Fly Tying Latest Topics

Some Flys I Tied

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 01:12:53 +0000

I posted these with my introduction. Figured i ought to post them here too. Just a beginner haven't fished them yet hopefully this year.

Glow Beads

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:40:41 +0000

New guy from Seattle here. I’m going to start making my own hybrid salmon trolling flies for the Pacific Northwest, both the ocean and Puget Sound. Blending hootchie and bucktail elements. I’m wondering if anyone has been using the Radical Glow products, the beads in particular. At $5 for a dozen 8mm beads for hook adjustment I’m wondering if they are worth the cost.

Thanks, Mike

Buford...and it works...

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 02:43:28 +0000

My first real try at tying a Buford...It came out well, swims well, and it works...

...there was a 40" plus musky that I hooked and lost also

Tullis Wiggler on a 4/0 hook

Sun, 20 Jul 2025 16:54:31 +0000

Double Murdich

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 22:40:57 +0000

The flies themselves are nothing new, or particularly interesting, but how I have them set up may be.

What I’ve done is tie in a section of 25# single strand nickle-titanium tieable wire into the first fly rather than connecting the two flies via the normal method of tying the 2nd fly in off the bend in the hook of the 1st fly.

This effectively makes an extension of the tippet and makes it easier to cast.

It works well - I caught a small musky and a few smallies the first time I used it.

Tullis Wiggler Varitaions

Sun, 03 Aug 2025 06:20:24 +0000

Now that my first Tullis Wiggler has caught fish on two successive trips, it was time to start trying variations.

All the bodies are cut on my laser cutter/engraver, for consistency and uniformity - that it takes less than 15 minutes to cut a dozen perfect bodies with a center mark for the hook doesn't hurt either.

Trying to duplicate a successful fly...

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 14:39:24 +0000

The fly in the picture below wound up being the hot fly on a local river a couple weeks ago.

It was sort of a Hail Mary attempt to get fish to bite for my friend Brian...he wound up having a musky take a swipe at it, and another musky eat it, which we got in the net.

It caught some other fish too.

...the problem was that I didn't remember tying it. 🙄

Looking at it, I knew it was mine just because of the style, the hook, the crushed barb...I probably tied it at our fly tying club, and beer may have been involved...

It took me a while to figure out what materials it was made from - turned out to be Kanekalon hair extension material, and pink Ripple Ice Fiber...then I had to get in the right frame of mind to tie.

The original is a little beat up, having been on the receiving end of some less than gentle attention form the toothy fish - there's a spot on the other side of the fly where all the material is down to the thread...and the materials were generally kinda thinned out, so I took a couple swings at making some more.

...they'll do.

...then I wanted to - given the nature of muskies - up-size the pattern a bit. That was OK with the Kanekalon (it's about 30" long) but the Ripple Ice Fiber was a problem.

I dug out a 5/0 hook that I thought would get me 8" - 9" (the original was on a 1/0 hook) and started in.

I improvised with Nightmare Musky Flies long fiber dubbing, with some of the Ripple Ice Fiber mixed in to try to retain roughly the same amount of flash. It might be too pink - if that's possible - but we'll see.

Foam Baitfish with Gills

Sat, 11 Aug 2018 16:10:34 +0000

Foam Baitfish with Gills

Body Shape: 3/16 industrial foam

gills and baitfish profile are cut with a laser to match the hook

Hook: EC 253 4/0

I have never been very good or fast at cutting these out but having a laser cut the shape makes short work of tying these up.

Just need to put resin on, turn it and I can call it done.

Sourcing Materials

Sat, 11 Dec 2021 13:25:54 +0000

So I've been carving lures and making spinners for a couple years now. Recently I started pouring my own lead jig heads. Now I'm dabbling with hair jigs, and I'm starting to get the itch to tie some of my own flies. I tied my first bunch (3) of flies probably 20 years ago. Two were very successful for bass. One I tied with strips of an old white sock, the other with a curl of my hair.

Behind much of my lure-making is a desire to save money and be creative. About a month ago I found a freshly killed squirrel (clearly it had no more use for its tail), and took its tail for tying fur. Earlier this week I did the same with a deer on the side of the road. I reached out to a local deer processing place and the guy is going to save me some deer tails. Right now he's going to sell them to me for $2 each, but I may try and negotiate some sort of trade.

