The craft of fly-tying
(Page 2 of 5)
If you can't find an instructor, the other possibility is
to get a manual and follow the directions. In
fact—though I can hardly recommend the use of a book
alone—you'll need such a guide even when you have
someone to help you.
RELATED CONTENT
A few of the texts I use include: Professional
Fly-Tying, Spinning and Tackle-Making Manual and
Manufacturer's Guide by George Herter, available from
Herter's, Inc., Route 2, Interstate 90, Mitchell, South
Dakota 57301 (regular edition $2.97, deluxe edition $3.97).
This guide is very complete, even a little overdone. The
condensed version (98¢) is more to the point and less
confusing for the beginner. Flies by J. Edson
Leonard, published by A.S. Barnes, New York ($8.95). A
complete manual with a list of 2,200 patterns.
NollGuideto Trout Flies and How to
Tie Them, published by Davis-Delaney-Arrow, Inc., New
York, and available at most chain stores or from H.J. Noll,
Inc., P.O. Box 308, Plumsteadville, Pennsylvania 18949
($3.50 postpaid). Beautiful color plates of flies and
materials, but not very much how-to information.
Nevertheless, because of the illustrations and the low
price, every fly-tier should have a copy.
MATERIALS
Here are the basic supplies you'll need when you begin to
practice your new craft:
VISE. Not the heavy workshop variety but a most handy tool
that clamps securely to a table and holds a hook firmly in
place while a fly is being formed around it. Buy the best
you can find . . . the Thompson vise is of excellent
quality.
SCISSORS. Purchase two pair of good steel scissors that
taper to a fine point. One should be very small and the
other have blades about 3-1/2" long.
DUBBING NEEDLE. This small tool is used for numerous
precision jobs such as removing cement from the eye of a
hook or releasing feathers that may have been tied down by
mistake. You might try a hatpin, or make a substitute by
embedding a needle in a wooden dowel.
BOBBIN. A little gadget that conveniently holds down your
tying silk as you work on a fly. Some craftsmen don't use a
bobbin, but it might make matters a bit easier for a
beginner.
HACKLE PLIERS are a type of small, spring-action forceps
which are used to turn hackle feathers around a hook. Not
all fly-tiers use this tool but the majority who do
wouldn't be without it.
FLY-TYING CEMENT comes in small jars and helps hold bits of
material together.
FLY-TYING WAX. Unless your tying silk is prewaxed, you
should coat it with this substance to add strength and
adhesion.
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