Fly Tying Scissors

Thread Bobbin

Bodkin and

Whip Finisher

First on the list is the fly tying vise. It is important because it acts as “another hand” since it mainly holds the hook in place as you tie the fly to it. What you need to prepare for is your budget. Fly vises can become costly but there are still some that are sold for $20. But since this is an important tool for tying your fly, quality shouldn’t be questioned any longer. It is recommended for you to buy a fly tying vise in top quality.

Next is the scissors especially made for fly tying. Look out for cheaper scissors as they’re not reliable compared to the top quality ones. You need to get a good pair of fly tying scissors to cut delicate materials to its proper shape. Anyway, you wouldn’t be spending much on this tool since it isn’t too costly. The price ranges from $8 to $15; a reasonable price for fly fishing purposes.

Then there is the thread bobbin. A thread bobbin is good for holding the spool of thread from rolling out. The thread then goes through a barrel. Check for the edges of the barrel, if it has sharp edges, then it’s no good for the thread.

The bodkin is a large needle mounted on a handle. This small tool has many purposes. It can be used for separating fine strands you want to add to the fly, cleaning and even dabbing cement. You should never go fly tying without this tool.

And lastly, the tool called the Whip Finisher. This tool is used to tie the thread securely in a half inch knot. Beginners and intermediate flyers alike could make use of this nifty tool because it finishes off the tying job quick and clean. You can buy a whip finisher for a price of $14.

Jock Scott Salmon Fly

This isn’t really a tutorial video, but I really enjoy watching a craftsman, however young or old, at work!

Here we have Torben Kondrup tying the classic Salmon fly, the Jock Scot, at Randers Fly Fair which took place in February of 2010 in, I believe, Denmark.

Really beautiful tying here (camera work isn’t bad either!).

As I’ve said before, if a fly just had to catch a fisherman, I’m sure we’d all be hooked on this Jock Scott! Great work!

Gray Ghost Streamer Fly

Streamer flies will be more familiar to North American fly fishermen, who use them to devastating effect in the large rivers throughout the continent, though they are increasingly becoming popular fished in a wide variety of locations, for a variety of salmonoid quarry, not least because the movement and flashes with such flies, fished at speed in a current, trigger the predatroy instinct in these fish well.

I do not profess to have much knowledge about Streamers, such as this “Gray Ghost” which is tied with excellent clarity by Sctosman Davie McPhail, but I know one thing: if a fly must first attract an angler, then this one will surely catch many an eye!

Here we have Davie McPhail’s instructional tutorial for fly-tyers wishing to learn how to tie this streamer fly – The Gray Ghost:

Small Bullet Head Caddis Fly

I’m going to be putting a few more of Davie McPhail’s excellent Fly-Tying tutorial videos onto this site over the coming days and weeks as there’s lots of excellent patterns, tied really well, and in a way to which I really couldn’t wish to add anything.

So I won’t!

Simply watch the video below to see Davie tie the Small Bullet Head Caddis fly – and get your fly box ready for the season ahead. If you have any questions about material or anything, feel free to ask below – or ask the man himself by clicking the video and visiting his YouTube.

This is a dry fly pattern which is often successful on small stillwaters, and Scottish lochs, to take fish from the surface.

In order to do this, you will need to learn how to tie simple droppers onto your leader, and you may either want a brightly coloured Minicopm, or to use some other form of strike indicator, for the takes are gentle, and many – one of the main reasons I love this method is that, on the right day, you can get so many takes using this Upstream Nymphing method.

So this is the first part to get right here – Tying your droppers.

Tying Your Droppers

You’ll want a leader length of about 6ft then your three droppers, spaced about 2 feet (1 metre) apart – giving you a total length of 11-12 feet – just a bit longer than your rod. You need no more than this as you want to remain in control of your flies. Any shorter than this, and your leader may not have time to sink deep enough from your floating fly line.

