One of the more frustrating things that can happen at the fly-tying vise is when materials won’t stay in place on the hook shank. Slippery hair, such as deer or elk, and dumbbell eyes have a nasty tendency to spin around the . . .
Read Moreone-minute tying tips
Video: How to Use Clamps While Fly Tying
One of the hallmarks of Tim’s tying process is that he’s always looking for ways to make tying easier, more efficient, and less frustrating, and he often finds novel ways of achieving these goals. Here, he shows you how to use . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Dub a Super-Slim Body
Getting the right amount of dubbing on your thread to make a fly body can be tough for some tiers, and the tendency is to use too much dubbing. The result is often a body that’s fatter than you want it to be, or you have to try to get the dubbing off your . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Measure Hackles
One of the keys to a well-proportioned fly pattern is using the correct size hackle. And it’s not just about the appearance of the fly, as most dry-fly patterns depend on a certain length of hackle to ride properly on the . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Taper the Ends of Synthetic Materials with Scissors
Last week, 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 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 Add Dubbing with Finesse, Part 2
In the first video about what Tim calls “finesse dubbing,” he demonstrates how to start sparse and then go even sparser to create a thin, even noodle. Here, he shows you how to deal with a couple problems that may arise . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Add Dubbing with Finesse
The phrase “Less is more” can be applied to many aspects of fly tying, but it’s especially true when you’re talking about adding dubbing to thread. Many tiers grab too big a pinch and then try to force it into a thin noodle on . . .
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 . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Hold Fly-Tying Materials Out of the Way
When you’re tying a pattern that features long hackles, legs, or other materials, keeping them out of the way while you tie can be a frustrating process. As Tim notes here, some vises feature special material-holding springs or . . .
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