Fly tying

thumb|Fly tying demonstration in 2026

Fly tying (also historically referred to in England as dressing flies) is the process of producing an artificial fly used by fly fishing anglers to catch fish. Fly tying is a manual process done by a single individual using hand tools and a variety of natural and manmade materials that are attached to a hook. Although the recent history of fly tying dates from the middle 1800s, fly tyers have been engaged in tying flies since at least 200 AD.

Helen Shaw, an American professional fly tyer, defined fly tying as the "simple process of binding various materials to a hook with thread". Fly tying is a practical art form that many individuals are able to practice with reasonable success and tie flies which produce results when fly fishing. It is also a hobby that benefits from the fly tyer's knowledge of the insects and other food sources that fish consume in the wild.

Fly tying requires some basic equipment; a vise to hold the hook, a bobbin to dispense and provide tension on thread, scissors, pliers and the appropriate materials for the particular fly pattern selected. These materials consists mostly of feathers, fur/animal hairs, threads, and various synthetic materials.

Fly tying equipment enables the fly tyer to efficiently and effectively assemble and secure the materials on the hook to produce a particular type of fly. Fly tying materials were originally limited to various furs, feathers, threads and hooks. Since the mid-1900s, many more natural and synthetic materials are available to use to tie flies.

Fly patterns are the instructions or recipes required to create the fly. They specify hook sizes and types, the materials and colors to be used, as well as the sequence to be followed and the assembly methods. There are thousands of possible fly patterns available to the tyer.

Approach

Some view fly tying as an art form. E. C. Gregg, in his 1940 publication, stated that "The object of this book will be throughout its entirety to teach in a practical manner the Art of Fly Tying in all its branches."

In contrast, A. K. Best suggests practical ways to streamline the tying technique. Best emphasizes that fly tying is not only a handicraft but also a science rooted in carefully observing fish and their prey, and then designing and tying artificial flies to replicate that prey in order to catch fish. One of the first contributions to this approach was made by Preston Jennings in his A Book of Trout Flies.

History

thumb|300px|[[Frederic M. Halford, 19th-century English fly tyer]]

thumb|Ogden's improved fly vise (1887)

thumb|left|The fly dresser's tools from The Trout Fly Dresser's Cabinet of Devices or How To Tie Flies for Trout and Grayling Fishing (1919)

The history of fly tying (and fly design) reflects the evolution and history of fly fishing. Basic fly-tying methods have not changed dramatically from the mid-19th century to the present. Most changes resulted from the introduction and adaptation of new materials, especially synthetics, and new hook designs. Images from the early literature devoted to fly tying and fly construction do not show processes significantly different from those used today. The tools associated with fly tying today have, however, evolved along with new technologies. In the mid-19th century flies were tied without benefit of a hook vise. Instead, the hook was held by the fingers as the fly was constructed. The following is from Rod Fishing in Clear Waters (London 1860):

One of the earliest references to the use of a fly-tying vise is in Ogden on Fly Tying (London, 1887). Other fly-tying tools—scissors, hackle pliers, tweezers, bodkins, etc.—have remained remarkably similar since the late 1800s. Selective Trout - Swisher and Richards (1971), Nymphs - Schweibert (1973), Caddisflies - LaFontaine (1989), Prey - Richards (1995) are a few 20th-century titles that deal extensively with imitating natural prey. From a human perspective, many fly patterns do not exactly imitate fish prey found in nature, but they are nevertheless successful. A successful or "killing" fly pattern imitates something that the target species preys on. This has resulted in fly tyers and fishers devising additional terms to characterize those flies that obviously do not imitate anything in particular, yet are nevertheless successful at catching fish. These additional terms are inconsistently but commonly associated with trout-fly patterns because of their huge variety, both historical and contemporary. The term Attractor pattern has been applied to flies which resemble nothing in particular but are successful in attracting strikes from fish. Dick Stewart characterizes these same patterns as "General Purpose". Dave Hughes describes the same flies as Searching flies and characterizes three levels of imitation: Impressionistic, Suggestive and Imitative.

Paul Schullery explains that although much has been written about imitation theories of fly design, all successful fly patterns must imitate something to attract the fish to strike. The huge range of fly patterns documented today for all sorts of target species—trout, salmon, bass and panfish, pike, saltwater, tropical exotics, etc.—are not easily categorized as merely imitative, attractors, searching or impressionistic.

