Paul Arden | Tuesday, 7 November 2023
I have a Zoom student who is very much a fly fishing beginner, but is progressing quickly. It’s been extremely interesting for me in many ways and I love the questions I get regularly via WhatsApp on pretty much everything from reading the water, to fly selection, to leader lengths, to knots, to casting and, well, pretty much everything else actually.
Last weekend I had a question on what flies to buy for this time of year in Ireland (some Stillwaters open all year for stocked trout). The straightforward answer for me would be some black lures, some white lures and then some orange boobies for fishing after the first frosts have occurred. Marabou streamers, some leaded tadpoles, maybe a bunny or two. At this time of year it just has to be in their face and moved slowly, or not at all.
However… that’s not what I suggested! I suggested that he learn to tie flies instead.
Tying you own flies, I believe, is an integral part of fly fishing. Your fly box becomes your working tool box, one that is constantly in development. It’s not difficult to learn. After half a dozen attempts you’ll be tying stuff that works and from this comes ideas and experiments. Not only is it fun, but ultimately you’ll tie flies that give you more confidence than anything you can buy. I have many flies that simply cannot be bought (no one would buy them anyway) and I’m quite convinced they are far more effective than anything that can be bought.
And most of them are really fucking ugly.
This is not because I’m ugly and ugly anglers tie ugly flies, which the less astute reader might conclude at this point. No, it’s because I believe that fish like ugly flies. Give them a splodge, suggest life (don’t try to “imitate it” because you can’t) and instead stick something in front of them that looks squashed, straggly and underdressed and you’ll nail them.
The techniques you need to learn are the whip start, the whip finish, pinch and loop and hackling. The tools you need are a vice (man this really helps – I can tie with hands if I have to, but a vice makes it easier), a pair of sharp straight-pointed fly tying scissors, a bobbin holder (I didn’t even know these existed for about the first five years incidentally!) and some hackle pliers. Some people use a whipfinish tool but I don’t know how to use one and don’t care to learn, I just use my fingers – it’s faster. Oh… and a biro pen without the ink part for Muddlers and some Velcro for everything else.
Now this section I’m about to link to, was written a very long time ago. Sexyloops is 25 years old and I’m not anymore. However it should give you an idea of what I look for in tying fish-catching flies – just keep hitting the “next” button until your head explodes…
http://members.sexyloops.com/members/operationfluff/index.shtml
Here is a Stillwater booklet that I wrote even further back in time, a couple of years before I started Sexyloops by mistake. It tells you how to fish all those flies…
https://www.sexyloops.com/stillwater/
And here is a “how to tie flies” section cleverly written by Ben Spinks, right back in the very early years of Sexyloops…
https://www.sexyloops.com/flytying/index.shtml
And if you are going to tie just one fly….
http://members.sexyloops.com/members/operationfluff/leadedharesear12.shtml
And if you are going to get creative…
https://www.sexyloops.com/newsletters/2003feb17.shtml
I think you’ll be well set and on your way now!! Any questions hopefully Viking Lars can answer.
Have a great week!
Cheers, Paul