How do you start your first fly tying?

If you’ve ever planned a fishing trip for a different species than you probably know that it can be tough to find the appropriate patterns.  Most fly tying shops in Montana don’t have an extensive selection of saltwater patterns for the Bahamas and most shops down in Florida don’t have all that many trout flies.  Tying your own flies gives you the ability to be prepared for whatever trip you’re going on. 

If I’ve made you think at all about getting into tying your own flies, here are a few suggestions to get a solid step forward in the hobby:

Sign up for a local class.  Many of the local fly shops offer introductory fly tying classes and Montana Troutfitters is no different.  We offer two sessions of classes twice a year one in the fall and one in the spring.  These classes allow you to learn from an expert from the very beginning.  You won’t learn any bad habits, and your instructor won’t have to break any bad habits you’ve formed if you start tying by yourself.

YouTube is your friend.  A few years ago books were the best resource to learn new patterns on your own.  These days we have all kinds of YouTube videos showing you how to tie patterns.  Books are still a very useful resource but nothing compares to being able to rewind and play videos.

Start small! In the fly tying shop we see plenty of new fly tyers every year.  The first piece of advice we give them is to start small.  You don’t need to go and buy every material made right off the bat.  We recommend buying material for a pattern or two.  Once you’ve mastered these patterns you can pick another and buy the material appropriate for that pattern.  Before you know it, your materials will be overlapping and you will need to buy less and less!

Tie big flies first.  Don’t pick a size 20 Parachute Trico for your first pattern, the smaller the fly is, the small the thread will be, the easier to break, the harder to see etc… Pick some larger sized patterns to start with.  Size 6 Wooly Buggers, size 8 San Juan Worms, if you’re going to tie dries or nymphs don’t go smaller than size 12. 

Have fun and don’t worry about how your first flies look!  Tying isn’t a hobby mastered overnight.  I’ve been tying obsessively for a very long time and I’m always learning new patterns and techniques.  The beauty of tying flies is that there are always new methods popping up and new ideas being shared (that’s the fun part of it)!  When you first begin some of your flies may look like a fur ball your cat coughed up.  The funny thing is that usually those will fish just as well as any professionally tied patterns- fish aren’t nearly as picky as fly anglers.

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