My earlier difficulties with tying the Pheasant Tail Nymph prompted this train of thought.
I have been tying for a while now but never really attempted the PTN as a beginner. Despite being featured as a beginners fly in virtually every tying book out there, I found it challenging as a beginner to manipulate the feather barbs etc. Even when completed it was a fragile fly that did not last long enough to justify the effort. To me, flies like the hairs ear etc looked better, lasted longer, were easier to tie by a long way and caught just as many fish, so I never really missed the PTN.
Lately I have been trying to tie some for a friend and I realise again how hard this damned fly is to tie and get right, and I can no longer claim “beginner status.” OK I am getting them done, and have developed a nice little pattern with pheasant tail abdo ribbed with copper, same wing case, ostrich herl body and brown feather barb tail and beard. It looks great so I don’t need any help or tying advise, but I still claim this is one difficult fly to tie! I can tie size 30 midges way easier that this little sucker in a #14.
Another one I have trouble with is the Humpy - boy I get frustrated tying this “simple” fly, in getting the proportions right. When I do get it looking good it seems to fall apart as soon as I fish it… I am almost resorting to using plastics on this pattern which I hate to do.
Hence my question, and just for fun, - what other “simple” flies are out there that are driving other tyers insane???
Which one do you hate to tie but can’t get away with not having?
I put a dab of Zap-A-Gap on the thread, then put the white biot down, then adjust them to possitiona dn in seconds they are there for good, or until a fish bites them off. :lol:
The one that gets me is a Stimulator. It is so time consuming for some reason. I got no problem tying a size 30 wulff, but that dang Stimulator! Argh.
I, also, was challenged by these “easy tie” patterns when I first started tying. Two things helped me tremendously, and may help you as well, so here they are:
Sit down with an accomplished tyer and watch closely what they do and how they do it. ASK QUESTIONS. I sometimes tie at shows, and when people ask what I’m tying, I will describe the pattern and say; “But I’d be happy to tie a particular pattern for you if I have the material with me.” Inevitably thay ask me to tie one of the above mentioned “easy tie” patterns that they are being challenged by. I now make sure I have materials for all of those flies with me at every show.
I made an “INVESTMENT” by purchasing The Fly Tiers Benchside Reference by Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer. This book does not teach ANY patterns, but it teaches you how to do everything from laying down a thread base to tying in wings to whip finishing to tailing techniques and much, much more, so you can tie ANY pattern. I recently found it helpful for making braided bodies, with four different techniques described for braiding. I bought mine several years ago for $62 from Amazon.com, and I just checked and the price has gone up to $63 with free shipping. You might get a used copy off e-bay for even less, but I rarely see anyone selling a used copy. Even if you spent the full $100 retail price, this is a book that will teach you for a lifetime and you’ll be proud to pass along to an heir who will also be taught for a lifetime. There is a CDROM version available for $39.95 if you prefer that type of format.
I guess it should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway…always check the FAOL pattern index for a particular pattern and closely follow the step-by-step instructions. I have also assembled a loose leaf notebook of FAOL favorite patterns as a reference for when i have not tied a particular pattern for awhile.
I think that one of the hardest beginner patterns to get just “right” is the old Catskill-style Adams. :shock: Fortunately, the parachute version is much easier to tie and IMHO a more effective fly. Others will disagree, I’m sure! 8T
When I first started tying, I found that many of the patterns that are shown as ‘beginner’ flys, really aren’t beginner flys: Adams, Prince Nymph, etc. As I tied more, I discovered that half of the problem was the technique I was using, the other half was the materials. For the technique, I used other tyers and videos and learned some of the better ways to do things. I also upgraded my materials. This is particularly important with hair and capes. On one of the first ‘cheap’ capes I bought the feathers had a tendancy to twist as I wrapped the hackle - a real nightmare when trying to tie a dry fly. A better cape made all the difference in the world.
For me, it was the Adams dry fly for all of the above reasons.
