Fly tying | Page 18

As a fly tier that tries to do things as affordably as possible—yet still have quality tools and materials to craft the best possible flies—I'm always on the lookout for tips and tricks to achieve my goals. Video of Fine Tipped BodkinBodkins are simple tools—just a sharp stretch of wire attached to a handle. But,…

When finishing tied flies to get rid of any stray materials or to simply make the fly look better, it's important that you don't just "free hand" it. Not all of us are Cool Hand Luke—we need a little help to be precise when we go after small fibers with a pair of tying scissors…

Working with micro-fibbets can be a real pain, particularly for tiers who sport fat fingers (like I do!). But they can really add appeal to a fly, particularly mayflies that depend on that realistic look to attract trout. Video of Splayed Micro Fibbet TailsThe video above offers up an amazingly simple way to properly splay…

Last week, I shared Tim Flagler's video on building round rubber legs for terrestrial patterns. It's a brilliant (and relatively simple) way of crafting rubber legs that always rest at that perfect 90-degree angle. Video of Mop HopperAbove, Tim puts the method to use in his Mop Hopper pattern, a great high-floating terrestrial that trout…

I wish I had seen the video below a month ago, as 'hopper season was upon us here in eastern Idaho—cooler nights and high-elevation freezes are bringing my favorite time of the year to a close, unfortunately, but there are still a few hearty terrestrials out there. Video of Round Rubber Hopper LegsTying round rubber…

I've never been a big fan of super glue in my fly tying, and not because it doesn't work—it most definitely does. I don't like it because, after a few uses, the bottle seizes up and I invariably end up wasting much of the product inside because it simply becomes too much of a pain…