spectr17
05-15-2003, 09:58 PM
Fly tyers have one goal: To fool a fish into biting
Rachel Carter, Raleigh News & Observer
http://redding.com/images/photos/20030512ou057a.jpg
ALL IN THE DETAILS: Tyer Michael Grant demonstrates the basics of tying a saltwater streamer. Scripps Howard News Service
http://redding.com/images/photos/20030512ou057b.jpg
JUST FOOLING: A finished fly that mimics an aquatic insect is ready to fish. Brad Garrison
http://redding.com/images/photos/20030512ou057c.jpg
STEP BY STEP: Grant starts by wrapping a saltwater hook with waxed thread, then adds bucktail hair and shiny streamer hair. Large or small, flies imitate the diet of all fish species.
"There's a certain entertainment value in catching a fish on something you made instead of something you bought."
-- tyer John Allman
May 12, 2003
Vivid spools of thread sit a step away from dull feathers covered by plastic. Next to the feathers, bags hang with tiny fake eyeballs that can creep out anyone who looks too closely. A wooden table sits in the middle, spilling over with more colorful items. A spindle, vises, scissors abiding with an odd assortment of craft goods. Brightly dyed rooster feathers compete for attention with colored threads.
All of this is for one purpose: to fool a fish.
At the Great Outdoor Provision Co. store in Cameron Village in Raleigh, N.C., an abundance of items awaits the self-tying fly-fisherman or woman.
Tying flies takes practice, but once the basic principles are down, a fly-maker can create all kinds of fake insects, fish or, in some cases, small animals to tempt a fish's taste buds.
"I think people do it because it's fun," said John Allman, president of the Triangle Fly Fishers Chapter of Trout Unlimited. "There's a certain entertainment value in catching a fish on something you made instead of something you bought."
Michael Grant, who has been making his own flies for four years, said the reasons for making one's own are simple: It can be cheaper, and it adds to the fly-fishing experience.
"Most of the time, people do it because they want a particular pattern or color that we don't have," said Grant, who works at the Great Outdoor Provision Co.
"A traditional dry fly is trying to imitate a particular kind of bug, and we might not have the exact color or the exact wing color of what's hatching on the water on that particular day."
For the casual angler, bait can be worms or crickets. For the fly angler, dry or wet flies are rooted in research — much of fly-fishing is knowing something about entomology, the branch of zoology dealing with insects. Like fly-tying, it's taking one's passion one step further.
With fly-tying, the various stages of an insect's life can be simulated. Dry flies are meant to drift on the top of the water; they can be tiny and typically imitate the smaller insects. A wet fly is a subsurface lure that mimics small fish or other animals that live in the water. Wet flies tend to be made of more gaudy materials — bright yellows or greens, with flashy Mylar added if a fly is a fish imitation. Some dry flies are so small that six can fit on the nail of one's pinky. The biggest wet flies, or streamers, used by offshore anglers pursuing marlin or sailfish can run 8 inches or more.
Trout anglers fishing mountain streams are not the only folks tying flies, said David Falkowski, assistant manager at the Great Outdoor Provision Co.
"The saltwater end is the fastest growing," he said. "You've got trout anglers getting into saltwater fishing, plus you have conventional (tackle) saltwater anglers getting into fly-fishing."
John Martyn, who owns Martyn's Sea and Stream in Durham, N.C., tied commercially for seven years before opening his shop. During a fishing trip to Montana, he used size 26 and 28 hooks on his flies.
"I gave them to my guide and said, 'Here, you tie them,' " Martyn said. "My eyes are too bad. I couldn't see eye of the hook."
Martyn gives tying lessons in his store during the winter. His students can take 15 to 20 minutes making a Woolly Bugger, one of the most popular patterns. When he tied commercially, Martyn could do two dozen in an hour.
Much of fly-fishing involves learning about what kind of food the fish eats during the year. If a trout has been feasting on newly hatched mayflies, Grant said, the fish will be less likely to eat another kind of bug. Fly-fishermen can call fly shops or can purchase guides to tell them what bugs will be on the water at a particular time. It's called "match the hatch" in fly-fishing vernacular, but the concept applies to any angling pursuit: Know what they're eating and try to duplicate it.
In college, Allman tied Atlantic salmon flies and had to scrounge to find the rare feathers that gave them just the right look. He said saving money can be difficult considering all the equipment that is needed for tying a fly.
Although he doesn't tie his own flies, a number of members of his organization do. Chapter members get together at area bars with their fly-making gear, toss back brews and share patterns and tips. There are hundreds of patterns to choose from with names reflecting the imitated insect or the pattern's inventor.
The goal of tying is to make each fly life-like enough to convince a fish it is seeing something real and tasty. An ant fly should have legs that can move, feathers should believably duplicate wings.
To make a basic fly, a tier needs a vise; a bobbin; hooks; feathers, fur or yarn; and thread. Pattern books and fishing guides provide ideas for fashioning more-complex flies.
"The big thing is some people think they're going to save money," Martyn said. "But the important thing is what price you put on catching (a fish) on something that you made."
