As some of you may know, I'm starting a fly tying and fly fishing club for the 7th and 8th grade students at my school. I was planning on teaching a fly a week for ten weeks starting in January, so that the kids would have a few flies to use come spring. When considering what flies to teach I kept three things in mind: difficulty level, the availability of materials, and the patterns that work in my area (mid-western Ontario).

Here's a list of patterns. What are your thoughts. Are there any you'd avoid, or swap for another pattern? Please let me know. (these are in no particular order)

1. woolly bugger
2. pheasant tail nymph
3. adams
4. black ant
5. griffith's gnat
6. blue winged olive
7. hare's ear nymph
8. elk hair caddis
9. parachute adams
10. bi-visible