Tools and materials

Tools

thumb|Fly tying workbench

thumb|left|Illustrative selection of modern fly tying tools

thumb|Whip finisher

thumb|left|Hackle plyers

Various tools enable and optimize fly tying. Skip Morris, a professional fly tyer, lists the essential tools as being a vise to hold the hook of the fly to be tied, bobbin holders, hackle pliers, hackle gauges, work lights and magnifying glass to better see the fly as it is tied, hair stackers, scissors and tweezers. Other optional tools are pliers, toothpicks, bodkins, dubbing twisters, blenders, floss bobbin holders, whip finishers, wing burners and bobbin threaders.

Vises: Vises are used to hold the hook when tying on materials. They come in various forms and may be clamped to a table or come with their own stand. The vise has a jaw used to hold the hook. On some vises, the jaws will rotate to assist in wrapping material on the hook in a uniform manner. The size of the jaw on some vises may be larger than others to hold a larger hook necessary for some flies, such as Musky flies. Vises also might have attached holders for material or for thread when rotating the vise. It is possible to tie a fly without a vise, called in-hand tying; however, this is more challenging and requires more manual dexterity and planning.
Bobbin holder: The bobbin holder, commonly referred to as just "bobbin", is used to hold the thread bobbin when wrapping thread around the hook. The bobbin holder provides tension so that it can be released when the fly tyer is performing other tasks, such as wrapping hackle.
Hooks: The hook determines the basic size and shape of each fly and is generally an important part of any fly pattern description. Hooks come in a wide range of size, shape, length and weight, and must be selected to complement the pattern being tied and the method by which it will be fished. Hook sizes are measured with a number that gives the size of the hook gape. The smallest fly hook starts are in the range #32 to #24 (rarely used by most fly tyers and anglers), followed by #22, #20, #18, #16, #14, #12, #10, #8, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1, #1/0, #2/0, #3/0, #4/0, #5/0, #6/0, #7/0, #8/0 and #9/0. (Missing odd numbers are not used for smaller hooks.) The hook size relates to the size of the gape of the hook. The length of the hook is designated as 1X, 2X, 3X, etc., which is the length of the hook in terms of multiples of the gape. Hooks are made of wire. The wire is lighter for dry fly hooks to help the fly float better. Flies constructed for use in salt water are typically tied on corrosion-resistant hooks. The various manufactures use different numbering schemes to further define the shape of the hook, eye of the hook, and fly type (dry, nymph, stream, scud, Klinkhammer, etc.).
Thread: Fly tying thread comes in a variety of colors and sizes. Most modern fly tying thread is made of nylon or polyester. Special use thread may be made of gel-spun polyethylene (GSP), Kevlar, silk, or even Monofilament fishing line. The size of the thread is measured in either denier or aughts. A denier weight specification states how many grams 9,000 meters of the thread weighs. Unlike the common thread weight system, the greater the denier number, the thicker the thread. The Wapsi Fly Company uses denier to specify the size of its UTC Ultra thread, which comes in 70, 140, 210, and 280 denier. Some thread manufacturers producing very fine silk threads used in fly tying (Danville Chenille Company and UNI Products), apply their own scales of thread measurement using "aughts" or zeroes. Within a given manufacturer's spectrum, a higher "aught count" indicates a finer thread: this is usually given as a single digit followed by a forward slash and a zero, e.g. 6/0, 8/0, and 10/0.
Feathers/hackle/herl: The long feathers of the neck of poultry are referred to as hackle. Rooster/hen neck and saddle hackle, so essential for many artificial fly patterns, are from animals especially bred to produce hackles of superior performance, size and color. Hackle and feathers are sold individually or as a saddle, cape, wing, or tail section. Feathers from other birds are also used in fly tying, including coot, CDC, Duck, goose, grouse, guineafowl, jackdaw, bluejay, magpie, mallard, moorhen, partridge, pheasant, quail, snipe, starling, Eurasian teal, turkey, and woodcock. Peacock and ostrich feathers, called herl, are also used in fly thing. The soft, oily feathers from the back of a duck, called Cul de canard (CDC), are very buoyant and often used in dry flies.
Beads: Beads are used as a head for weight in wet fly patterns. They have a hole drilled through the center of the bead and are applied onto the hook and pushed up to behind the eye. Slotted holes are also available for jig head hooks. Beads are sized to the hook and come in diameters of 1/16 (#18-#22), 5/64 (#16-#20), 3/32 (#14-#18), 7/64 (#12-#16), 1/8 (#10-#14), 5/32 (#8-#12), and 3/16 (#6-#10) inches. Weighted beads are made from either tungsten (19.3 gm/cm3), nickel (8.9 gm/cm3), or brass (8.4 to 8.73 g/cm3). Although the most common colors in patterns are gold, silver and brass, a wide variety of colors and textures are available.]]

