Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Jay Scott

Fly patterns
« on: 29/11/2006 at 21:25 »
Hey,

I have a fly tying kit ( just a few spare bits and bobs, a few capes, furs ect. ) and I can tie some flies, but when it comes to things that work, that aren't just that easy to tie I'm hopeless, can anyone give me some good, simple fly patterns that work and tell me what i need to do them.

Jay

Sandy Nelson

Fly patterns
« Reply #1 on: 29/11/2006 at 21:32 »
some red hooks
 :lol:

Seriously though, depends what you want to try, a back pennell is a good starter, as is a black spider, black buzzer, For all of them you need Black hen hackles,black thread, golden pheasant tippets or orange floss/wool and some silver wire.
Simple to make and deadly.

Red tag,black and peacock, partridge and peacock spiders, diawl bach, all you need is some peacock herl,red game hackles, black hackles, partridge neck feathers and some red wool.

All good, simple, easy to tie and very effective.

this list could go on for ever, but experimenting is part of the fun, keep the flies simple, in good proportion and with a bit of potential movement and you should have something that'll work.

have you any flytying books?

Sandy

Mike Livingstone

Flies
« Reply #2 on: 29/11/2006 at 21:40 »
Jay,

First of all, decide what you like to fish with and build from there.

I have shown a few guys at work how to tie flies.  I am self taught and have plenty books if you ever need to borrow any and I also have a LOT of bad habit in my tying style.  However, the way I usually teach it is to have an 8 fly program which is as follows:

1) Black thread buzzer - dead easy!
2) Black spider - You can use any colour combo you want for spiders and they catch fish
3) Black pennel - Introduces tails and rib
4) Hare's ear nymph - introduces dubbing
5) PTN - American style
6) CDC & hare's ear - Introduces dubbing a dry fly
7) AK Best Caddis
8) Klinkhamer

This give a range of things to try out and you can build it at your own speed.  Just try and get comfortable with the techniques for tails, various bodies, hackles and winging.  Remember the key thing about durable fly tying is thread tension.  Try spiders until you are comfortable with the hackle process and whip finish then move on from there.  For spiders I like black and peacock, hares ear and partridge, grouse and orange and snipe and purple.

I start tying when I was 13 (17years ago) and enjoy it as much as fishing.  It is such a buzz catching a fly of your own making, especially if you have been playing with different materials.  

Hope this helps!

Jay Scott

Fly patterns
« Reply #3 on: 29/11/2006 at 21:45 »
Great thanks for the help, it has been most helpful. Yes Sandy, i have the fly tying bible and the beginners guide to flytying, any anyone can recomend?

P.S. Does anybody know anything about Celtic Fly Craft's starter kit, is it any good?

Thanks, Jay

Mike Barrio

Fly patterns
« Reply #4 on: 29/11/2006 at 23:44 »
Hi Jay

Note the post by "Bri" in http://fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31  :z16

You should go along to the Inverurie Angling Association fly tying evening, I know that you will be made very welcome and I was going to suggest that you joined the club for next season.

Best wishes
Mike

Iain Cameron

Re: Fly patterns
« Reply #5 on: 30/11/2006 at 08:42 »
Quote from: "jayscott"
Hey,
 some good, simple fly patterns that work and tell me what i need to do them.


great advice from mike livingstone to get going

also from this forum, see sandy's post on spiders:

http://fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=93

all of these are easy enought to tie, and i've caught loads of fish on the river and stillwaters with variations on them; the 3rd picture down in that post is a black spidery thing; i've tied it with  very short hackle (black cock or hen or similar) and even with no hackle and a more pronounced thorax and that has worked well as a buzzer too.

a very sparsely dubbed hares ear, short body, just a whisp of dubbing, almost nothing to it, has worked brilliantly.

cheers
iain




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Sandy Nelson

Fly patterns
« Reply #6 on: 30/11/2006 at 10:00 »
Jay

had a look at the Celtic fly craft starter kit.
Looks pretty damn good to me.The guy there knows about tying flies so the kit is pretty comprehensive for a lot of patterns.

It comes in a box with vice and tools too.
Do you have vice and tools already? because you can get good starter kits without the tools. Sportfish have one which is quite a bit cheaper because there are tools.
But if you wanted a full kit in a neat box then the celtic one is probably a really good place to start.
The guy is pretty sound too and the service is super.

