Over the years I’ve had a number of people ask me about getting into the fun and art, of fly tying. I remember when I was first starting to tie flies for myself that at times I got a little overwhelmed at the number of patterns, materials and tools there were to choose from. One of the best bits of advice I ever received was to, “take my time and concentrate on only a couple of patterns to start with.”

Following this advice, I started with some brown and black thread, a small patch of fine deer hair, a small brown dry neck chunk, brown and natural coloured possum dubbing, and a bottle of head cement. I also bought some size 12 and 14 dry fly hooks, size 16 nymph hooks and a pack of gold 2.4mm tungsten beads. Equipment wise I purchased a reasonably cheap no name rotary vise, a basic ceramic tipped bobbin, a whip finisher, dubbing needle and a small hair stacker. Once I had all the bits, I set the vise up at home on the dining room table and began my journey into the world of fly tying!

The first pattern I started with was one you “may” have heard of, the Elk Hair Caddis. This was a deliberate direction due to the materials I first purchased, but obviously I had deer hair instead of elk hair. Maybe I should call it the “deer hair caddis”? Anyway, I digress. The first step was learning how to wrap thread on the hook, a task that I thought was going to be a tad easier then it actually was for me. Thankfully I have a father in-law who has been fly fishing and tying flies for years, so he showed me the ropes and got me started with some basic technique.

It was also at this time that I started watching a few YouTube videos from tiers such as Tim Flagler (Tightline Video), Davie McPhail and Barry Ord Clark (The Feather Bender). On their YouTube channels they had plenty of videos in which they showed some basic technique such as wrapping thread, tying hair down and dubbing materials. I really did get a lot out of watching these guys and I still love watching their videos on the big screen at home.

There was one other FANTASTIC purchase I made early on, in the way of a book called “The Fly Tying Bible” by Peter Gathercole. I read and read this book! I followed the step by step instructions on basic techniques and patterns that I was trying to learn, with the first being the Elk Hair Caddis of course. I also worked on a basic bead head nymph pattern that wasn’t in the book, but the dubbing and wire wrap techniques that I required were. It was this nymph pattern that I actually caught my first trout on, drifted under a dry on a little twig water close to home. It was the best feeling and somewhat of a milestone. I can’t stress enough how much this book helped me starting out which is why I have recommended it to a number of other people since. Theres a lot to be said for owning a book and being able to really study the photos/diagrams whilst reading the instructions, it’s a great way to learn. “The Fly Tying Bible” was the first of many books for me with my collection of fly tying and fly fishing books always increasing with new titles.

Once you have some basic technique happening you will find yourself wanting to branch out into having a go at other patterns. This is where things can get really exciting and like I mentioned earlier, a little overwhelming. The reason I say overwhelming is that there is so many different tying materials available and so many different patterns that you can work on, which in turn can make you wonder which direction you should head into. I would suggest you stick to the number one rule, ‘concentrate on just a couple of new patterns at a time’. This way you won’t need to purchase a heap of new materials, just some, and can again concentrate on any new techniques or polish up on the ones you are already working on. I have to say though, buying new materials is a lot of fun and if you saw what I have in my tying room nowadays you would understand that I am 100% a fly material collecting nut!

The last thing I would suggest you do as a new fly tyer, or an experienced tier for that matter, is always ask questions! There is no harm in asking someone else for advice even if you think its a “silly” question, just ask! I have been very lucky over the years to have some brilliant tyers that have always answered any questions I had regarding technique, materials or anything fly tying related. Coming from a teaching background myself I have always been a big believer in sharing knowledge and helping other people, I get a real kick out of it actually. So you can always reach out to me if you have any questions of course as well. I still ask plenty of questions myself when it comes to tying, especially regarding salt water and predator style flies, which I’ve been delving into more and more over the past few years. It’s a whole new realm and a bloody exciting one to boot, especially when you start pinning fish on the flies.

So if you’re new to tying or thinking of taking it up, I hope “my 2 cents” helps in some little way. If not I hope you at least got a little insight into how I got into tying flies. In the future I’m planning on filming a couple of tying video’s of my own that you can check out, and maybe get some tips or inspiration from. I’ve popped some photos below of my “first flies” which you will see are less then desirable but, we all start somewhere right!

To finish, I want to give a shout out and big thank you to the legends who have helped me so much over the years and given me lot’s of inspiration as a fly tier along the way. If you get a chance go check out their websites and socials to see what they are up to, you’ll love it!

Rob Gee - Troutlore
Chris Adams - Beast Brushes
Chad Ploy - Ploy Flies
James “Jimmy” Caves - Bermi Fly

P.S - I’m going to do my best to start writing more short stories/articles/blogs whatever you would like to call these in the future, so stay tuned.

Thanks for reading and tight lines.

Shane

One of my first Elk Hair Caddis - We all start somewhere — ***One of my very first Elk Hair Caddis - We all start somewhere!***

Getting into fly tying - my 2 cents

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