Bad, Fair, and Better

 Bad, Fair, and Better is how I am going to evaluate my fly-tying classes. I have spent the last couple of days experimenting with different wooly bugger patterns that are fairly easy to tie. I have found the best way for me to learn how to tie a decent fly is to watch the video of the fly I am trying to duplicate. I didn’t realize how many fly-tying videos are available on the internet, serving as the perfect instructor. 

These flies were some of the first I finished and were mainly an exercise in learning how to use the tools, which resulted in some really bad wooly buggers.

You can see with these two wooly buggers I was improving some.

These are better, but I still need to improve, and the only way to do that is to keep practicing!

**Giving Fly Tying a Try*

 I’ve started my beginner lessons in fly tying, using YouTube as my instructor. In my last post on June 6, I began thinking about tying some wooly buggers first. As I progressed, I also tried my hand at tying pheasant tails and caddis flies. These three flies are the top patterns I use 90% of the time when fishing in the lake or tailrace for trout. While using these flies over the years, I've often wondered how a differently colored hackle on the caddis would affect the bite of bluegill or trout. Similarly, I have considered whether using a different-colored body for the pheasant tail, instead of the traditional brown, would make a difference. The same questions apply to the wooly bugger. This curiosity is one of the main reasons why I want to tie my own flies.

According to the YouTube channel I’ve been following, here are the essentials I need to get started with tying basic flies. All the materials, tools, and vice shown in the accompanying image were purchased from Amazon. The vice was the most expensive item. I was advised to invest in a quality vice, which will be beneficial during the learning process. This vice is quite heavy, weighing 2.25 lbs.

Thus begins another venture in my fly fishing adventure. I will be posting some of my flies in upcoming posts, but I should warn you that they may not be the ordinary colors I mentioned at the beginning. I INTEND TO EXPERIMENT!