Fly Tying Class Lesson Plans?

Fly Patterns
, , , , ,
1

Does anyone have a basic lesson plan for a fly tying class that they would be willing to share?

I’ve been asked for a beginining fly tying class that would meet for an hour a week and run for 4 to 6 weeks. Class size will be small and other than a small fee to help cover material costs it will be a free class.

I’ve done some individual teaching, but I have not taught a formal series of classes. So, before I reinvent the wheel, I was wondering if someone has already done something similar and would be willing share their lesson plan.

My thoughts are that each week a new tying skill would be introduced and then a fly would be tied to use that new technique. For example 1st week tools and basic info and then tye a very simple fly, 2nd week how to dubb and then tye nymph using dubbing, 3rd week some other technique. I am thinking a mixture of trout, warmwater, and maybe a simple saltwater pattern or two, but with focus on the tying techniques more than the pattern.

Anyone have some suggestions/advice that they would be willing to share?

Thanks,
Rex

2

Try this…
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/archive.php

3

RexW,

Before I retired from the local college here, I taught a Beginner’s Fly Tying class twice a year. What I thought would only last for about a year, lasted 14 years and it was the most enjoyable class to teach and I miss teaching it since the college no longer offers the class since I retired. There is only one place to get a basic lesson plan and that is right here on FAOL. Go to the home page and in the menu on the left, click on Fly Tying. There you will find Al Campbell’s tying lessons. There is a Beginners, Intermediate and an Advanced section. Each section is broken down into steps and it is all you will ever need to put your lesson plan together. The class I taught only allowed 6 students which allows for one-on-one instructions and was held every Thursday evening from 6-9pm for 5 weeks. I furnished all equipment, tools, material and class hand outs for each student. It sure was a great time and you will really enjoy it.

Make sure to check out Al’s pages. You will find everything you need right there. Trust me on this…Al was a great person and I sure do miss him…

4

Add a third suggestion to use Al’s lessons. Al made sure that his lessons built technique on technique. From the classes I’ve done, you can’t spend too much time on thread control.

REE

5

Warren, my hat’s off to you and others who enjoy passing on the knowledge and experience acquired throughout the years. For this is how I began my fly fishing fixation back in 2002. As rod building, fly tying and basics/advanced, were courses offered at Oregon State University. Now through my years I too enjoy passing on the knowledge (how little that may be) to others. So far I’ve been able to get nine others “hooked” as well.

Cheers

6

I love to teach. Seeing the light bulbs of understanding go on is very rewarding. I not only teach fly tying for the Scouts, I help train adult leaders in the various aspects of Scouting up to and including the most advanced training the Scouts offer, Wood Badge, which is the same training

My experience with teaching fly tying is much different than what you have before you. Working with the Hooked on Tahosa program with the Scouts gives me about 2 hours to have the boys tie 2-3 flies. Naturally, I go with dead simple flies, the patterns of which I devised to make them easy to tie and quick to teach.

We start with a size 18 red midge. This one teaches rudimentary thread control. Mount the hook in the vice, start your red thread, back to the bend, back to 1 eye’s width back of the eye, wind on a little lump for a thorax, wind a small head, finish with a few half hitches, cement and done. We don’t have time to show them how to use a whip finish tool or do it by hand.

From there, we do a D-rib nymph and a foam ant, both of which are very simple to tie. At the end of the tying, the boys either go out for a couple of hours of casting lessons or go fishing. Those 3 flies are proven winners on that lake so the boys have an excellent chance of catching fish with them and they often do.

My classes are small. I have no more than 6 to a sitting and most times have a helper that can assist with showing how to wind thread on the hook, which direction to go, etc. We learn terminology as we go.

To see one of those boys catch a fish on a fly they tied that afternoon, is almost as big a thrill as I got the first time it happened for me. Of course, there isn’t much time to bask in the glory of the moment. Now you are teaching how to fight the fish, land it, and how to remove the hook and release the fish, and trying to take pics all at the same time. It is all way too much fun. :slight_smile:

7

There is a basic template most beginning classes follow (e.g. bugger->nymph->dry), and the amount of material/patterns covered is determined by time. An hour a week for 4-6 weeks seems like a very tight schedule. For example, my classes are usually 3-4 3 hour sessions and we start with thread midges and finish with parachutes. From what I’ve seen, this is a much more average pace.

Regardless, in my mind you have the right attitude in that patterns are unimportant, learning techniques are key. The other recommendation I would make is that mastering fundamentals is critical, so each class must build on the techniques learned in the previous class. With a short class, emphasizing homework where the students do work on their own may help expedite the learning process.

With your format I would keep the flies simple, and make sure you quickly demonstrate the fly before having the class tie, if you go that route (usually the method one uses). I imagine you will not be able to do more than a pattern a class, and you may want to consider just doing a couple of basic patterns with many variants rather than focussing on many patterns. I would also recommend you keep the classes small (6 or less), because it will be easier to manage.

