fly-tying videos

A great all-around nymph, the Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear should be in every trout angler’s box. photo courtesy Tightline Productions

Victorian tier James Ogden is often credited with inventing the Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear, but Ogden’s version was, in fact, a dry fly. In fact, it is listed in the great Frederick M. Halford’s Floating Flies and How to Dress Them. The dry version of the Hare’s Ear (now often tied as a parachute) is now considerably less popular than the nymph, mostly because dry flies are usually more exact imitations of naturals. Of course, a greased beadless Hare’s Ear fished in the film can be. . .

The Hendrickson hatch is both the kickoff and the highlight of dry-fly season on the Battenkill, right down the road from Orvis HQ, and springtime emergences of Ephemerella subvaria are celebrated throughout the East and the Midwest. These bugs spend a lot of time sitting on the water after they emerge, and a low-profile pattern often works best to foo. . .

Few topics can start an argument among fly tiers faster than a discussion of the proper proportions of a Catskill-style dry fly. Should there be three wraps at the head or just two? Should the wing be 1/3 of the way down the shank, or should it be 5/12ths? And on and on. One thing is for sure, though: Catskill dry flies should be sparse. Much of the style’s elegance comes from its slender profile and dainty. . .

The original Pheasant Tail Nymph was tied by Englishman Frank Sawyer, a riverkeeper on the River Avon for more than 50 years. His pattern was designed to imitate the nymphs of various mayflies, especially those of the Baetis genus, although according to Tom Rosenbauer, in The Orvis Guide to the Essential American Flies: . . .