Tying-in bucktail–for a Clouser Minnow or other hairwing pattern–looks pretty easy, but the results are often less-than-optimal. The wing itself may look good, but the head can be messy and the hairs can fall out. Tim has an easy solution that will make . . .
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Video: A Primer on Natural Dubbing Materials
There are lots of choices when it comes to natural dubbing materials, but do you know the differences between, say, rabbit, beaver, muskrat, or angora? Tim offers a quick take on each, highlighting its best uses for fly tiers. As you build your . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Taper the Ends of Synthetic Materials with Scissors
Previously, Tim demonstrated a cool “slip and slide” method for creating a tapered baitfish body with synthetic materials. In this week’s lesson, he shows you how to do it using scissors. The way he twists the materials . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Hold Fly-Tying Materials Out of the Way, Part II
Welcome to the latest installment of our series of videos called “One-Minute Fly-Tying Tips and Techniques” from Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions. A few years ago, Tim made a video all about ways that he keeps long hackles, legs, or other . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Tie-In the Hair for a Comparadun
This is video number 5 in Tim’s ongoing “How to Tie a Comparadun” series. In recent weeks, Tim has discussed what kinds of hair generally works best; hair length, alignment, tips, and color banding; which hides produce the best hair for Comparadun . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Secure Foam on Top of a Hook
Patterns that feature large pieces of foam—grasshoppers, Chubby Chernobyls, and the like—present a challenge for tiers: the foam wants to rotate around the hook shank. In this week’s One-Minute Tying Tips video from Tightline Productions, Tim . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Whip-Finish and Cut Your Thread Without Tools
This week, Tim shows you a cool trick that can come in handy if you can’t find your scissors, or if you just feel like impressing your buddies. Using just his fingers and thread tension, Tim makes a whip-finish and then comes the really neat part: he cuts . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Make a Sparkle Pupa Body
This week, Tim shows you an ingenious and simple method for creating the “bubble” body of a Sparkle Pupa, one of Gary Lafontaine’s greatest creations. Many tiers struggle with this feature, but Tim has an “automagic” way to “inflate” the . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Taper the Ends of Synthetic Materials
n this week’s lesson, Tim shows you how to create realistic, tapered bodies on baitfish patterns that use synthetic materials. Most baitfish are naturally tapered front to back, so a fly that ends in a straight line of fibers won’t . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Tie-In Mixed Brown and Grizzly Hackles
The recipes for some popular dry-fly patterns, such as the classic Adams, call for both brown and grizzly hackle at the front. As Tim points out, it’s only natural for a tier to wonder if they really need both; it would certainly be easier . . .
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