Sandy

Jay Scott

Fly patterns
« Reply #7 on: 30/11/2006 at 16:31 »
Thanks for the help everyone, I'll take it all in to consideration and probably pop along to the hopeville on the 10th, cheers. Yes, sandy i have a vice and other various tools, bobbin holder, whip finish ect. and they are all in a nice mahogany box that i made at school but i think i under estimated my fly tying collection as already i have chenielle and fritzes bursting out of the sides, so i probably wont be looking for a kit in a box, i think i need an extremely large tool box. :z4  Sportfish you say?..... I'll have a look at it, Cheers.

Jay

Jay Scott

Fly patterns
« Reply #8 on: 30/11/2006 at 18:47 »
I've had a look at the tying kit at sportfish and various others but i seem to have a lot of the stuff,  but it just isn't the stuff i need to tye the flies i want  :z4  so maybe i shood just buy the objects individualy i found a website that seems to be very cheap when it comes to all of its flytying gear and have a wide selection, www.fastmailtackle.co.uk. But i might just be better buying a kit and gettin a load more materials, is it really better value? I think i need some advice, any would be helpful  :z4

Cheers, Jay

Sandy Nelson

Fly patterns
« Reply #9 on: 30/11/2006 at 20:28 »
Jay

I was thinking about this one all day, and came to similar conclusion to yourself. So i compiled a list of the materials i  have in my flytying kit that i could not be without.They are good for all types of fly tying.
So see what you already have and what you may need.Try to prioritise them so you can build up the collection.I have tried to put them in some sort of order.But its difficult, i've been tying since i was 10 and have lots of stuff (a lot of which doesn't see much use) but shortlisting the stufff i use most was surprisingly easy.
so here goes

Unithread 8/0 in black and olive.
Pearsalls silk in yellow,orange and purple (5,6a,9)
Glo-brite floss in orange,yellow and lime(7,11,12)
Peacock herl
Hares mask and ears
Moleskin
Fine wire in gold,silver and copper
Medium tinsel in pearl, gold and silver
Big bulk pack of natural CDC
Partridge brown back feathers
Partridge Grey neck feathers
Moorhen/coot wings
Cheap black hen cape
Cheap badger, red game and grizzle cock capes.
Ice dub, in black peacock and peacock
Pheasant tails
SLF in claret and olive
Small tungsten beads (1.8mm,2mm)
Mallard blues
Marabou bloods in olive,black and white
Coastal deer hair patch.
Black foam
Fritz in black,white, orange and chartreuse
Peacock krystalflash

Hooks, kamasan or similar
B170 size 12-16
B175 size 10-14
B110 size 12-16
Jardine Red hooks size 12-16

Hopefully this gives you some ideas, and if anyone has anything else to add i hope they let you know.
 :z16

Sandy

Jay Scott

Fly patterns
« Reply #10 on: 30/11/2006 at 20:36 »
Thanks Sandy, out of that list what do you use most. what materials would you say are essential?

Cheers, Jay

Sandy Nelson

Fly patterns
« Reply #11 on: 30/11/2006 at 20:44 »
Jay

All of it :z4 except the fritz.
This is a list of the materials i use all the time. For nearly all the flies i use.
I have a few extras which are specific to certain flies but otherwise this is what i would need to have to be happy with my tying kit.

Sandy :cool:

Jay Scott

Fly patterns
« Reply #12 on: 30/11/2006 at 20:47 »
Heres a list of all the materials i have, i can probably tie a lot more flies with them than i think.

3 cock capes - bonde/brown, ginger/brown & black
marabous - black, white, orange & yellow
hare mask
hen pheasent wings, wing quills, tail feathers, crest & neck toppings
peacock herl
orange, green & natural squirrel tail
orange buck tail & green goat fur
brown partridge & duck teal
black & orange antron wool
white, black & green fritz
black & green chenille
white booby cord
many threads & hooks

Jay

Sandy Nelson

Fly patterns
« Reply #13 on: 01/12/2006 at 07:22 »
Jay

looks like a good place to start to me.

Add a moleskin,moorhen wings, a pile of CDC, the pearsalls silks, the glo-brite flosses and some of the ice dub and you can make nearly all the best flies. :z16

But for now, what you have is pretty good.
Perhaps what you need are a few suggestions for flies from the stuff you have.

So try some black pennells, hares ear nymphs, partridge and peacock spiders, black buzzers, black and peacock spiders, hares ear and partridge spiders, diawl bachs, crunchers.
All these are fairly straightforward to tie if you get the patterns and you have the stuff to make all of them.
 :z3

Sandy

wildfisher

Fly patterns
« Reply #14 on: 01/12/2006 at 11:47 »
Jay, you might want to add a few hen capes the hackles are soft and great for spiders.  Mike used to have some nice ones at about £1 each. At a push though your cock capes will do.

 




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