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Learn to tie better flies

Tying methods, tricks and tips - Become a better fly tyer

Oatman's Silver Darter

Step by Step: Someone asked me how to create the "slightly tapered" body on an Oatman Silver Darter and it was pretty difficult to describe in words, so I tied up a sample and took some photos along the way. Here for your enjoyment is a Lew Oatman favorite, the Silver Darter
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The Killer Mantis

Epoxy: Who else than epoxy wizard (and madman) Bob Kenly would take on tying... eh, building... eh, constructing a Mantis Shrimp as a fly? Follow the project this article where you can read Bob's story about the fly and see pictures of the process and the finished fly.
Join in here

Click to see "Everyday Fly Tying Tips"

Everyday Fly Tying Tips

Tie Better: I am as likely to sit down and tie six different flies as I am to tie six of the same pattern. Speed is not a concern, but I don't want to waste my time either. There are things I can do to make my life easier which may be different from a professional production tyer.
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Go to the article "Major Traherne's flies"

Major Traherne's flies

Full dressed: Back in 2000 the Danish Fly tier, Kim Rasmussen compiled all Major John Popkin Traherne's beautiful salmon fly dressings into one poster, and now, more than 10 years later The Global FlyFisher can show all these beautiful flies.
See them all here.

Find "Tying with CDC" here

Tying with CDC

Duck's arse: Dutch Hans Weilenmann tells the history of the use of CDC feathers in fly tying, covers the different types of feathers and their use and lists both CDC tying tips and a bunch of CDC patterns.
Take a CDC lesson here

More about "The CDC & Elk family"

The CDC & Elk family

Improving the best: Hans Weilenmann's CDC & Elk is a fly as good as they come. Still a lot of people - including Hans himself and the author - have made variations. This article covers a whole bunch of CDC & Elk variations.
Meet the family here

Click to see "DIY brushes and combs"

DIY brushes and combs

DIY: These are some of the least expensive and most useful fly tying tools you can make yourself. A Velcro stick, a brush and a comb made from strips of Velcro, pieces of wood, hair combs and even ice lolly sticks!
See how to here.

More about "The Bloody Zonker"

The Bloody Zonker

Variation: This fly is a bright and tasty looking bite of feathers and fur that can sometimes be the key to luring a big trout. It's a variation of a variation of the Bloody Butcher.
Lots of tying steps and tips here

Read more on "Unsinkable flies"

Unsinkable flies

Floating: David Cowardin's concept for preventing flies from sinking is slightly different - as are his flies. They are different creatures! Most anglers can put a name on them, but the way they are tied... or more like built. Different is not quite enough to say that these are not like your average dry fly.
Learn why here.

Find "Phloating Eyez" on this page

Phloating Eyez

Bella Donna: Eyes as large as tea cups on your flies? And still lightweight and not smashed down by loads of goo on the head? Yes, it's possible! Follow Pete Gray's instructions and your squids and baitfish will be gazing with larger eyes than ever before!
The full story here

Go to The Welded Phly

The Welded Phly
Remember the line from "The Graduate"? "PLASTICS!" The hook was dressed with thread and body braid... fine makings for a proper foundation were in place... Temperamental pheatherz were spot welded in place without complaint nor defiance...

Go to Coloring Raw Tubes

Coloring Raw Tubes
"See what you can do with these" said Stuart Anderson, who owns the Canadian Tube Fly Company to Bob Kenly who often goes berserk with tubes and epoxy. And that's exactly what Bob did. He started painting the raw tubes.

Go to Great Lakes Irish Invaders

Great Lakes Irish Invaders
Bob Kenly takes a turn with some tubes from the Canadian Tube Fly Company and converts a traditional Irish fly into something... let's just say not as traditional. So Chris's Irish Shrimp turned into Great Lakes Orange, a steelhead pattern tied on a tube.

Go to Kern's Perfect Leo Shrimp

Kern's Perfect Leo Shrimp
A realistic, perfect swimming shrimp imitation for both hot and cold water and a big variety of species. The fly has many neat details and is a great upgrade from those quickly tied flies. It makes your fly box look great and keeps you away from the TV.

Go to Colored Mono Eyes

Colored Mono Eyes
Five pairs of mono eyes dipped in epoxy for just around 5,50€ or 7$. It sounds like a good business opportunity, but as a consumer it just pushes you to make your eyes your self. On a trip to Fyn this spring two Danes and an American-wanna-be-German made their own.

Go to Dubbing Techniques

Dubbing Techniques
Without a doubt, dubbing tools and techniques are one of the things most likely to confuse fly tyers. With an explosion of new tools, comes an obvious question, how do you use all this stuff and why should I buy yet one more tool?

All articles from this section...

Patterns
·Steelhead Beetle
·Grantham's Sedge
·The Killer Mantis
·Martin's Mundane Zonker Worm
·HKA Sunray/Bismo
·Jim Warner Swap
·Carrie Challenge II
·Bastard Crab
·Meko Special
·The CDC & Elk family
More...
Fish Better
·The only knot
·Capt. Mel's Tube Knot
·The Fish & The Fly Q&A
·Stepping into the Stream Q&A
·The bag trick
·A Backyard in Nowhere Q&A
·When lightning strikes
·Don't wade, you idiot!
·Car rod holders
·Fishing a bubble
More...
Gallery
·AD Maddox
·Pretty in pink
·Autumn Gallery
·Close to the surface
·Robin Armstrong
·Craig Bertram Smith
·Spring 2011
·A long winter 2010-11
·Better fishing pictures: Waters...
·1st spring trip
More...

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