Fly tying | Page 21

Dave McKenna is a fly tier after my own heart—he travels a lot for work, so rather than diving into a fly shop to buy local patterns every time he hits a new river, he's come up with a host of flies that seem to work generally everywhere. It's a great notion, that of having…

Over the last couple of weeks, we've focused on parachute posts, largely because they can confound some folks at the vise. First, we showed you a traditional method, then we showed you the 90-degree method. Now, Tim Flagler offers up still another method for tying effective parachute posts, this one involving UV resin. Video of…

For anglers who like to use double-nymph rigs, particularly in winter and spring, a good "anchor" nymph is vital to ensure the rig rides deep enough in the water. Below, Tim Flagler ties a good anchor nymph that's a lot of fun to tie. Video of DPD NymphNotice a couple of more complex "moves" Tim…

Parachute posts for mayfliles and other dries must be on everybody's brain right now. They're certainly on mine, as spring and summer are rapidly approaching. Perhaps I'm just the victim of a complex data-mining scheme? At any rate, last week, we showed you Tim Flagler's Orvis video instructing you on how to tie a simple…

This is a real treat. Below, Tim Flagler narrates as Ed Engle ties his Bubble-wing BWO emerger, a pattern based very strictly on an actual baetis mayfly life stage. As Ed describes the fly, it's essentially an emerging nymph. Video of Ed Engle's Bubble Wing BWO EmergerOf course, the real treat is watching as Ed…

I love parachute dry flies—patterns that feature a horizontally tied hackle around a "post." The parachute hackle helps the fly's body sink a bit deeper into the surface film, and it gives the fly a bit more surface area, allowing it to float a bit better and represent more than just a single life stage…

It's full-on stonefly nymph season on a lot of American rivers, and that means it's time to get creative at the vise and tie some patterns that do more than just imitate in-the-water bugs. I've become a big fan of rubber legs—I think for a lot of stonefly patterns, these little squiggly bands of rubber…