E-mail Rachel Carter at rcarter@newsobserver.com.
Rachel Carter, Raleigh News & Observer
http://redding.com/images/photos/20030512ou057a.jpg
ALL IN THE DETAILS: Tyer Michael Grant demonstrates the basics of tying a saltwater streamer. Scripps Howard News Service
http://redding.com/images/photos/20030512ou057b.jpg
JUST FOOLING: A finished fly that mimics an aquatic insect is ready to fish. Brad Garrison
http://redding.com/images/photos/20030512ou057c.jpg
STEP BY STEP: Grant starts by wrapping a saltwater hook with waxed thread, then adds bucktail hair and shiny streamer hair. Large or small, flies imitate the diet of all fish species.
"There's a certain entertainment value in catching a fish on something you made instead of something you bought."
-- tyer John Allman
May 12, 2003
Vivid spools of thread sit a step away from dull feathers covered by plastic. Next to the feathers, bags hang with tiny fake eyeballs that can creep out anyone who looks too closely. A wooden table sits in the middle, spilling over with more colorful items. A spindle, vises, scissors abiding with an odd assortment of craft goods. Brightly dyed rooster feathers compete for attention with colored threads.
All of this is for one purpose: to fool a fish.
At the Great Outdoor Provision Co. store in Cameron Village in Raleigh, N.C., an abundance of items awaits the self-tying fly-fisherman or woman.
Tying flies takes practice, but once the basic principles are down, a fly-maker can create all kinds of fake insects, fish or, in some cases, small animals to tempt a fish's taste buds.
"I think people do it because it's fun," said John Allman, president of the Triangle Fly Fishers Chapter of Trout Unlimited. "There's a certain entertainment value in catching a fish on something you made instead of something you bought."
Michael Grant, who has been making his own flies for four years, said the reasons for making one's own are simple: It can be cheaper, and it adds to the fly-fishing experience.
"Most of the time, people do it because they want a particular pattern or color that we don't have," said Grant, who works at the Great Outdoor Provision Co.
"A traditional dry fly is trying to imitate a particular kind of bug, and we might not have the exact color or the exact wing color of what's hatching on the water on that particular day."
For the casual angler, bait can be worms or crickets. For the fly angler, dry or wet flies are rooted in research — much of fly-fishing is knowing something about entomology, the branch of zoology dealing with insects. Like fly-tying, it's taking one's passion one step further.
With fly-tying, the various stages of an insect's life can be simulated. Dry flies are meant to drift on the top of the water; they can be tiny and typically imitate the smaller insects. A wet fly is a subsurface lure that mimics small fish or other animals that live in the water. Wet flies tend to be made of more gaudy materials — bright yellows or greens, with flashy Mylar added if a fly is a fish imitation. Some dry flies are so small that six can fit on the nail of one's pinky. The biggest wet flies, or streamers, used by offshore anglers pursuing marlin or sailfish can run 8 inches or more.
Trout anglers fishing mountain streams are not the only folks tying flies, said David Falkowski, assistant manager at the Great Outdoor Provision Co.
"The saltwater end is the fastest growing," he said. "You've got trout anglers getting into saltwater fishing, plus you have conventional (tackle) saltwater anglers getting into fly-fishing."
John Martyn, who owns Martyn's Sea and Stream in Durham, N.C., tied commercially for seven years before opening his shop. During a fishing trip to Montana, he used size 26 and 28 hooks on his flies.
"I gave them to my guide and said, 'Here, you tie them,' " Martyn said. "My eyes are too bad. I couldn't see eye of the hook."
Martyn gives tying lessons in his store during the winter. His students can take 15 to 20 minutes making a Woolly Bugger, one of the most popular patterns. When he tied commercially, Martyn could do two dozen in an hour.
Much of fly-fishing involves learning about what kind of food the fish eats during the year. If a trout has been feasting on newly hatched mayflies, Grant said, the fish will be less likely to eat another kind of bug. Fly-fishermen can call fly shops or can purchase guides to tell them what bugs will be on the water at a particular time. It's called "match the hatch" in fly-fishing vernacular, but the concept applies to any angling pursuit: Know what they're eating and try to duplicate it.
In college, Allman tied Atlantic salmon flies and had to scrounge to find the rare feathers that gave them just the right look. He said saving money can be difficult considering all the equipment that is needed for tying a fly.
Although he doesn't tie his own flies, a number of members of his organization do. Chapter members get together at area bars with their fly-making gear, toss back brews and share patterns and tips. There are hundreds of patterns to choose from with names reflecting the imitated insect or the pattern's inventor.
The goal of tying is to make each fly life-like enough to convince a fish it is seeing something real and tasty. An ant fly should have legs that can move, feathers should believably duplicate wings.
To make a basic fly, a tier needs a vise; a bobbin; hooks; feathers, fur or yarn; and thread. Pattern books and fishing guides provide ideas for fashioning more-complex flies.
"The big thing is some people think they're going to save money," Martyn said. "But the important thing is what price you put on catching (a fish) on something that you made."
E-mail Rachel Carter at rcarter@newsobserver.com.