Tying Flies on the Road
Once you are hooked on tying your own flies, you want to be prepared with plenty of your own before you get to your fishing spots. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way and you lose all your flies on the river.
It would be nice to have some fly tying materials with you. Many fly shops near great fishing spots only have part of what you’ll need: Hooks, but no feathers or it’s feathers, but no hooks. We are usually too far away to just skip in to town and pick some up or we’re in an area that has no town! We found out a long time ago, that you had better be prepared with your own supplies. But, how do you contain it all in an easily accessed way?
There are tackle boxes with multiple draws that can work out well. Choose materials you use often, and some that are specifically for the areas you want to fish, plenty of hooks in different sizes, and spools of thread in colors you most often use. You can keep your fly tying box in the car or trunk until you need it. Then you just need a surface to clamp your vise to and you are ready to go!
Kenny & I used to camp in tents, with sleeping bags on mattresses. We’d been doing this for years, and actually preferred it, until one morning when we woke up, the mattress had gone flat, and we were sleeping on the hard, cold ground, leaving us stiff and sore that day.
Kenny decided, right then and there, that we would get a camper, to help us live better outdoors. On her maiden voyage we discovered a few things:
- Get better latches on the cupboards to keep that liter of Jack from crashing to the floor.
- We needed a convenient place to keep our fly tying materials & fly tying equipment.
A couple of drawers would be perfect! Kenny made wood boxes from matching paneling, attached some sliders, and viola! We now had a place to keep our fly tying equipment, feathers, fur & such.
A simple but strong latch system keeps them in place when we drive up bumpy dirt roads, and the drawers are easily pulled out when we need to tie. We can set the drawers on the table or bed to search for that perfect color to match the local bugs, and still keep it all contained while tying flies.
With the camper being so compact, every bit of room is premium, so setting up a few drawers or containers, in out of the way areas, can greatly improve the stress levels of ‘cramping’ together.
As in most RV’s, our table is made of white Formica, creating the perfect background for fly tying. We attach our vises to the side with a bit of light cardboard between the clamp and table to protect it from scuffing.
Our flies stand out well against the white surface as we are tying in wings or trying to see the spacing of our palmering. Also, the white reflects light well, giving you better quality lighting. Choosing a white table in your RV can greatly enhance your fly tying experience.
It is a wonderful feeling, knowing you can make any fly you may need, no matter where you go. Also, when you find a fly that the fish are going gaga over, you can make plenty more for the next day. It is also good to have a few extra to use in trade for a new kind of fly from someone you meet on the water. A friendly gesture of gifting a few flies can grease the flow of fishing tips and techniques from a fly fisherman who is normally hesitant to share.
After a day of fishing, and a nice BBQ dinner, we usually tie a few flies. We’ll have a shot & a beer and talk about the flies that worked best, and what to create that may work better.
We get excited, because we know we’ll be ready to meet the rise of fish in the morning, fortified with our full fly boxes!
Ken & Debbie
The itch to get out on the water is getting stronger each passing day and I’m finding it hard to concentrate on working. I’m just sitting here in a dazzle staring out the my office window into our snow covered backyard wishing I was out fishing.
