Just tied my first fly

[wyobowhunter21]

Well after receiving some tying stuff from my great grandpa and some Christmas presents I am set to start tying. Tonight I tried a San Juan. Not perfect but for my first I think it went pretty good. I couldn't figure out how to put a knot with the martelli after you tie the velvet chenille on. Thanks for all the help on this site.

 

[comeonavs]

SO first of all thanks for sharing, believe it or not I was very nervous when I posted my first tie here.

The fly looks fine and will catch fish, overall I would say you might have cut the chenille a titch short , but then again I am not the one eating it so I bet the fish will disagree.

As far as that matarelli I assume you mean your whip finisher. Once you get the feel you will be able to hold that chenille back while whipping. You can also use the tip from a old fashioned ball point pen as a half hitch tool. A lot of patterns like this I will just throw a few half hitches in there and then coat the bottom of the hook and knot with some sally hansen's hard as nails (bought wherever you buy fingernail polish)

A lot of people hate the half hitch but Ive never had a problem with it. I lose so many flies Ive never kept one long enough to inspect my tie offs.

keep it up

PS a good alternative to chenille is go to your local grocery store and pick up some leather shoelaces for work boots. You get like 3 feet for a few bucks and use that. My brother in law hammers fish on it, so much so I now have leather shoe laces on my desk

 

[ia_trouter]

Welcome to the addiction. Watch some youtube vids on whip finishing and practice on a hook without tying a fly. You'll have it mastered in short order.

 

[jaybo41]

I think you did a great job with that fly. Keep that guy tucked away as a keepsake for your venture into fly tying. Years from now, you will be really happy you did because you'll have something to compare your progress to.

I struggled with whip finishing flies and did the half hitch thing for quite a while, until I got into tying smaller more intricate dry flies. I knew I needed to learn, so....

I found a video on youtube that showed me what to do. Not sure if this is the same one or not, but it should help you tremendously. Get a streamer hook or one with a long shank and just practice using the whip finisher. Don't tie in any materials, just whip finish. Once you get the hang of it, you will be happy you learned how to use it.

[ame]http://youtu.be/i8PwX71zzkM[/ame]

By the way, keep posting flies here, we have a super group of tiers who will be glad to give you some tips and advise if you are looking for that sort of thing. Keep an open mind, while you may get some criticisms, folks are genuinely trying to help.

What I found with flies I first started with is that a good number of them worked quite well despite how they may have looked. I've no doubt that SJ Worm will get you on the fish.

 

[comeonavs]

Great video Jason

OP go to the 1:02 mark of the video, that position he has the whip finisher in. Now imagine your index finger of your left hand holding the chenille back...and tada a half dozen whips or so and you're all set.

 

[wyobowhunter21]

Thanks everyone!! I tried a stab at an ez nymph last night. That one didn't work out so well. Feathers are a whole new ball game to tie. I am going to watch the video and do the suggested this evening. I believe I have some long shanked hooks but if not I will stop and get some. I appreciate all the help. This fly tying is really fun.

 

[wyobowhunter21]

I took some advice and I think I am getting the hang of the whip finisher. I am using size ten hooks and that may be my issue. There a little small. I tried out an ez nymph tonight. I am not too happy with it, looks a little sloppy but I thought I would share. I enjoy getting advice.

 

[Ard]

Hi,

You're doing great, somewhere on here are pictures of the first flies I tied and they were pretty rough. I kept them and never tried them because even as a kid I could see they would come apart if I tried to use them. Fly tying is a wonderful way to focus during the winter months when we face many days when weather would make fishing less than fun. In our modern world with the computer at your disposal you will be able to find many helpful videos for instruction. In no time at all you'll be posting a Sulfur and an Adams dry fly to show how you've progressed. Learn them all and have fun.

Ard

 

[Unknownflyman]

I could hook a fish with that. First the mechanics, artistry comes as you learn.

 

[silver creek]

Follow the directions below.

Notice that the whip finish is made TOWARD THE EYE and not away from the eye. This produces the smoothest whip finish.

