barbs from the pheasant tai ... read more |
 | Feather Detox
Keeping your materials bug-freeby Alex Cerveniak
Bugs. Many of us live for them.
In the off-season, we spend countless hours creating them to fool that monster Brown that reminded us the previous season that the river is his playground, and he’s the bully. During the fishing sea ... read more |
 | Foam Stone
by Don StracenerOriginator: Paul Whillock
Step 1. Cut a strip of 2 mm. craft foam into 5 mm. wide pieces. Strip a pair of Saddle Hackles, leaving the stems.
Step 2. Cut a piece of the 5 mm. strip about 2 ½ - 3 inches long. Fold the foam over and trim the corners.
Step 3. Put ... read more |
 | Humbug
by John Ridderbos
Materials You Will Need
Hook: Mustad 3906 #10.Shellback and thorax: Black Chenille.Body: Yellow ChenilleLegs: White round rubber.
Tying Instructions
Step 1: Tie in black chenille.
Step 2: Tie in yellow chenille.
Step 3: Wrap forward yellow chenille to a ... read more |
 | Turck Tarantula
Tying the by Eric Koons
The achieved fame when George Anderson made it his choice for taking first place in the 1990 Jackson Hole One-Fly. It is a highly versatile pattern as a general attractor or for approximating stoneflies and hoppers. It may be ... read more |
 | Working with Rabbit II: Double Bunny
by Will Mullis
In Part One of this series I demonstrated how to tie a Bunny Leech; a very easy, yet extremely effective, fly to tie. The Double Bunny maintains that theme.
The Double Bunny is a deadly fly for any species that eats smaller f ... read more |
 | Tying the Foxee Bastard
by Michael Schmidt
The Foxee Bastard is one of those patterns that was more or less stumbled upon. The name reflects the primary ingredient of the fly, Red Fox Tail, and the fact that it is a "bastardization" of a few other patterns, namely a tan Wooly Bugger, Sp ... read more |
 | Rabbit Strip Dahlberg Diver
How to Tie the Bunny Strip Dahlberg Diverby Alex Cerveniak
This fly is probably one of my favorites to fish and tie. You can fish it on the surface or use it with a sink tip, or full sinking line and fish it sub-surface. Tie it big, or tie it small. If you don’t have rabb ... read more |
 | Whitlock's Red Fox Squirrel Nymph
by John Ridderbos
Materials You Will NeedHook: Mustad 3906B #12Head: Bead to match hook sizeTail: Squirrel fur from back of squirrelRib: Orange pearl flashabouBody: Squirrel belly furThorax: Fur from back of squirrel skinHackle: (optional) Brown India He ... read more |
 | The Case For Soft-Hackle
The Case for Soft-HackleEffective fly design using a century old conceptBy James A. Capes
Over the past decade I have been noticing a consistent change in the flies that have earned a home in my fly boxes. The change I've observed is a growth of legs, wings, antennae, or gills. No ... read more |
 | Working with Rabbit I: Bunny Leeches
by Will Mullis
Materials You Will NeedHook: Mustad 9674, Size 4.Weight: Gold Cone Head.Tail and Body: Rabbit Strip.Head: Platte River Special Colored Leech Dubbing.
The Bunny Leech is the first in a series of articles I'm writing about flies that inc ... read more |
 | 19th Century Salmon Flies
by Davie McPhail
Davie McPhail has supplied us with a great article this month and is so visually stunning we felt words were not need. This collection of over 70 photos are authentic salmon flies from the 1800's. While these flies are amazingly beautiful it is obvious that ... read more |
 | Feather Duster Frog
by Jerry Sapp
Start by cutting a clump of fibers from a green duster.
Grip the fibers and thread in your finger tips and wrap the thread like you were starting a fly.
Put a 1/2 inch piece of rubber leg on top of the fibers and tie down.
