Currently browsing… fly tying
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The Sulphur Comparadun
With the sulphur hatch in full swing in the East, sometimes matching the hatch can be impossible. Instead, offering something just a little different to picky trout can be exactly what the doctor ordered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp4rV1PYPHM Above, Tim Flagler ties his Sulphur Comparadun, which could be that "something different" when hundreds (or thousands) of mayflies are…
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The distibution wrap
Tying soft-hackle flies or some streamers that require feather fibers to be distributed evenly around the hook can be a challenge, largely because tiers often end up with a larger-and-desired thread head. That's because it takes more wraps to bind down fibers and get them pointed rearward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvciUiBefac Above, Tim Flagler give us the solution,…
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Wrapping soft hackle
Soft-hackle patterns have earned a spot in my fly box. Over the last half-decade or so, they have gone from seldom-use curiosities from some hidden corner of a rarely opened fly box to my first choice on many waters here in the West. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsP43A2fr84 The sparser the better when it comes to soft hackles. Why?…
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Flashback Pheasant Tail nymph
The venerable Pheasant Tail nymph is a fly box staple, and there's a reason for that. It works. And it's not the most onerous fly to tie, either, as demonstrated below by Matt Callies of Loon Outdoors, who cranks one out in just a few minutes. https://youtu.be/YgyPaFIEw8s Matt Callies ties the Flashback Pheasant Tail nymph.…
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Three little nymphs
I love the way Matt Callies from Loon ties flies. Check that. I love the way he converses when he ties flies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPalbzdbgu0 You can tell Callies is a fly fishing guide and not just a vise junkie. He fishes what he ties, and he's pretty pragmatic about what comes from his vise when all…
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The Western Coachman
I love old-school flies. I think it comes from my involvement, many years ago, with the Trout Unlimited chapter in Salida, Colo., when I was the news editor of the local paper there. After penetrating the initial crustiness of the "old timers" at the chapter meetings, I made some great friends there, and these guys…
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Choosing CDC material
CDC, or cul-de-canard, is the soft, fluffy material that comes from around the preening gland of a duck or goose. Despite its fluffy nature, CDC really does float pretty well, and a lot of folks use it when tying emergers and the like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53edv9ccCpM Above, Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions talks about the differences between…