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I was doing a bit of research on fly fishing flies this morning and saw this article on EzineArticles.

Tying Fly Fishing Flies – The Frankenstein Fly
By Richard Chapo

You can buy flies for fly fishing, but you’?ll want to tie your own at some point. Undoubtedly, your first fly will be the Frankenstein Fly.

Of Flies?

There is a particular fly for every fish, location and situation. There are basic flies like the Woolly Bugger and millions of exotic ones. You can buy thousands of them, but it will set you back a pretty penny. So, it?s time to tie your own.

The first step in the fly process is getting some educated advice at the bookstore. You’ll need to browse the fishing section for the hundreds of books on the subject. You’ll see books like ‘Flies for Idiots’, ‘Be One With The Fly’ and other mythical titles. Pick the one that seems tailored to your needs, buy your tools and supplies and head home.

One of the first flies most people try to tie is the Woolly Bugger. It can be used for most situations and seems fairly simple to tie. Since this is your first time, you’ll actually be tying the Frankenstein Fly whether you realize it or not. This is true regardless of the specific fly you try to tie.

With the Woolly Bugger, you’ll use a jam knot, a fluffy piece of marabou, lead wire and so on. You’ll follow the directions in detail. You’ll wind. You?ll strip fuzz. You?ll wrap like you?ve never wrapped before. In the end, you will have followed every step in agonizing detail. As you finish the last step, whip finishing your fly, you’ll step back to admire the best Woolly Bugger.

At this point, you’ll look at the book and your masterpiece. Then you’ll jump on the Internet and pull up pictures of Woolly Bugger flies. Then the neighborhood will shake with a piercing scream. Yes, you’ve created something that faintly looks like a Woolly Bugger, but strikingly like Frankenstein.

Congratulations, you’ve tied a Frankenstein Fly. Welcome to the league of mad tie scientists.

Have Faith

Tying flies is definitely an art. You will almost never get it right the first time. Don’t be discouraged. Keep at it. Who knows, maybe the fish will find your Frankenstein Fly to be a tasty treat.

Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com – makers of  writing journals. fly fishing journals are great gifts. Visit http://www.nomadjournals.com/flyfishing.cfm to see journals for fly fishing trips and fly fishing vacations.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Chapo http://EzineArticles.com/?Tying-Fly-Fishing-Flies—The-Frankenstein-Fly&id=80632

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Image via WikipediaI was just reading an article in fly fishing magazine I bought back in 1995 and I still learn new and interesting things.

This morning I was going over an article that talks about using or creating flies that are way out there and it reminded me of some of the horrible looking things that have done well from time to time.

Over the years I have tied a lot of flies and caught a lot of fish. It’s a great hobby and few of my other hobbies have brought me so much joy. Well I would say maybe my guitar comes close.

While I am tying flies I sometimes get the urge to tie something that’s way out there.

For brook trout I usually stay with the artificial flies that have worked well for me in the past, the same with my Atlantic salmon flies but when it comes to smallmouth bass or chain pickerel, well that’s a different story.

Unfortunately I don’t have any of them left, well any of the ones that worked pretty well. But I have had fun with making up flies.

One particular day comes to mind.

I was fishing near Fredericton one very hot and still day. I was at a location that I had never fished but was given directions from my fishing buddy Kerry that lived in Fredericton.

I arrived ready to fish smallmouth bass but when I looked at the brook I was sure he meant I was going to be fishing trout.

The water didn’t look deep enough to use my float tube so I just walked the banks and fished for a while.

To my surprise my first cast landed me a cute little bass who thought he was much bigger that he actually was. I gave him a little kiss and dropped him back in the brook.

I followed the brook for a little ways and as a moved around a corner in the brook things opened up and I could see that I was able to get my float tube in so it was back to the car.

I relocated the car closer to the area I should have started in and what a day I had.

The bugs were unstoppable and I was glad I had plastered myself with bug spray, but as soon I as I got a way from the bank they died down enough that I almost forgot they were there.