Half hitch and glu ... read more |
 | Sunken Firefly
by John Ridderbos
Material You Will NeedHook: Mustad 9671 #14.Wincase: Black 1/8th Kreinik Ribbon.Butt: Fluorescent Yellow Kreinik Braid.Body: Peacock Herl.Wings: 1/8th Mallard Kreinik Ribbon.
Tying Instructions
Step 1: Tie in the wingcase/shellback.
Step 2: ... read more |
 | Woven Hex
Nymphby Matt Erny
Materials You Will NeedHook: Mustad 87160 Size 6.Thread: 6/0 White and UTC 140 in Dark Brown.Under body: Waxed Dental Tape.Abdomen: Bug wrap in brown and tan (from the flytyersdungeon.com)Gills: Grey Ostrich Herl.Thorax: Brown Dubbing.Legs: Hen Neck feather, brown-and- ... read more |
 | Dont Forget The Classics
Don't Forget The Classicsby Lance Kekel
Last spring I was sitting with a couple friends that I’d not fished with before, preparing to hit the water for the first time together. We were doing the usual stuff you do when you get around someone else’s toys, checking everything out. Eventually ... read more |
 | Green Caddis Pupa
by Duane Doty
Materials You Will Need - Size 12, Wet or Nymph hook. - 8/0 Olive tying thread. - .020 Lead Wire. - 6 lb. yellow Mono line. - Olive Rooster Hackle. - 2 types Turkey Biots. - Small Mono eyes. - Olive Opossum dubbing. - Moose ... read more |
 | Inexpensive Wet Flies
by Robert Farrand
It never ceases to amaze me how much money fly tiers will spend for materials to tie that "hot" new pattern their favorite big-named tier has come up with.
While perusing your local fly shop you can easily drop a C-note and only have a small bag ... read more |
 | Crocheted Crawdad
Discuss this article at FlyTyingForum.com
by Duane Doty
This is a pattern that I worked on for a few years before it finally came out the way I like it.
It uses a technique called crocheting or weaving, and I will go through step-by-step how to do this.
... read more |
 | All Night Hex
Discuss this article at FlyTyingForum.com
by Brent Drew
Materials You Will NeedHook: Mustad 9672 Size 6Tailing: Peccary HairAbdomen and Tailing: Deer HairThorax: Dubbing, Estaz, Diamond Braid, Peacock, Ostrich, etc.Wing: Deer Hair in a 28-gauge Brass wire dubbing loop
Adsens ... read more |
 | Sparrow
Discuss this article at FlyTyingForum.com
by John Ridderbos
Materials You Will Need
Hook: Mustad 9672 #10Tail: Marabou from bottom of a Pheasant rump featherBody: Olive Rabbit dubbingHackle: Pheasant rump feather (I prefer the ones with the iridescent blue silver feather)Head: Philo ... read more |
 | Natural Dubbing
Discuss this article at FlyTyingForum.com
by Ralf Maky
About a year ago I was trying to obtain a certain look for a sculpin. After several trips to a local Flyshop and trying everything from synthetics such as chenille, wool and hair, it just didn’t duplicate what I had in ... read more |
 | Matching Feathers
Discuss this article at FlyTyingForum.com
by Ronn Lucas
Matching feathers sounds like a simple task. I thought it was at first but was I wrong. I had tied flies with hackle tip wings and would take one, two or however many I was using for one side from one side of a ... read more |
 | The Rising Cost of Fly Tying
Discuss this article at FlyTyingForum.com
Rising Cost of Fly Tyingby Bud Guidry
Fly tyers in general use an array of materials for this hobby we call fly-tying. One can go to the most extreme in material and on another level take the low road by using easily found, inexpensive materia ... read more |
 | Dye Job
Discuss this article at FlyTyingForum.com
By Michael Schmidt
Recently I was looking at tying a pattern that required dun-colored calf body hair to complete an order. I figured this was not a problem as my local fly shop generally has everything I could ask for and more, and pl ... read more |
 | Tying a Dragonfly
Playing at My Vise - Tying a Dragonflyby Graham Owen
Do you ever sit at your vise and think about tying something unusual but don’t quite know where to start, and if you do, which direction to proceed? Perhaps something challenging or out of the ordinary, or for display, be it ... read more |
