We used to have just “pet friendly” or “kid friendly” activities, now we need to have “pandemic friendly” activities. You have your old standbys like knitting, woodworking, or gaming but for me those things just aren’t what I was looking for in a new pandemic friendly hobby. I wanted something that connected me a little closer to the outdoors, something that would challenge me. So, I turned to fly tying. Fly fisherman go through a lot of flies. If you are lucky the fish you catch will tear them up and they will need replaced. You may lose them to snags in brush piles or give them away to fellow fishermen who may not have the right pattern that day. Whatever the reason, fly fishermen go through them and they need ample inventory.
Fly tying enables a person to use their creativity to make new and custom patterns to fit the specific waterways being fished. There are hundreds if not thousands of variations of patterns to choose from depending on the fish you are targeting. Trout, panfish, and bass are all popular fish to go after with a fly rod and each has their own array of patterns to tie. The type of water also plays a role. Stained or clear? River, stream, or lake? These factors determine what the fish are currently eating and once you determine these you can then choose a pattern to tie. Fortunately, the internet is full of sites to help you choose the correct pattern and to make things even easier there are a few patterns that can easily cross over from one species to another.
Fly tying can be intimidating at first but there are many beginner kits available that contain the essential tools and materials to get you started. These kits enable beginners to tie a variety of flies and help teach you the basic techniques to get your feather bending hobby off the ground. While the quality of the items in these kits is suspect they are a great place to start and once you are “hooked” you can begin to upgrade your equipment which then turns it into a full blown obsession.
Catching a fish on a fly rod is fun but catching a fish on a fly rod using a fly you created and tied yourself is even more rewarding. Each fly I pull off the vise and put in my box brings a little more excitement and anticipation for the trout and steelhead season this fall. As I continue to dive deeper and deeper down this rabbit hole I am finding more and more patterns to try and hopefully I will be able to find my way back before the steelhead start in September.
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