I was wondering what was the first fly that you tied. Mine was the wooly worm. Last night I began teaching my sister how to tie and since I started with the wooly worm I figured I would start her with the same thing. It took her about 30 min. for her to tie it, and I barely helped her at all. Overall it turned out great. The hackle was evenly wrapped and the fly was perfectly proportioned. She tied it on a 2x long size 12 dry fly hook.
I have been mentoring, at a local library, those interested in fly tying. I use the Al Campbell series, that you can find here on FAOL.
Everyone seems to think, Woolly Bugger’s the way to start. I like Al’s series because it starts the beginner at the beginning, and moves on to related skills through the series. Al’s first fly is the “EZ Nymph”!
EZ Nymph
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/:78620]Al Campbell’s Beginner’s Fly Tying Series, Click Here![/url:78620]
my first fly was a P&P wetfly.
Can’ remember back that far --is been over 70 years. Lots of streamers for Landlock Salmon I teach first tyer and the first is always the Wooly Bugger. 
BILL
Hi group,
My first fly was a red bucktail streamer. Take care & …
Tight Lines - Al Beatty
www.btsflyfishing.com
“Renegade”, fished it all over Montana and it has never failed me. Still using it thoughout the West.
Mike
Will never forget that first fly/flies. God awful looking marabou streamers that looked so bad, didn’t want anyone to see me with them. Sooo, being nice, I gave them to my wife to use and she fished circles around me! Lesson Learned! Sometimes, the trout really don’t seem to care that much.
Crackleback/Bob A
I am learning as we speak and my first fly will be the wooly bugger…soon I hope.
My first fly was an ice cream cone midge, that was also my first hand tied fly that I caught A fish on. wish I would have saved it.
Wooly bugger was the first for me too. Learned from a TU fly tying class.
Like many of you, mine was the woolly bugger.
Hi,
I think my first attempt was a generic nymph pattern, otherwise known as the FOH nymph (fluff on hook nymph). There is no set pattern, however, everyone seems to develope their own variation at some point.
One of the first flies that we teach people to tie at the club (along with the wooly bugger) is usually the “fuzzy wuzzy patterns”. An example is the Red Setter, which can be found here on FAOL.
A typical “fuzzy wuzzy”, however, uses black hackles and black squirrel tail, and takes on the name of the body colour. So, a “red fuzzy wuzzy” is tied exactly like a “Red Setter”, but with black tails, black hackels, and red cheniel.
- Jeff
Mine would have been a Wooly Worm, unless you count glo-bugs.
Brown Bivisible
It’s hard to remember back that far…40+ years ago. I think I was 5 or 6 years old. I think my first flies were Wooly Worms. I seem to remember tying a lot of Micky Finns as well. I had gotten a Herters Fly-Tying kit for my birthday.
When I started school, I used to tie flies for some of my teachers (simpler patterns, mostly wet-flies and streamers), and entered a few in Art exhibits at the school. They were well received.
I am pretty sure my first was a Wooly Worm.
Semper Fi!
EHC
Jim
I can’t remember but I THINK it was a dry fly. This much I do recall:[ul]*The hackle was too big, too soft, too everything!
*There was too much dubbing making the body WAY fat.
*The hook was too heavy and too long.
*The head of the fly was GIGANTIC!
*The eye of the hook was totally plugged with head cement.
*It looked like nothing, least of all a bug. It was ugly!
*It sunk…[/ul]…but I persevered and now only a few items on this list still rear their ugly head on occasion.
Have fun and keep at it!
Shucks Bamboozle, that sounds just like the LAST fly that I tied… :oops:
Ed
Mine was the greenie weenie without tail. so it was more like a peice of cartruse chenille on a hook.
Missouri Trout Fishermen’s Beginning Class at Raytown South High School, approximately 1981. Clarence Peasley was the instructor. The first fly was a wooly worm.
I took the class with my son, and both of us continue to fish and tie flies together.