Your First Fly You Tied

[jclampwork88]

Here is an interesting question. What was the first fly that you ever tied? Do you still have it? Do you tie that same pattern now and fish with it?

My first fly was a Mickey Finn Streamer with peacock herl tied over the top (i'll post a picture later). I still display in a case in our front room. People comment and ask about it once and awhile. It was the first fly that a beginner tying kit told me to tie.

John

 

[jclampwork88]

Post a picture if you have one.

 

[Greenwood]

Ha! I remember it well. It was a TU beginners fly tying class. First fly was a weighted muskrat nymph. About a size 12; wrapped with some non-lead wire; muskrat fur dubbed onto black thread and a really poor thread head. It was supposed to represent a sowbug and now that I think back, I'm sure it did and I'm sure it would have worked, although I can guarantee I would have thought it too simplified, pretty early on and quit tying it. (I just might try one today!). I don't have a picture of it but if you look under your desk and see a size 12 dust-bunny, you'd get the general idea!

 

[jclampwork88]

I've been trying to find a good pattern to use some muskrat I received in a swap. I think I will try a couple and see how they work.

Thanks for the story.

John

 

[FrankB2]

My first go at tying was around 30 years ago. Being short on funds, I tied
mostly Mickey Finns: $7 vise, no other tools to mention, and a handful of
hooks. I took an old fly box out about 5 years ago to show my son, and they
weren't as bad as I remembered. When we pulled the fly from the spring clips,
9 out of 10 hooks broke...LOL!

 

[Rip Tide]

When I was 7, I 'tied' a fly from my mother's olive colored wool knitting yarn.
It really wasn't anything more than a tail and a wrapped body, but I caught a fish on it

 

[swirlchaser]

It was 2 years ago and it was a Chart/White Clouser. I'm happy to say I fished it til it fell apart...

 

[Frank Whiton]

Hi to all,

My first year in Alaska my wife and I took a fly tying class from the Anchorage Parks and Recreation. So there were practice (make believe) flies that were tied to learn techniques. My first real fly for fishing was a size 14 gray Woolly Worm with a red butt and a herl back. The hackle was Palmered Grizzly. I tied it for Grayling. I fished with the first one I tied on a sink tip line. On the first cast I caught a fish from a nice hole. So if one is good two is better, right. On my second cast I hung up and lost the fly. So much for saving your first fly. That gray Woolly Worm became one of my most successful flies for Grayling.

Frank

 

[Snaggy]

Egg pattern on a size 8 hook. LOL it was huge! Now I can tie 14's no problem. I'm pretty sure that was my first attempt. As far as feathers and hackle go, I tied some real ugly wooly buggers. Some fell apart in the river but I think I saved my first one. I'll have to go dig it up. It's olive and black and ugly all over.

Great thread and Happy Holidays!

Darin

 

[jclampwork88]

I wanted to bring some cheer to everyone this holiday season by bring up some good memories.

John

 

[Ard]

JC,

I still have it! I will post a photo to this thread later this evening. I hope you will see it, I didn't read the instructions that came with my kit back in .............

Great Thread!

Ard

 

[GeorgeMcFly]

mine is posted somewhere on here. it was a hares ear nymph. or as I call it now a wannbe hares ear nymph. lol.

 

[Troutwhisperer]

griffiths gnat, my grandpa tought me how to tie and later with that fly i caught a small rainbow, first on a hand fly i tied, but unfortunately lost it in some bush in my backcast.I was young and just starting to fly-fish.

Thankfuly i learned how to cast and stopped losing flys except on fish that break my line.

 

[Wyatt]

I don't remeber what it was called but it was simple and it caught fish, my wife and daugther both caught their first fish on it and we lost a lot of them to the fly eating trees along the Poudre trying to learn our selfs, have since taken lessons for casting and tying, still use this fly though. Here's a picture.
View attachment 1313
Wyatt

 

[Midwest flyfish kid]

I started tying flies long before I started flyfishing. I saw in a kids fishing book about tying flies and I knew a man who fly fished so I wanted to make him some flies. I held the hook in my hand and wrapped on the stuff with swing thread. I did this for a few years until I actually started flyfishing myself and then I bought a real vice, tool, material and such. That was the best purchase ever!

 

[Shane Stroud]

I remember it well. I tied a white bead head woolly bugger with a weed guard, on a 1/0 hook. I didn't have anything flashy in my kit, so I used Christmas tree tinsel in the tail. And it was HUGE. It caught lots of wind and didn't exactly turn over well, so I had to fish it on a 0X leader. I fished it around weed beds and lily pads for largemouth. That was also the first (and last) time I ever lost my entire leader to a fish.

Of course it was also the last time I used a leader loop. The loop held fine. My knot did not.

 

[jclampwork88]

Great story. Thanks for sharing

John

 

[KRD]

Brown #12 Wolly Bugger in a class i took. Then we tied a #12 Prince nymph. I don't have mne any more, but my Girlfriend who took the class with me still has hers.

 

[Pocono]

It was an olive wooly bugger on a #10 hook, tied at a fly tying class offered by my local fly shop in Blakeslee, PA. The instructor was Stanley Cooper; an ex-A&F professional tyer. It was a complete rat! He said it would catch fish, but I never fished it, because if I was a fish, I never would have given it a second look!

 

[jclampwork88]

Alot of my flies no looks that way, LOL. Thanks for the story

John