Perfect Flies

I got your attention, didn’t I? No, I’m not suggesting I tie perfect flies. I wanted to express how difficult it is to tie perfect flies. To me, the perfect fly is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, tied with proper proportions, and entices a fish to eat it. It might imitate a real insect or be a beautiful attractor pattern.

I’m working on a custom fly project to tie a handful of streamers I’ve never tied before. I felt confident they would turn out OK. Why? Creating a good fly requires skill and being able to consistently repeat the proper proportions.

How do you achieve that? Practice, practice, and more practice.

My fly tying has improved 1000% the last few years. I attribute it to tying lots of flies, paying attention to the details, and utilizing proper technique.

Repetition helps to reinforce proper technique and create muscle memory. In addition, you get a “feel” for working with material and how much tension to apply before breaking thread. Seldom do I sit down and tie a new fly I’m happy with the first time.

But I believe in myself and my ability to create a work of art. Back in the old days of English fly tying, they referred to themselves as “fly dressers”. I hope to someday be in their league.

Lastly, I can’t tell you how important selecting the proper materials will help to create a nice looking fly. It’s a lesson I’ve learned over the years.

Here is an example of a Taylor’s Golden Spey.

I created a couple of variations, one I called the Ruby Spey. Here is a close-up image of the body detail.

The other spey fly I think looks elegant and I worked on a couple of years ago was the Lady Caroline.

I’m happy with this one, but I can’t tell you how many flies I attempted before I was satisfied.

How about a trout fly example?

Quigley’s Film Critic is another example of a customer request. The fly isn’t terribly complex to tie, but it does require patience fitting all those materials onto a small hook.

Those are size 16 PMD imitations above and here is a size 20 BWO fly.

But a fly I tie and fish a lot is a simple Sparkle Dun. It takes practice to make them look nice.