[coloradoavalanche]

Hey, I recently received my fly tying kit and I got many materials. First, can you use nymph hooks to tie dry flies? Second, as a beginner I have trouble tying complex flys, so it would be great if you guys could suggest a fairly easy beginner fly which is effective in new england streams

[Greenwood]

Hi,
Nymph hooks are generally 'heavier' than dry fly hooks, so it would be harder to get them to float. 'Course that will vary with the pattern. A big, foam grasshopper would float about any hook! But, the rule of thumb would be nymph hooks for sunken patterns. Dry fly hooks for on top.

Secondly, a real easy fly would be one of the soft-hackles. Such as partridge and green, partridge and yellow or a hares ear soft hackle (you can substitute hen hackle for partridge). You can pretty much fish them all year, you can't fish 'em 'wrong', and they're really easy to tie. Plus, your nymph hooks will work just fine.

[fyshstykr]

Originally Posted by coloradoavalanche

Hey, I recently received my fly tying kit and I got many materials. First, can you use nymph hooks to tie dry flies? Second, as a beginner I have trouble tying complex flys, so it would be great if you guys could suggest a fairly easy beginner fly which is effective in new england streams

Hi Avs,
You could use nymph hook for dries, but it would add some excess weight to the dryfly, if you were tying dries that also used some closed cell foam it wouldn't matter, the foam will float most anything. But overall you would be better off using a dryfly hook made from a lighter guage wire.

As far as tying the more complex patterns(they still give me trouble too), I would wait until you get the basic techniques down, and maybe take a class or two if you have not already.
Try tying some basic nymphs like a Hare's Ear, Zug Bug or Pheasant Tail, they will take fish most anywhere, or you could try some Soft Hackle wet flies.

Hope this helps.....

[dshort]

Woolly Buggers were one of the first flies I started tying. They're pretty easy to tie and work on a lot of different fish, including panfish, large and smallmouth bass, trout, etc, etc.

[liv2fish]

People always said tying woolly buggers was an easy fly to start out on. I never thought so though. Don't let that deter you though. Although I am originally from new england I didn't start fly fishing until I moved out west, so I can't know for sure what will work there. I recommend you tie some simple midge patterns. Many consist of nothing more than thread and a bead/dubbing head. Although they are often very small they are quite simple to tie. Well known ones like the black beauty and brassie should be good places to start. I always liked tying them because I hated spending between 1-2$ on such a small simple fly. I don't mind buying the more difficult patterns but the easy ones I have to tie myself. I would use 6/0 or 8/0 thread (if you're comfortable with applying thread pressure) in a color to match the pattern description. Let us know how you do...

[FrankB2]

Originally Posted by dshort

Woolly Buggers were one of the first flies I started tying. They're pretty easy to tie and work on a lot of different fish, including panfish, large and smallmouth bass, trout, etc, etc.

Ditto! Even a poorly tied bugger will catch something. I consider my tying
skills above average, but I spend more time tying and fishing buggers than
anything else....lately.

[fishenrg]

Originally Posted by FrankB2

Ditto! Even a poorly tied bugger will catch something. I consider my tying
skills above average, but I spend more time tying and fishing buggers than
anything else....lately.

I haven't had too much luck on buggers yet, but warm weather is so slow up here so it will happen soon. I just picked up a book called "woolly wisdom" which is about, you guessed it, woolly buggers and worms. Fans of the pattern should definitely checked it out.

Beginner tyers could also check out a book called "simple flies". Its great and full of patterns that use 3 materials or less, not counting the hook and the thread.