The further around the bend I got the more I could see weeds and it was getting deeper. It was starting to look more like water I would find bass and pickerel in.

It was time to try one of my wacky flies. I had tied a few flies that were deer hair. They were fat flies, getting close to the size of a golf ball. Okay they were a little smaller but not much and they were hard to get that cast I wanted as they just wanted to float around in the sky.

I had a lot of action with those flies but didn’t catch much. The flies were just too big and round to get a hook set.

I had to use my nail clippers, as I didn’t have any scissors with me, to cut the deer hair back a bit at the bottom, but I didn’t want to cut it back so much that it would start getting hooked on the weeds.

Well I did mess up the fly. I started catching the bass but it wouldn’t go through the weeds after my hacking at it with my clippers.

I still had one of these really goofy looking balls of deer hair and so I put it on and spend most of the day just getting those explosive stricks that make your heart stop or explode.

I am going to try and duplicate that particular fly to use this year for pickerel. I will put a guard on it so that it should be pretty weedless.

We will see what happens. If they attract pickerel like they did bass I am sure we will have a blast.

For the bass I just left the flies brown but for the pickerel I think I am going to add a bit of red coloured deer hair. It seems that any thing I have thown at pickerel with red in it gets there attention.

I have even had soft plastic baits that they would hold on to even though they didn’t have a hook in them. Too much fun, can’t wait.

Image via WikipediaThe summer of 2008 was a real blessing for me. After spending 4 years without fishing, trying to survive an inoperable heart attack in 2004, I had all but given up on ever being able to go fishing again.

The most fun I had during the 2008 season was fishing pickerel with my fishing buddy Jamie. We only used our spinning rods so Jamie didn’t get the opportunity to experience what fly fishing for pickerel is like. Look out 2009.

I fish a lot from my float tube and pickerel is one of the most fun fish to catch on the fly here in New Brunswick. I know the Atlantic salmon can’t be beat but they sure come in a close second in my books.

I have had a few days fishing with friends from float tubes where we just had our arms pulled off all day long. It makes for one of those days that your face hurts from laughing and your throat hurts from yelling “FISH ON” all day long. Jamie is in for a treat he will never give up.

Fishing for pickerel almost always takes us to the weeds where it becomes important to have flies that are weedless or 95% of the time you will be hung up on the smallest of weeds. That tends to take a lot of the fun out of fighting pickerel as they fight a whole lot better than those darn weeds.

I am scouring the net for pike and pickerel flies for 2009 but I would appreciate it if you would take a minute and give me your opinion and best choice for artificial flies that catch pike and pickerel.

Image via WikipediaI love the joy I get from fly fishing. Not too many things thrill me like casting a line to a spot you know could holding. Even better is when the water explodes and in your mind you can’t help screaming FISH ON.

Now imagine the same scenario but this time you are using a fly you tied yourself. That adds a whole new level of excitement for me. Now you have the excitement of fly fishing but it’s just so much more.

It doesn’t matter to me if I am fishing for Atlantic salmon, Smallmouth bass, brook trout or even Chain pickerel tying artificial flies for them just makes for more excitement.

Tying artificial flies doesn’t have to difficult at all. A few fly tying tools and materials and you are ready for a new experience that will be with you for life.

Where To Start Tying Artificial Flies

I would suggest that you first find someone that will show you the ropes. I had someone show me and in no time at all I was out buying my own vise and materials.

Having someone show you how to tie flies and then letting you try your hand at it will give you a good indication of whether you will want to do this for yourself. I was hooked right away but I have a few friends that would rather just buy their artificial flies.

My fly fishing friends and myself of course look for fly tying supplies on eBay . It’s a very affordable way to get started. I also use eBay to buy the artificial flies I don’t want to tie myself or just don’t have the time to tie.

Required Fly Tying Tools

The Fly Tyers Vise

To begin with you will need a vise to hold your hook while you are tying. It just doesn’t work when you try holding the hook with one hand.