[[File:Parachute Adams Dry Fly.jpg|thumb|left|The Parachute Adams Dry Fly has a down eye and a parachute wing with hackle wound around the parachute.

A – Tag
C – Tail
D – Butt
E – Hackle E2 – Throat Hackle
F – Under Wing
G – Over Wing
HH – Horn
J – Side
K – Cheek
L – Head

]]

Salmon flies have historically been one of the most complex and elaborate artificial flies to tie. Texts describing fly tying techniques often use an image of a salmon fly to describe all the parts of an artificial fly.

The typical fly pattern appears something like one of the illustrative patterns below for the Adams dry fly (without tying instructions) or the Clouser Deep Minnow (with tying instructions). Based on the fly pattern, a knowledgeable fly tyer can reproduce the fly with the materials specified.

{| class="wikitable"

!colspan="2" | Typical fly pattern descriptions

! width=30% | Fly

! width=70% | Pattern

Hook: Size #10–#18 standard dry-fly, e.g. Tiemco 100
Thread: gray 6/0
Wing: grizzly hen hackle tips
Tail: mixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers
Body: gray yarn or dubbing (fine dry fly dubbing)
Hackle: brown and grizzly hackle sized to hook

| thumb|center|180px|[[Clouser Deep Minnow streamer]]

Hook: Size #2, #4, #6 or #8, Mustad 3366, For a saltwater fly, a tinned or stainless hook should be used.
Thread: white 3/0 or 6/0
Eyes: a 1/50 or 1/36-ounce metal dumbbell painted with vinyl jig paint
Belly: white bucktail
Flash: holographic silver Flashabou, silver Krystal Flash, pearlescent Flashabou, and pearlescent Krystal Flash. Use only four to six strands of each.
Back: gray bucktail topped with a little hair from the brown portion of the tail

Historically, fly pattern types have evolved along with fly fishing itself and today there are generally recognized pattern types. However, none are absolute, as there is much crossover in patterns and pattern types. Typically the fly tyer will encounter patterns classified as dry, wet, soft hackle (wet fly with hackle collar), emerger, nymph, scud (freshwater crustaceans), terrestrial (hoppers), streamer, salmon (Atlantic), Steelhead trout and Pacific salmon, bass, popper, panfish, Carp, saltwater, Northern pike, Bonefish, or musky fly patterns. Even within these categories, there can be many sub-categories of imitative and non-imitative fly patterns.

Commercial market

thumb|right|150px|A production fly tyer's bench and materials

thumb|right|Custom flies for sale at [[Parks' Fly Shop in Gardner, Montana]]

Hand-tied flies on the commercial market sell for under a US dollar to several US dollars each. Fly tying serves as a hobby for some, a money-saving strategy for others, and a profitable commercial enterprise for the professional tyer. The professional or commercial fly tyer may produce upwards of 36 thousand flies annually, whereas the amateur fly tyer may tie only a few flies each season for personal use.

Notable fly tyers

Dan Bailey (American, 19041982, creator of Green Drake and other flies)
Rosina Megan Boyd (English, 19152001, Salmon Flies)
James Deren (American, 1983, created The Fifty Degrees and Deren's Fox Dry Fly)
Jack Gartside (American, 19422009, fly tying author, angling known for his impressionistic style of tying)
George F. Grant (American, 19062008, fly tying author and first to promote the importance of nymph patterns)
Frederic M. Halford (English, 18441914)
Bernard "Lefty" Kreh (American, 19252018, creator of Lefty's Deceiver)
Don Martinez (American, 19031955, developed Woolly Worm (imitation)
Louis Rhead (English, 18571926)
Edwin Rist (American, known for stealing hundreds of birds to use their feathers in flies)
Alfred Ronalds (English, 18021860)
Frank Sawyer (19061980, created Pheasant Tail Nymph)
Carrie G. Stevens, (American, 18821970, created Grey Ghost Streamer)
Lee Wulff (American, 19051991, noted for his Wulff series of dry flies)

Approach

History

Tools and materials

Tools

Commercial market

Notable fly tyers

See also

References

External links