Whip toward the eye:




Whip away from the eye;



One criticism of the whip finish videos is that they do NOT emphasize that the smoothest whip finish is done with the turns TOWARD the hook eye. And they frequently whip away from the eye. The Matarelli Patent Application below clearly shows the direction of the whip finish should be toward the hook eye:

 

[pszy22]

Just a suggestion, try tying off your fly without using a tool. For the first twenty five years or so I use to whip finish by hand, which worked out ok. About twenty years ago I learned this knot from Gary Borger and have used it ever since -

Gary Borger » The Double Hitch

See what you like better, there is no right or wrong.

have fun,

 

[wyobowhunter21]

Follow the directions below.

Notice that the whip finish is made TOWARD THE EYE and not away from the eye. This produces the smoothest whip finish.

Whip toward the eye:




Whip away from the eye;



One criticism of the whip finish videos is that they do NOT emphasize that the smoothest whip finish is done with the turns TOWARD the hook eye. And they frequently whip away from the eye. The Matarelli Patent Application below clearly shows the direction of the whip finish should be toward the hook eye:

While I was working with my whip finisher I was noticing that it isn't very clean. I will try going towards the eye. I bet that would look a lot better.

---------- Post added at 09:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:08 AM ----------

Just a suggestion, try tying off your fly without using a tool. For the first twenty five years or so I use to whip finish by hand, which worked out ok. About twenty years ago I learned this knot from Gary Borger and have used it ever since -



Gary Borger » The Double Hitch



See what you like better, there is no right or wrong.



have fun,

I was going to learn that next. I figured I would get into tying and fundamentals. I was told by a gentlemen that it is good to know the double hitch so if your in the middle of something you don't have to reach for the whip finisher. I will definitely take the time to learn that knot. Thanks for posting the link!

 

[SethO]

I love this thread! I recently started tying my own flies as well and I am hooked. I have been tying nearly every day after work and I have nearly filled my first box and working on the second.

Keep posting pics, homie. I love what you are doing.

 

[wyobowhunter21]

Thanks Seth. It's nice to have a place to post them. I am switching to some smaller hooks to better suite the places around me. Thanks mcnerney

 

[wyobowhunter21]

I haven't posted for a while and I thought I would post up my latest creation. I triad my thread at a soft hackle pheasant tail. It looks alright but I figured out going from a six ten to a 16 is extremely hard. You also may notice the dowels in the background. I got extremely addicted and built a tying station.

 

[jcw355]

I took some advice and I think I am getting the hang of the whip finisher. I am using size ten hooks and that may be my issue. There a little small.

Everyone has to start somewhere, im still just okay at tying but what I tie is simple and works. The more you tie you will see a size 10 is considered a bigger fly. I mainly use 18 and 20. Some guys tie 28 - 32, that's really small. Just keep doing it, you'll get better. Youtube is your friend. A razor blade will take care of a bad fly, we've all used them.

 

[ten_fiver]

Where are you from bowhunter?

 

[wyobowhunter21]

From Casper.

 

[ten_fiver]

Just checking if you were in my area. I'm a pretty novice tier, but I thought I could give you a hand. It's quite a commute to casper though.

---------- Post added at 09:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:40 AM ----------

I recently took a tying refresher at our local outreach center. I'm sure casper would offer a class as well, and it would be worth checking into.

 

[wolfglen]

SO first of all thanks for sharing, believe it or not I was very nervous when I posted my first tie here.

The fly looks fine and will catch fish, overall I would say you might have cut the chenille a titch short , but then again I am not the one eating it so I bet the fish will disagree.

As far as that matarelli I assume you mean your whip finisher. Once you get the feel you will be able to hold that chenille back while whipping. You can also use the tip from a old fashioned ball point pen as a half hitch tool. A lot of patterns like this I will just throw a few half hitches in there and then coat the bottom of the hook and knot with some sally hansen's hard as nails (bought wherever you buy fingernail polish)

A lot of people hate the half hitch but Ive never had a problem with it. I lose so many flies Ive never kept one long enough to inspect my tie offs.

keep it up

PS a good alternative to chenille is go to your local grocery store and pick up some leather shoelaces for work boots. You get like 3 feet for a few bucks and use that. My brother in law hammers fish on it, so much so I now have leather shoe laces on my desk

The first fly I ever saw tied like a San Juan Worm was back in the late fifties when a fisherman who was old THEN showed me a fly tied using a rubber band.