There are a variety of vise types. I personally have a very basic, inexpensive vise that has worked for me these past 30 years. But you can get some really nice vises. The only thing I wish my vise did would be to rotate the hook when I need to, it would make tying even easier.

Price range for Fly Tying Vises: $30 – $200

Fly Tying Scissors

Scissors are extremely important. I like to have two pair of small scissors. One pair have straight cutting blades while the other has curved blades.

The curved blades make trimming your fly so much easier, especially the body of the fly as it’s usually oval and not square so the curved blades follow the shape making it easier to trim.

I have been using the same two pair of scissors for at least twenty years, maybe a bit longer, and the only thing I have ever had to do was to sharpen them.

Price range for Fly Tying Scissors:

You will need fly tying materials like feathers, hair, yarn and of course a variety of thread colours.

I started by buying a fly tying kit and later I purchased all the supplies and tools a friend I worked with at Sears was selling when his health took a turn for the worse and he no longer went fishing. I still have a lot of things he sold me and that was some twenty years ago.

I have found eBay to be a great place to get the best deals on all things fly tying.

Well I really don’t like putting my fishing gear away at the end of the fishing season, but there’s always next year and it’s just 6 months away. Oh man I have to move to a longer fishing season.

I had already put my gear away a couple of weeks ago thinking I was done for the year but then Jamie came through and off we went, but that’s not going to happen now. The season is over.

Since I started working from home I have more time on my hands but because my wife still works outside the home we can’t just pickup and leave when ever we please, soon but not quite yet. For this reason the winters can seem very long.

I was talking with Jamie, about next year, and I was telling him I want to see him fly fishing for bass and pickerel. That means that we need to tie a few weedless flies that float high in the water.

I have been fly fishing for bass and pickerel and of course everything else here in New Brunswick but Jamie hasn’t. Once he has he will understand what I am talking about. It’s like they become 4 or 5 pounds heavier while you’re fighting them.

If you are fly fishing bass and pickerel or pike let me know what fly tying patterns you use for your top water flies so please leave a comment.

I have tied big deer hair bugs that work great fly fishing for both bass and our chain pickerel here in New Brunswick but I want more variety in the flies we will be using.

Image via WikipediaFly fishing for the Atlantic salmon in New Brunswick can be quite frustrating when you can’t get any response after hours of carefully putting your artificial flies right on the end of their nose. But that’s Atlantic salmon fishing and makes it all the more exciting when that strike finally arrives, be prepared for it.

All those hours of holding your breath all pays off when your line goes tight and the fight is on. That fight is the reason I am still salmon fishing after 30 some years.

I have used a lot of Atlantic salmon flies over the years and most I would say I don’t have a clue about their names but there are a few that I do know the names.

Mickey Finn

One of first early spring salmon fly I was introduced to by my brother-in-law Joe and is still my favorite early season fly is the Mickey Finn. A great artificial fly for those spring black salmon. It has also hooked me up with a few nice sized brook trout as well.

Butterfly

The Butterfly is another Atlantic salmon fly I like using in the early spring right through the fall. I have three butterfly patterns that I use. They look the same but have different coloured wings (red or white) and the butt colour is either red, yellow or green.

Personally I tend to use a butterfly that has a red butt, I haven’t really noticed if the wing colour makes a difference but I have noticed that I get more stricks when the butt is red.

Brown Bug

The one I call a brown bug most likely has a real name, I just don’t know what it is yet. It looks very much like a Green Machine, which is another fly I like to use and have had much success with over the years.

Green Machine

I like using the Green Machine when the water is low. I like to let it drift right up to the salmon’s nose and then just yanking it away as if the bug had been sleeping and just realized it was in a dangerous situation.

It’s one of those flies that just seem to give me confidence in fly fishing for the New Brunswick Altantic salmon.

I couldn’t tell you how many Atlantic salmon I have caught using the Green Machine. Sometimes it just seems to be the only fly they are willing to smack.

I have tried to take some pictures of my flies but I really suck bad at picture taking. I will try again with a tripod and better lighting. At that time, if all works well, I will put up a picture of each of the flies mentioned above.