I have participated in many Fly Swaps here at Fly
Angler’s On-Line, and written many articles for FAOL.
It was not until I became a Swapmeister, I noticed
something that I never noticed before. Reason I
never noticed this before is I have always practiced
most of the things I have read on FAOL. I have been
reading FAOL since 1997 (when FAOL started), from
reading most (if not all) of FAOL articles, I have
quickly passed from a beginner fly tier, to intermediate,
then to advanced fly tier.
FAOL has many articles, written by different people,
who have unique ideas for making fly tying easier.
Combination of past “Tying Tips” articles, comments
in the FAOL Chatroom, messages on the Bulletin Board,
and E-mails I have received in the past 5 years is
how this article came about.
Bench Clutter: George E. Emanuel (muddler)
wrote, “If there is one thing that will really slow
down and reduce the quality of your time at the vice,
it is clutter.” Not only does it slow you down, it
reduces your skills at the vice. Hard enough to
remember the steps for the pattern you are tying,
you also are trying to remember where you put the
materials and tools you are using. It is better to
have tool storage away from the vise, to pick the
tools you need at the vise to tie the fly pattern.
Only materials at the vise are those you are using.
Clutter is the start of the slippery slope to Chaos.
After you are done tying return all the tools and
materials, to the proper place.
Lighting: Al Campbell wrote in his Field
Editor Column, about the importance of “Good Lighting”
for taking photos. A camera lens is it’s eye, just as
your eyes are your camera! If you have good lighting
on the subject, your tying will be more accurate and easier.
Lighting also includes a background so you sight is not
distracted by clutter in you line of sight, and the color
also helps to better highlight the subject.
Tools: Too many tools can defeat your fly
tying by slowing you down. If you are a beginner then
Al Campbell’s article in Beginning Fly Tying is for you.
If you are beyond the beginner level, Ronn Lucas Sr.'s
article may be better suited for your needs.
Materials: Others have written many times on this
site, that you should wherever possible, obtain the best
material for fly tying. I have also stated that material
that is inferior is not worth the money, time or effort.
It is important to buy the best you can afford, and to
insure that it remains that way when not being used.
Have containers for your thread, floss, tinsel, and
wire when they are not being used, and sealed containers
for your capes, furs, herls, tail and wing material and
storage of hooks. On the front page of FAOL there is a
Search Engine, type in the word Storage see
how many articles are on this site covering that topic alone.
Here is one article that is about Hook Storage.
Here is an article on Thread Storage.
Finally a series of articles that covers just about
everything else that needs
Here are some E-Mail posts I received, from various
people, who encountered difficulties tying flies…
One person stated that they have difficulties when
they first attempt tying a new pattern. That is
takes about 6 to 8 attempts before they tie a fly
that is acceptable to their expectations. My reply
is I have the same problem, but I don’t use those
for fly swaps, and I do not throw them away, I use
them when I am fishing alone…and they do catch fish.
Another wrote me saying that they have difficulties
with a given pattern, they find it hard to visualize
from the photos, how the fly should actually look,
without an actual model in front of them. If the
pattern is of a fly that is commonly available at most
fly stores, then the answer is go to the store and buy
one to use as a model. Once you get the perfect fly,
whether you purchased it, received it in a fly swap,
or it took you 8 tries to get it right; here is what
you should do with
it… ~Parnelli
Please check out the Fly Tying Section, on the Bulletin Board, here at FAOL too.
If you have any questions, tips, or techniques; send them to
[FAOL]
Originally published June 29, 2003 on Fly Anglers Online by Steven H. McGarthwaite.