I am with Gringo, we know how to tie, its just certain flies require a little more attention :lol:
I have the Benchside book also. Was a Christmas gift many years ago and I cherish it!
One of the things that had me thinking about this problem was a recent conversation I had with a pro-tyer here. I mentioned beginners tying nymphs to get started and he said that nymphs are the hardest fly of all to tie and get right!
I think he has a point - now there may not be a lot of materials and steps, but the proportions have to be absolutely right, as they can get pretty close inspection by picky trout in the water. Dries can get away with being a little more shaggy… and small flies (18-20) have advantages to tie also in reduced wraps etc.
A nymph has to be exact, it has no hackle etc to cover errors - a big ask for a beginner?
I was having trouble with the pheasant tail till I figured out how to hang onto the tails . A prince nymph isnt tooo much.
Adams kick my butt every time I try it.
Humpy’s are a ball. (Royal humpy’s are a different story.)
I tried an inovation on Gold ribbed hares ears ( Al kept saying to be inovative)so I ended up with a bunch of floating GRHE’s. Not what I had in mind.
Tried the Tiger Weave Bitch Creek nymph and that has been a butt kicker from the start. It is fun though.
I have several aborted specimens that bear a very strong resemblance to hooks with stuff smeared on them.
Keep chugging. Im not a real hand at any of this stuff but have gotten comfortable with giving most of the simpler flys a shot.(Got a heck of a deal on hooks today).
alot of tyers start out thinking it will save them money but that never seems to prove true! :lol:
when i started i just wanted to tie and then i quickly saw the amounts of money adding up for materials! :shock:
but im a spoiled 14 yr old so… you could guess who pays for my materials :lol: :lol: :lol:
I think any fly that has deer or elk hair as a wing can turn into a disaster. If you cut just a little bit too much or too little out of your piece of hide the fly doesn’t look right. If you get the least bit careless tying it in the hair will rotate around the hook and look like a complete mess. Simple flies like the Troth’s Elk Hair Caddis or Hans’ CDC & Elk can be trouble if you’re not careful.
Joe
Your’e right - and it is also really difficult to get them consistently the same. Mine all look different due to differing amounts of hair selected. I have learned to get around it to a degree, just by tying up a heap, say two dozen, and selecting six the most alike for the fly box.
Hey Gringo. I learned a long time ago that ALL flies will catch fish (eventually). I stopped discarding the less-than-perfect flies and now fish with everything that comes off the vise. I’m out there fishing to have fun, and not to impress anyone with a perfect fly.
Have you ever had the experience of catching several fish with the same fly, even though the fly looks like it went through a shredder, but it still kept catching fish? This happens to me frequently, which just reinforces my belief that ALL flies will catch fish (eventually). We spend way too much time seeking perfection in our tying, and not enough time drowning and losing flies. Let’s get our priorities in their proper order and spend more time fishing and less time agonizing over the minutia. :lol:
I can bang out Adams so easy it bores me to tie them. Following the Goddess’ comment about Stimulators I was prompted to try a pattern I saw I think in the Orvis cattledog, really nice on a bent hook with orange body and green abdo. Anyway I tied one last night and first one it was PERFECT! Looks great! So I quit while I was ahead in case I stuffed the next one up… Had another go this morning and banged out a couple more, both goodies too so far. Might have to progress down to a #16 and see how that goes.
Re the benchside reference, I have one and it is great, I agree.
Not that this post was meant to inspire tips, but something that helps me tie hair is to take a loop of thread around the hair before I try to attach it to the hook, this keeps it in a nice clump and stops it from flaring around the hook if you want it as a wing or tail. It might even have come from the benchside reference.
Pheasant tail is still a b@#ch though. I am now doing them with an ostrich herl boby over pheasant tail abdo and wing case and this looks good. Hopefully it will be more durable, and catch fish as well. I have a heap of the little mongrels now so shouldn’t need to tie any for a while.
nobody can tie a perfect fly. Well, the person that invented the fly pattern can. They can tie it how they want and consider it perfect if that is how they want it done.
