Dry Flies .....that is

This is a hobby that my grandfather taught me when I was my son's age.  I am now teaching my sons, and we have been having a ball this summer.  I'm still not real great at it, and  my whip-finishing knots are questionable, but the flies work damn good.

I sit on the deck of our cabin and tie them while having a beer.  It is very relaxing.  I've given away quite a few boxes to friends this summer.   It has been pretty fun.  I stopped doing this when I was in highschool, and just started again last summer when my dad gave my son a starter set.

I just sent a set to my grandfather to use when he comes out next week to fish.  He used to send my flies when I was younger.
These are the patterns that I have been working on this summer, and perfecting as best I can.  Notice the flash on all of the patterns.  It is the secret ingredient.  These are all size 16-14 hooks, if you were wondering.


The most successful-fish wise.  I think it is called Stimulator.


This is the newest pattern, and very effective.  The Parachutes.


The old reliable Elk Hair Cadis...


I love tying Humpys....lots of color differences to play with ....like hot pink and black.


My son's design.  He told me what to put on it and it works damn good!  He caught more fish than I did the first time he tried it.

Hmm.I just use worms.Or chicken livers.Or minners.
good work!

They look great. I was smart enough to qiut when I figured out that I wasn't very good at it. I haven't tied any in years.




Edited for spelling.

Quoted: Hmm.I just use worms.Or chicken livers.Or minners. good work!

Saw a kid fishing on the dock of a marina during a bass tournament.  He was using a can of corn, just baiting the hook with a few kernals of corn.  

He caught more fish than many of the guys with boats that day... I know, not flys, but...

My Dad was a fly fisherman... Mom tied his flies, she did a better job at it.

I grew up in a household with Mom tying flies.  Clearing the reloading equipment off the kitchen table so we could eat supper at night.  Mom teaching me archery, shooting at targets on hay bales in the back yard (this was WAY before bow hunting became popular).  

I was truly blessed to be raised correctly.

One time when I ditched school and took the family boat out to Lake Peris with some friends we took a burlap sack and tied a bunch of trebel hooks to it, then stuffed it full of dog food and chicken parts and tied it onto the anchor.

We had a mess of catfish at the end of the day.

Quoted: They look great. I was smart enough to qiut when I figured out that I wasn't very good at it. I haven't tied any in years. Edited for spelling.

Thanks for the compliment.  I think I tied over 200 this summer so far.  I usually get bored/antsy if I have to sit around very long....even just drinking beer with the in-laws, so this has been a great way for me to stay relaxed, enjoy their company, and my friends enjoy all the free flies.

My son, who's 11, caught 24 trout, not big ones, but 9-10 inch fish, in about 1 1/2 hours one evening with his designed fly.  I think I only caught 15 using the Stimulator that has worked so well all summer.

The big plus is I don't get so pissed when he gets a fly stuck in a tree.  I swear half the time I fish with my wife and my sons I spend getting flies out of trees.

You do some nice work.

Quoted: You do some nice work.

Thank you.  
I hope my grandpa realized how much it meant to me to have him teach me his passion.  He has trouble tying his own any more because of his eyesight.  I have a set of his framed in a shadow box in my living room.  

Now he will get to see his great-grandsons carry on his tradition.  Kind of cool.

Nice looking flies!


I am always grabbing feathers from the male wood ducks I get in fall for the fly tiers in spring.

Quoted: Nice looking flies! I am always grabbing feathers from the male wood ducks I get in fall for the fly tiers in spring.

I would do that too, except I teach a class that does a taxidermy unit, and they like the wood ducks with feathers attached.

I hope for people around here with chickens, I never find any with those long hackle feathers attached.  I might be worse than any fox they ever dreamed of.  A pack of those long thin feathers cost almost $25.

I spent way, way, way too much money on fricken feathers this summer.  I am never letting any of my elk, deer, or antelope hides go anymore with out taking a few samples.   What the stores want for a few square inches of hide is darn near as outrageous as gas prices.