Fly Tying

Fly Tying Materials Canadian Tire



Fly Tying

So you’ve planned your fishing trips for next season, but it will be months before those lakes are accessible and free of ice. What to do in the long evenings as you look longingly at the fly rods on the wall? Have you ever tried your hand at fly tying?

There is something very special about bringing in a fat trout on one of your own creations. Flies generally work on one of two principles: imitating food sources or triggering their aggressive instincts. Keeping this in mind, don’t be afraid to experiment.

One of my early creations was a tiny mosquito, the body a very small hook with a thin grey body with thin black stripes. I then took some thin plastic, etched some tiny wings and attached them at the head of the fly. It worked great: as soon as it hit the water a nice trout took it. Unfortunately, when the fish struck the wings broke. Now if I could just manage to invent a system of clip on wings.

My late Uncle Howard had a tremendous fly tying set up, including a roll top desk with many small drawers to hold his equipment and was able to leave it set up. One can purchase inexpensive kits to get started. These include a fairly good selection of hooks, feather, tinsels, wool and thread as well as a fly tying vice. Most of these vices are soon discarded in favour of a better one once one gets more experience. The materials may also not be to your liking or the hooks of incorrect size for your desired flies. Still, they are usually fairly inexpensive and may be the way to experiment.

The fly tying vice is your most important tool. When choosing a vice, look for one that is fully adjustable, grips well and attached easily and firmly to your chosen work surface. Hackle pliers are perhaps the next important item: again I recommend getting quality.

Regardless of your decision to start with a kit or purchase individual items and supplies, pick up a book on fly tying to learn the intricacies. (I was delighted to see a good display of supplies at the Canadian Tire Store)
You will also need to decide on a work area that allows easy set up or preferably where you can leave things in place for those odd free moments. Unless you have this space and a good well organized storage system for your supplies you will spend more time setting up and putting supplies away than fly tying.

Remember you will want to have many different sizes and styles of hooks, colours of yarns and threads, and a multitude of types and colours of feathers. This is just for starters. Remember that roll top desk I mentioned earlier that Uncle Howard had? I’d love to have one like that. Once you get into fly tying you might also become so keen that you will have a portable kit to take along on your trips to tie flies right on the spot to match the hatch.

Once you start using flies you will constantly be studying your surroundings very closely, learning more and more about the cycles of nature. However, it is possible for a good fly fisherman to create an imitation hatch.
Another pleasant experience with a custom fly was a black wool caterpillar tied on a long shanked hook. A cast underneath the willow on the bank of Headwaters Lake produced a nice fat rainbow trout. All this talk about tying flies makes me long for more space and time to take it up again.