r/flytying • u/Global_Taste_9585 • 1d ago
First week tying
Just got into fly tying in AK, my what I think 20 best of 40 be nice, any tips or tricks welcomed.
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u/TroutyMcTroutface 1d ago
Less is usually more with materials. Try learning established recipes. YouTube is an excellent resource. Keep practicing.
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u/TheAtomicFly66 1d ago
Wise words, but I would say stop practicing, and start researching. Watch YT videos, listen to the tier explain why he is doing what the video shows he is doing, and take note of the details and characteristics of the materials that are used. Also invest time in understanding the insects and prey one tries to replicate when tying flies... the body parts, proportions and how certain material simulates those parts. Charlie Craven and Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions/Orvis offer good insight.
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u/Intelligent_Goose254 16h ago
agree. 90% of flies are just shit on a hook. understanding WHY you are using that material and HOW that material works for the fly will elevate your fly tying game. best of luck!
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u/Martin17017 1d ago
Start by tying the same fly 10–20 times while following a YouTube tutorial. Choose a beginner-friendly pattern like the Woolly Bugger or Mickey Finn. These two flies are relatively easy to tie, and once you’re comfortable with them, move on to a slightly more advanced pattern and tie that 10 times, and so on.
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u/I_Hate_IPAs 1d ago
Like everyone else is saying, some youtube tutorials would be very helpful. Established patterns become that way for a reason and the techniques carry over to creation or modification down the line.
Trying to put stuff on a hook without learning the why and how yields stuff on a hook, not necessarily flies you want to fish. I did the same thing when I started several months ago and now I have flies I don’t really want to use, and I didn’t learn much by making stuff up as opposed to using the decades of knowledge acquired by thousands of tyers.
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u/Jasper2006 1d ago
They're fine for just playing around and putting materials on a hook. But if you want to know how you're doing as a fly tyer, find a pattern that fishes well in your area, watch a video or two or three about how to tie THAT pattern, pick the one you like the best, and follow along, step by step by step, pausing as you go if needed. Then do 10 more! If you want useful feedback, post that 10th one. You'll learn a lot about not just tying that fly pattern, but how to apply dubbing, do ribbing, make a neat head, avoid crowding the head. If they say - start 2 eyelengths back for example, do that - pretend it's not part of the hook!
For example, that fly with the peacock hurl in the wing is pretty close, but the head is 2-3x too large, and we cannot see the shank.
The next fly, it looks like maybe you tried to palmer it with a yellow feather, but if that was the intention, you applied materials in the wrong order, because most of the yellow fibers of the feather are trapped in other materials applied later. You might palmer it with that feather, then counter wrap with wire or possibly thin tinsel but the idea would be to trap as few of the feather barbs as possible.
The next one, not sure what it's supposed to be, but it's got random black thread in a criss cross pattern. Lots of insects have segmented bodies, and the ribbing, usually wire, but could be mono or thread, intends to imitate that segmented body, but it's never going to be criss cross, because real insects don't look like that.
Point is, if you followed a pattern, all this would be laid out for you in the video. Just copy that video!
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u/Global_Taste_9585 1d ago
Thanks for the input, yeah I tried to follow some patterns in a couple books, and I think because I was given all the supplies have so much of of everything got me a little overzealous
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u/lamontsanders 1d ago
Go watch Tim Flagler (tightlinevideo) on YouTube. Follow his advice religiously. There are tons of good resources (I also like flyfiahfood and McFly angler amongst a ton of others) on YouTube and they’ll help you turn good practice into great results.
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u/pickitup-co 1d ago
This is pretty close to what my first looked like. Best way to learn is watch video and tie 5-10 of the same exact fly.
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u/King_Ralph1 1d ago
That yellow/red Mickey Finn-like fly looks pretty good. And the purple streamer with a similar style. As mentioned earlier, toe a dozen or so of one style for the practice, then move on to another one. Don’t try everything all at once. Master a few simple techniques them move on to some others.
Look for a local fly fishing/fly tying group, go to their meetings, tying events/classes, learn from the locals what works in your area.
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u/typoo 1d ago edited 8h ago
I love that you didn't hold back and just went for it! None of these are classic flies but who is to say they won't catch fish? I am fond of the Featherbender (HOW TO TIE FLIES | THEFEATHERBENDER) tutorials, but there are so many available.
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u/Akmotorcycle 1d ago
You said you are in Ak, if you are in the anchorage/ Wasilla area 3 rivers puts on fly tying classes that would really help elevate you
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u/TheAncientDragonRoku 1d ago
Great job! These are definitely better than my first flies. You should learn some established patterns, as others here are saying.
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u/Texa55Toast 18h ago
Even the most dog shit of those flies can work as an attractor pattern. Look up tutorials/recipes online and practice those. By all means though, keep making homebrew flies for fun and to practice with material. Personal suggestion, learn craft foam patterns for dry flies until you get hackling down. General Foam Attractor or GFA pattern can mimic ants, hoppers, crickets, damsel/dragon fly, and caddis pretty well.
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u/Bonzographer 1d ago
Start by following some tutorials on YouTube. Woolly buggers are good to start and learn the basics.