Good luck.

8

I took an afternoon class from a lady when I started tying. She had a totally different approach to teaching tying that I think worked great. She taught me no fly patterns. No wooly bugger, no dry flies, no specific patterns at all. What she did teach was various tying techniques. Things like the following:

Starting thread
whip finishing
tying materials on in various ways
spinning deer hair
palmering hackle
tying on tails
etc
etc

In the end I had a bunch of hooks with various materials applied, but no flies to fish with. What I took away was the knowledge of how to apply various materials to a hook. I found that I was able to tie a lot of different fly patterns just by applying the techniques I learned. I thought this was a great way to teach!

Wayne

9

Good for you, my first and only tying lesson was a woolly bugger from there I just went ahead and started tying on my own, even before i started fly fishing. If I had the opportunity to have taken a beginners tying class, I would have, but luckily I had a friend who had been tying a lot longer than I that could pass things along, between him and some books I bought I’ve become good enough to tie flies that i’ll catch fish with. But one thing I picked up along the way working at a summer camp a couple years ago, we did one day that was devoted to fly fishing and one segment was on tying, and we had the kids tying a maple syrup fly. But it really helps to have a guy or two with you when actually tying the fly during the class to sit at each table or to wander and help out, as it is hard for people to really see what you are doing and it definitely helps things go smoother with a little help.

10

Hi,

In classes here in NZ we usually start with a Wooly Bugger. The second week we’ll do a Fuzzy Wuzzy type (i.e. Red Setter). The third week we do a matuku-style pattern (Parson’s Glory). The forth week we’ll do a Pukeku type (Craig’s Nighttime). These are all tied on larger hooks (size 6 or 4) and are all good still water lure patterns. The larger sized patterns are often easier for complete novices to work with. We stress thread control and neat wraps; tension; and proportions. After that, we go to nymphs (size 10s), and start with a Hare and Copper (lead wraps, a few guard hairs for a tail, dubbed hare’s fur body - small at tail thick at the head, and a copper wire rib - this is a deadly pattern here, especially with a bead head, and is a simplified gold ribbed hare’s ear nymph), then work on half backs (same lesson), and move on to dries (usually something big and bushy, like a royal wulf). Again, stress porpotions the whole way though.

You could easily throw in a soft hackle (during the nymphs), and some easy winged pattersn (i.e. mallard & claret). Quill slip wings can be tried if they are doing fairly well with thread and material control. It’s a lot of fun to see someone progress.

  • Jeff
11

Thank you for the comments. I had forgotten about Al’s notes. I haven’t looked at them in years, but they are good.

I really appreciate the comments from those of you that have taught a series of classes. You have given some very useful comments.

Thank you,
Rex

12

Rex, good luck - if you use Al’s lessons you will be in good company. I have given hundreds of groups permission to print them out and use them as a hand-out for classes. Feel free to do that as well if you wish. Some of our readers are in out-of-the-way places and don’t have anyone else to help them, they’ve learned to tie just from Al’s lessons and do very well thank you! He put a lot of thought into the series and we’re very pleased to be able to continue to share that information. The only thing we ask is to include a credit to FAOL if you use them as a hand-out. Have fun with the classes!

13

  1. tools - what are they good for - layout the tools of the trade and explain each one. some may have an idea of what they or what they do, others may not

  2. thread - lets break some thread- teaches thread control

  3. materials - layout some materials for a show and tell

  4. hackles and feathers - explain the various types of hackles & feathers used in fly tying. everything from soft hackles to dry fly hackles

  5. tie a simple fly. string thing, brassie, buckskin nymph, griffiths gnat etc etc etc

14

The class I learned went:

Bugger, Hare’s Ear, EHC.

If I was to add to that, I’d go…

foam ant/beetle, Catskill, Parachute.

15

Thank you very much.

Rex

16

Kevin, I too work with scouts. First, for next to nothing they can make a simple whip finish tool using a toothpick and some mono. And have you seen Extemely Low Budget FF site? GREAT for older Cubs to Boy Scout working on their FLy Fishing Merit badge - http://edengelman.com/. I love his options for $5 or less flytying vices that the kids can make and then use themselves.

I was a Cub Camp Day Camp Program Director for many years and one year we had a High Seas Adventure theme. We had the scouts tie their ownflies on one day (THANKS TO OUR LOCAL TROUT UNLIMITED!) and the next day the kids made their own 6" cane pole and then had a fishing derby. Lots of smiles and we had 8 (of 64 total) scouts still fishing two hours AFTER the camp day ended. At least a dozen kids had never fished before and now they are catching fish on a pole they made. We had lots of Kodak moments - and some warm feelings with the staff! YEP, lots of fun!