Tying with limited materials?

D
damonspreng
I know it probably isn't ready to help me but im looking for patterns a beginner can tie with few supplies such as:

Fox fur (many colors)
jewel flash
Cheap hackle (terrible)
Maraflash (gold)
Foams
Copper wire
D rib
Bead chain
Plastic cones
Super dry dubbing
S.s.t dubbing
Peacock feathers
Phesant feathers.


This and thread are all I have also if anyone can let me know other materials I should pick up and where to get fly tying materials in the forest grove Hillsboro area that would also be great...

Thanks everyone, tight lines.
 
I
I <3 <><
Well im not sure about the patterns but River city fly shop is the best in Pdx imho. Don is an awesome guy. Its in beaverton. :D
 
GungasUncle
GungasUncle
What patterns couldn't you tie with those materials? It's all gonna depend on colors of the materials, really. You can improvise just about any pattern from that list if you have the right colors, or come up with your own.

Right off the bat, I'd say Prince Nymphs, Pheasant Tail nymphs, imitation Hares Ear (using the fox fur and copper wire), woolly buggers (maraflash or jewel flash for tails, dubbed bodies, peacock bodies, and cheap hackle, with bead chain eyes to boot)

Foam hoppers, foam frogs, foam ants, foam beetles...
 
F
FlyBum
Well, from the list you have given..... I would get some hooks ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: OnTheFly
S
Sinkline
.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: OnTheFly
D
damonspreng
I really want a good imitation of a cricket and can't seem to tie one. The hackle I have really seems to be thin I can do for wraps really close antogether and still not have enough on to tie a decent dry fly.
 
O
OnTheFly
FlyBum said:
Well, from the list you have given..... I would get some hooks ;)
What a character.^^^:rolleyes:

Damon,
Tail, body, wings, and hackle for dries. And tail, body, rib, thorax, for nymphs. If you categorize your material then you can start tying something. If you find that you are missing something out of a particular recipe then get it. Soon you will need to move out of the shoe box and find more room for your stuff.;)
 
D
damonspreng
I have all the room in the world just don't have any experts to show me what i'm doing wrong and feel like hackle is my major flaw. I can't seem to make it look right.
 
S
Sinkline
.
 
Last edited:
D
damonspreng
Just can't seem to find one that helps me I need some one on one.
 
T
the_intimidator03
damonspreng Just to add a couple cents. Less can be more. That being said with a dry fly hackle ( or a wet fly for that matter) you dont need a ton. If you post up some pictures if possible we can assist with tips and such for improving designs. Another tip I will toss out is the tail of a fly generally shouldnt be any longer than the hook shank itself. Some ties call for a shorter or longer tail
 
D
damonspreng
my barbules seem to be on top every time and very few on the bottom?
 
T
the_intimidator03
well as long as the hackles look normal before you tie them in the ONLY thing i can think of is that it could be twisting when you turn it around the hook shank and on the bottom it happens to be laying out flat. Are you stripping one side of the hackle or leave both sides of the barbules attached?
 
GungasUncle
GungasUncle
You want a cricket imitation eh?

Well, with what you have on your list, I'd use:

foam (black if you've got it)
Peacock herl (the fibers from the peacock feather)
The darkest hackle you have
The darkest fibers off your pheasant tail

Wrap a thread base on your hook
Tie in the hackle by the tip, then flare the fibers back so they stick right out to the sides
Tie in 3 or 4 of the nicest pieces of peacock herl you can find by their bases at the same point you tie in the hackle feather
Wrap the peacock around the body, 3/4 the way from the start of the bend to the hook eye, and secure it with a couple half hitches or a whip finish
Wind your hackle feather forward, stopping at the same point you did the peacock body.

Trim two roughly identical length clumps of pheasant fibers - only 2 or 3 fibers in the clump, and tie an overhand knot near the tip ends of the fibers, so that you have a roughly 45-90 degree bend in the fibers now. Trim the butt ends and the tip ends so that they're the same lengths, roughly equal in length to the body of the fly.

Tie these in where you finished the herl and hackle, secure with a couple half hitches or whip finishes, and apply a dab of head cement. You can now cut the thread here.

Cut a triangle shaped piece of foam the length of your hook shank, with the widest part being a little less than twice the distance of your hook gap. Round the tips off of your trinagle, to keep things neat looking.

Fold the foam over the body of the fly, with the wide end at the head of the fly. Now wrap this down about 1/3 of the way back from the eye of the hook. Use a three or four half hitches over your wraps, and apply a light coat of head cement over the thread on the sides and top of the fly.

You now have a black (or at least darkly colored) cricket. The foam supplies the floatation, so the hackle doesn't need to support the fly - it just looks buggy.

Now, I'm guessing that when you said you had "foams" - you were talking the craft sheet foam you'd get at Jo Ann's or Micheal's or other craft store, that that's what I'm meaning when I say cut a triangular piece of foam. The nice thing about craft foam - if you have sharpies, you can color it as needed.
 
GungasUncle
GungasUncle
I forgot to add - when winding on the hackle feather, wind it so that the fibers point toward the ends of the fly - so that you view the broad side of the feather while you wind it on. Go slow until you get the hang of it, but this should make the hackle fibers on both sides of the feather stand up. You can use your finger tips to brush them forward or backward to suit your fancy at that point. The other trick is to simply strip the fibers off one side of the hackle, and wind on like normal - but to me that can be a waste and takes more hackle wraps to get the job done. Simple math says half the fibers requires twice the wraps for the same look. For tightwads (and I are one sometimes) that means I get more flies out of a given hackle feather if I don't trim half the fibers off, and use fewer turns of hackle per fly.
 
D
damonspreng
Well I think you guys somehow solved the Hackle problems it looks acceptable now. As for the crickets I haven't got to try... Getting engaged this weekend so probably won't have time to tie in a while thank you everyone.
 
S
Sinkline
.
 
Last edited:
B
bigsteel
:lol:
Sinkline said:
WHAT! You need to let the soon to be wife know what the priority is right up front! Let her know you might be a little late to the engagement party as you are running a little behind tying some flies. If ya don't set the tone early in the relationship you won't be doing much fishing in your married life (half kidding)! :lol:


Randy
tying flies in a tuxedo:lol::lol:
 
D
damonspreng
Oh I'll be tying flies next week just not this weekend. She already knows better;) not...
 
Last edited:
T
troutslayer48
westfly.com or .(something) Google it that's all you'll ever need I just look at the "recipe" and do my best to match colors first and sub different feathers/furs second
 

Similar threads

Gunga
Replies
13
Views
2K
Gunga
Gunga
G
Replies
4
Views
1K
FishFinger
F
F
Replies
6
Views
6K
tnffishman
T
Top Bottom