Does anyone else use "creative" methods for sourcing materials, and if so, could you share?

Beginner

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 00:45:47 +0000

Hello everyone I’m a 15 year old fly maker I live in Michigan and want to start tying musky and bass flies. I don’t want to seem weird asking for donations or trades but does anyone have any extra materials?

or message me at (586) 201-3987

Catching Up

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 23:39:49 +0000

Cutting Poppers from Rounds

Mon, 09 May 2022 17:37:26 +0000

So is there any magic angle for a popper face? 30 degrees?

Does the back side have any relationship to function?

What about a diver head?

The turning popper/slider heads got me thinking.

Thanks

Ed from Iowa

Duck Season

Sun, 20 Aug 2017 11:52:53 +0000

Sitting in line at a coffee stand at 4:30 am, I realized its getting very close to duck season. Thinking back to the last few seasons, I got a lifetime supply of duck feathers for tying. I know it's legal for me to keep them for personal use, but is it legal to give them away? I was thinking I could ship them to members interested. I just hate throwing stuff that could be used away. I believe different state laws occur as this has been talked about before. Thoughts? I don't remember if we came to a conclusion last time.

Turning a Foam Popper Head

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 02:18:37 +0000

Bobbin ?

Tue, 11 Dec 2018 13:38:37 +0000

What bobbin do most use tying flies & is it an absolute necessity to have ? Thanks

Maribou Feather Boas?

Fri, 25 Dec 2020 14:32:36 +0000

Has anybody ever used these as either a main source of feathers for tying floatnfly & crappie jigs. Also what about small amounts of dyed ostrich feathers as possible accent colors on these jigs? How about mixed with craft fur or bucktail? These would be cheap & easy to obtain if they'd work good & figured somebody here had tried it. Thanks

Some Recent Poppers

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 00:52:54 +0000

Mop Fly Hook

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 20:01:58 +0000

Hello! What sort of hook do you prefer to use for a mop fly? I've read they are usually about 1 inch long, and most of the pictures look like a more round hook, similar to an octopus hook. I've tied some up already using the hooks I have on hand, but I'm curious as to what hooks you prefer. As an aside, I'd really like to win the "coolest lure" contest this year, and I'm hoping a complicated, intricate pattern like the mop fly will be my secret weapon...don't tell anyone!

Bluegill Gurgler

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 00:30:26 +0000

Kick' n Frog

Sat, 04 Dec 2021 10:18:10 +0000

Here's a little beauty! What yall think?

Big Feather Jigs

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 11:45:27 +0000

I am a rookie fly tyer. Was wondering if anybody have a good demonstration on a big feather jigs on 3/4 and 1 oz jig heads..? I'm talking about from the tip of the weight to the tip of the last feather would be roughly 5 1/2 to 7 in. I predominantly want to Tie White feathers, what feathers would y'all suggest? Thanks for any feedback

New Guy Sharing a Fly

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 16:21:54 +0000

Hello,

My name is George and have been fly fishing for years but tying for about 8 months. I am enjoying the forum and looking forward to sharing videos and learning some new and traditional techniques. I would like to share a cricket pattern I have been tying for awhile which is simple and fun. I hope you enjoy

The video link is https://youtu.be/NyOwkVFjYWU

Parachute ant fly by Barry Ord Clarke

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 19:28:16 +0000

Being the most prolific terrestrial on just about every river and still water Parachute ant fly. Fly Tying instructions by Barry Ord Clarke

Pats Rubber Legs

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 00:28:04 +0000

Deer Hair Bass Bug

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 17:25:22 +0000

Almost ready for Bass in the next few weeks. The Deer Hair Bass Bug is my goto popper pattern for big and smallies and looking forward to the river and lakes in the next two or three weeks. This pattern is broken into two videos with the first being dedicated to tying and the second to trimming deer hair.

Hope you enjoy.

part 1: https://youtu.be/jbjc4VytMGU

part 2: https://youtu.be/G936PwIGVFU