Fishing Hole Report

Tying your own fly fishing lures is a fantastic way to do something productive to fill those winter nights while waiting for fly fishing season to begin again. Flies are not too hard to tie, plus by using your own materials and designing your own patterns it’s a great way to develop new flies for those huge trout and bass you’ll be fishing for in the spring and summer months. The easiest type of fly to make for your first time at tying fly fishing lures is a dry fly.

Common Dry Fly Fishing Lures

When you start tying a dry fly it’s best to get the supplies together that you need before starting your ty. Usually this will involve a small vice to grip the hook, a basic hook, thread, some small feathers, course animal hair such as deer or elk hair, or the synthetic materials found in most sports equipment stores for tying fly fishing lures, usually called hackle barbs.

Here are 5 easy fly tying steps you can use:

• Place the hook in the vice with the bend of the hook clamped tightly and the shank end of the hook facing away from the vice. If you are right handed, hold your left forefinger along the shank of the hook and begin wrapping the thread by holding it closes to the bend with the left finger and wrapping it several times up to the end of the shank or the eye of the hook. There will be lots of hook showing through the thread. When you get to the end switch direction and bring the thread back, cross over each of the previous loops to form an X pattern around the shank. When you get back to the original first wrap slide the left finger away leaving the thread hanging but holding everything else in place.

• Measure the tail material and cut off the excess length. In standard fly fishing lures the tail will be the same length as the the hook shank length but remember that there will be a small extra length needed to tie the tail to the hook. Position the hackle barbs or the hairs so they will butt up against the wings about half way down the length of the hook shank. Loosely wrap the hanging thread around the tail bundle on the side closest to you then tighten the thread and pull to the other side moving the hair bundle to the top of the hook bend. Secure everything with a few extra wraps of the thread.

• To make the body part of the fly a little thicker you’ll need dubbing which is twisted onto the thread and then the thread is wrapped around the hook shank creating the desired shape. The body or dub should start just behind the wings and taper through to the tail.

• Cut the hens feathers or hackle tips to the desired length. This should be the same length as the shaft of the hook from the start of the bend to the eye. Angle the center shaft of the feather down on the side of the hook you are working on. Start to wrap the front of the feather shaft holding the feather straight. Increase the wrap and then push the feather more upright wrapping behind the shaft of the feather. This will pull the wings into the upright position. Repeat on the other side then gently spread the wings apart and position.

• Add additional hackle feathers to the front of the fly fishing lure using finer feathers the further forward on the fly you travel. Three to five wraps should be all that is needed to secure these fine feathers.

To tie off the thread make three or four loose loops letting the thread bobbin fall through the loop and then pulling tightly. This will secure the tie and ensure that your fly fishing lures will not unravel in the water.

There you have it, your first home made fly. When the season opens you can test it and see if your design pulls in the big one you have been after for years.

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