Water Knot

Tie your droppers using a Water Knot. To do this is fairly straightforward:

1. Cut your leader to the 6ft length you want;
2. loosely tie two half hitch knots using the end of this to your tippet material, cut to the 2-3 foot dropper spacing required;
3. Make sure you leave a “tag” long enough to act as a dropper pointing towards your point (away from the “rod” end!);
4. Tighten the whole knot in your mouth, as your saliva will make the knot slide into place much more effectively;
5. Test the point fly AND the dropper knot before moving on to the next dropper – this is important, you’d rather it was you that broke the knot than a trout or a grayling!
6. Cut away the bit of the material pointing in the “wrong” direction (back towards the rod);
7. Repeat for the middle dropper.

I just used to hook my bobbin onto a screw when I first started tying as a child (actually tying flies in your hands was more popular too…), but nowadays I use the more fancy sort of setup shown here.

Blood Worm

The Blood Worm is a great little pattern for reservoirs or stillwaters, as it mimics midge pupae which is often found in such places, and is a staple foodstuff for the brown and rainbow trout.

This little tutorial video below will show you how to tie the blood worm.

You’ll need a hook with a curved shank for this pattern, which should be tied on a fairly small hook (think size 14-16) to best reflect the size of these beasties in the water.

This is a good pattern in the early season when there isn’t much surface activity – the video below is from Canada, so the blood worm pattern here is a little different from some you will see tied in the UK. It still proves effective. As ever, modify this pattern to suit your local water!

Pheasant Tail Nymph - Tied by David Cammiss

Another must have under the surface fly is the Pheasant Tail Nymph (PTN), which, when fished upstream in a fast flowing river for brown trout is often a deadly pattern, as it is retrieved slowly on a figure-of-eight in a small still water.

Below we have a tutorial video which takes you through tying the Pheasant Tail Nymph.

This is another attractor pattern which imitates general aquatic life but doesn’t single out any one species in particular. This is a nymph attractor, as the name suggests.

I like to fish a PTN on the point fly in a three fly combo with a gold head PTN or GRHE on the top dropper and something similar on the middle dropper (usually a more imitative pattern based upon what is in the water – found through kick sampling (another future post there!)) upstream in the faster ripply rapids water of Northern English rivers early in the season (March to May/June) and this fly on point regularly takes brownies and the odd grayling as it whizzes along just off the bottom past good lies.

David Cammiss has produced yet another excellent fly-tying tutorial video, to which I need to add very little, so just watch the below video and ask any questions in the comments section at the bottom here:

GRHE - Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear

Another day, another fly-tying tutorial video from the excellent David Cammiss – today we have the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear (often abbreviated to GRHE for obvious reasons!) which is another ‘wet’ fly designed to be fished below the surface.

The gold ribbing adds ballast to the fly, making it a good top-dropper fly for you upstream nymphers in fast flowing water (don’t panic, there will be a tutorial on this soon!) due to the fact that this fly will sink fairly quickly. For the same reason, it can also be used as the point fly in a long-leader team of buzzers in a stillwater or reservoir for trout. This one also features a gold bead head, making it sink super quick for those deep days.

This versatile fly can also be inched along the bottom of the water, or dangled on its own on a slow figure of eight.

All techniques above, and more, will catch trout – making this a must have fly for your fly-box. Making the fly is almost easier than fishing it – and the tutorial fly-tying video below explains all you need to know about that!

The Diawl Bach

The Diawl Bach, or Little Devil, is an important all-round fly for fishermen of small stillwaters and reservoirs -  it will even prove a successful pattern on many rivers – for trout fishermen.

The Diawl Bach is not an imitative fly, rather it is a general “attractor” pattern which mimics key features of the intended creature – in this instance, the nymph – without actually looking like any particular species. The intention of the Diawl Bach fly is to trigger the killer instinct in the salmonoid fish: which is does very effectively, fished in a variety of ways below the surface.

Throw one of these out when all else fails and it will often prove effective.

In the below video, David Cammiss – fast becoming one of our favourite video tutorial providers – shows us how to tie this killer pattern.