 | Tying The B-52
Tying the B-52by Robert Farrand
Step 1: Using a 2xL light wire streamer hook size 10 or 8Start the thread on the hook and make a base wrap of thread (I’m using a yellow or primrose size 6/0 thread)
Step 2: Using a small clump of stacked yellow dyed deer body hair, as the extended bo ... read more |
 | Spring's Wigglers
Anyone who visits a fly shop in Michigan and looks over the selections of Steelhead flies is sure to see many of the spring's Wiggler pattern flies.Most likely you will see a vast array of colors and sizes of this fly, from natural to fluorescent and everything in-between. I really can't tel ... read more |
 | Material Preparation
by Ronn Lucas
Material preparation is possibly the most important and most underrated part of tying the fully dressed fly. When I use the term material prep, I am talking about cleaning/washing feathers and fur, storing the materials in a way that will allow me to find t ... read more |
 | Ibis and White
Preface
Modern fly tiers love to employ the “latest and greatest” materials and techniques in their patterns. If a material orbits Earth in the Space Shuttle, chances are it becomes fodder for the tier’s bench. If some famous angler starts hackling dry flies with pig bristles, chances ... read more |
 | Tying the Tube Perch
by Nick Pujic
Tube: 1” Plastic tubeThread: Chartreuse UNI 6/0Body: Orange Krystal Flash strands wound around the tube or orange mylar tubing slid over the tube, tied off at both endsOver wing: Yellow and olive Polar Aire, barred with a markerUnder wing: Orange Polar Aire, ... read more |
 | The Canadian Catskills Coffin Fly
by Sheldon Seale
Having just returned from a trip to the Catskills to meet the famous Green Drake hatch, I thought it appropriate to write about the pattern that served our crew the best. It is a simple form of Coffin Fly (the spinner stage of the Green Drake).If yo ... read more |
 | Through The Eyes Of A New Tyer
by Samuel Fava
It was the middle of August 2005 and I was on vacation with my family in the mountains of New York. One night during a lull I wanted to find something to do and I stumbled upon my brother's long forgotten fly-tying kit. It contained Jack Dennis’ vid ... read more |
 | Crayfish Spey Style
If you are anything like me tying 'buggers and Clousers can get a little monotonous to say the least. When tying flies becomes more of a chore than a pleasure I think it is extremely important to break the mold and experiment with new patterns. One way of doing this is to browse through patt ... read more |
 | Woven Stonefly
by Brent Drew
Hook- TMC 200 Size 8Thread- Black 3/0 Waxed MonocordTailing- 2 Black Goose BiotsUnderbody- Dental TapeAbdomen- Black and Tan Bug Wrap (flytyersdungeon.com)Wingcases- Black Swiss Straw (Otherwise known as Raffia)Thorax- Black Rabbit dubbing and black Indian Hackle Anten ... read more |
 | Realistic legs with Heat Shrink Tube
Realistic Legs with Heat Shrink Tube
Text & photos: Ulf Hagström
I have never been afraid to experiment when it comes to using different materials in fly tying. Sometimes it’s almost been like the experimenting has been more important than the function of the fly, but more often the end ... read more |
 | The Jointed Hex
Step 1: Tie 3/0 thread to #10 long bend nymph hook.
Step 2: Tie on a Pheasant rump feather or a pheasant marabou feather, leaving it long enough to overhang the hook bend by half the length of the hook.Step 3: Tie on a Pheasant under-fluff feather (See Hex gill pic.)Step 4: Add dubbing to ... read more |
 | Mickey Finn
From what t I have read this traditional streamer was named after the infamous drugged drink ("" is a drink that is meant to render its drinker unconscious).Having stood the test of time this streamer, like most, is designed to imitate a baitfish, and once the beginner learns to ti ... read more |
