Equipment needed for fly fishing

“How To Attach Thread To The Hook”

When a sportsman becomes really interested in fly fishing, he/she will inevitably decide to tie their own flies. As insects can differ in size, shape, and color from one region to another, its difficult and expensive to either hunt down or commission specialized fly-hooks. Tying one’s own flies allows the sportsman to perfectly mimic the local insects that fish prefer to feed on. This guide will give a run through of how to start making one’s own flies by attaching thread to hook. From that point on, how the flies are made are up to the imagination and ingenuity of the sportsman.

The Right Equipment

Step 1:

Fly Tying Vise- A fly tying vise is an absolute must when tying one’s own flies. Remember that all of the components of the fly are very small and diverse. It would be incredibly frustrating to try to do this all by hand. Some of the more complex flies may take many hours of work over a period of days to complete. A vise allows you to walk away from your work and be sure you’ll find it in the same condition you left it. There are many such vises on the market that range in price from ten dollars to nearly a thousand. Price does not exactly indicate quality though. What you need to remember is that the purpose of a vise is to hold the fly immobile. It should not shift or jiggle at all. If you can find a vise that does this, you’re set.

Step 2:

Bobbin- A fly tying bobbin is simply a device to help control the spool of fly tying thread as it is wound around a fly. The only thing you need look for here is a tube at the end of the bobbin which does not damage, crimp, or fray the thread as it unspools. If such a thing happens the thread may break and you would have to start tying the fly all over again. For this reason many bobbins come with a flared tube, while others may come with ceramic tubes or inserts that cause the threads less friction.

Step 3:

Hackle Pliers- hackle pliers are used to firmly grasp and manipulate small pieces used to make a fly. Typically they would be bits of feather and down called “hackle” that come from game birds. Its hackle that usually makes up the body of the fly and gives it the illusion of being a real fly. They also in a non-slip type of hackle plier that has rubber grips at the end to avoid crushing the hackle and hold it more securely.

Step 4:

Whip Finisher- A whip finisher is a tool employed by lots of tiers to finish a fly with a smooth knot. A whip finish is applied in order to keep the materials from unwinding after the thread is cut. There are three types of whip finishers available on the market today, the Simple, the Thompson and the Matarelli. They all create a nice finish on a fly, but accomplish it in different ways.

Step 5:

Bodkin- A bodkin is simply a needle with a handle. Bodkins are a very general tool in fly tying. They are often used to untrap hackle fibers, add head cement to the knot ending a fly’s tying, punch holes into foam popper bodies, etc.

Attaching The Thread To The Hook

Step 1:

Take the hook and clamp it securely in the vice.

Step 2:

Use the bobbin to lay down some thread parallel to the shaft of the hook, hold the thread along the shank of the hook.

Step 3:

Wind the bobbin around the thread, trapping it beneath the windings. Take as many wraps as necessary until the thread is securely attached to the hook. There, your thread is attached and the fly is ready to be decorated.

Casting with a weighted fly

Casting with weighted flies can be hazardous to your health. Often called a “chuck and duck” method, it takes a different set of skills from dry fly fishing.

The first tip to keep in mind when casting weighted flies is to cast with an “open loop”. This means slowing down the casting stroke and having more patience in your casting.

Also, when casting in windy conditions, care must be taken to control the flight of the weighted fly. A weighted fly can cause serious injury by becoming embedded in your scalp or body. Always wear protective eye-wear when casting to protect your eyes.

You will need to modify your casting considerably when casting weighted flies. Try to minimize your false casting. A good bet is to just “load” the rod and “shoot” the fly, keeping to a minimum of false casting. You will find it more difficult to use a roll cast. It can be done, but will require perfect technique and more energy to accomplish.

For short range casting on moving water, you can load the rod by letting your fly drift past you and letting the downstream current load the rod. You can flip the line upstream against the downstream force that is being exerted on the rod. This will use the stored energy in the rod to propel the fly upstream with no false casting.

For longer casts, you will have to false cast, but never false cast more than necessary to load the rod for the appropriate distance. You can use the “double haul” technique to increase line speed and “shoot” the line to gain distance and minimize false casting.

See another article I have posted on Helium.com that explains the double haul in detail.

Weight flies such as nymphs and streamers must have the weight necessary to get down to the the depth where the fish are holding. It is a safe bet that 90% of the time, fish are feeding near the bottom of the stream. You will catch more and bigger fish using weighted flies. The weight can be incorporated into the fly by wrapping lead wire around the hook and the tying the fly a usual. an alternate method is to tie the fly without weight and adding a split shot of the appropriate size about 6″ above the fly on the tippet.

I like the split shot method because it allows the weight to tick along the bottom and the fly to float a few inches above it. You will also get fewer hang-ups on debris on the bottom. You will lose flies fishing weight flies on or near the bottom, but if you’re not losing some flies, you will not catch as many fish.

I love seeing a trout take a dry fly. It is the ultimate in fly fishing, but you’ll find that when fish are not actively feeding on top, you’ll take more and bigger trout on weighted nymphs and streamers.

Weighted flies require specific casting skills that are different from dry fly casting, but it is well worth the effort to develop these skills.

“Chuck and duck” is definitely worth the risk.