Fly Tying Materials: A Beginners Guide

Fly Tying Materials: A Beginners Guide

Fly tying materials are not decoration, they are function made visible. Every feather, fiber, and filament exists to control how a fly moves, floats, sinks, and breathes in water. Long before a fish decides to eat, it reads silhouette, motion, and vulnerability, all dictated by material choice. From hooks forged as structural foundations to feathers that pulse with life and synthetics engineered for precision, fly tying materials form the language of imitation. Master the materials, and patterns become flexible tools rather than rigid recipes. At the vise, understanding always outperforms imitation.

What’s the Best Fly Tying Bobbin? How to Choose the Right One

What’s the Best Fly Tying Bobbin? How to Choose the Right One

Introduction A fly tying bobbin may look like a simple tool, but it plays a major role in how clean, durable, and consistent your flies turn out. From thread control...
Tying Flies with Soft Hackles: Tradition, Simplicity, and Effectiveness

Tying Flies with Soft Hackles: Tradition, Simplicity, and Effectiveness

Soft hackle flies are simple, deadly, and timeless. Learn how to tie and fish soft hackles, when they excel, and why they remain one of the most effective wet flies for trout.

Fly Tying Bead Size to Hook Size Guide

Fly Tying Bead Size to Hook Size Guide

Tagged: beads Blog fly tying

Simplify your fly tying! Our bead to hook size guide helps you match beads to hooks for optimal balance, realistic presentation, and faster sinking nymphs.

The Underrated Workhorse: Pine Squirrel

The Underrated Workhorse: Pine Squirrel

Tagged: Blog fly tying

Discover why pine squirrel is a must-have fly tying material. Perfect for small streamers, leeches, and nymphs with lifelike, natural movement.

Do Fly Colors Make a Difference?

Do Fly Colors Make a Difference?

Tagged: flies
Fly color is one of those topics that gets a lot of attention—and for good reason. Sometimes it seems like the smallest change in fly color can turn a slow...
The Peculiar Life of the Fly Tyer and Angler

The Peculiar Life of the Fly Tyer and Angler

Tagged: Guest Blogger
I keep a note on my iPhone filled with fly fishing tidbits—everything from the diameters of Maxima Clear to shopping lists and fly patterns I need to try. Nestled among...
Whiting Farms Grading System

Whiting Farms Grading System

Whiting Farms uses an Olympic grading system for their dry fly capes and saddles, primarily from genetic lines of birds developed for tying flies. The grading system reflects consistency and quantity, not...
The Mosquito Dry | An Overlooked Summer Fare

The Mosquito Dry | An Overlooked Summer Fare

By Guest Blogger - Clint Bova Mosquito larvae exist wherever there is standing water, and their hatch rates are staggering. From May through October, these insects are prolific across most...
My Journey into Fly Tying: From Fuzzy Fur Balls to Feathers That Fish

My Journey into Fly Tying: From Fuzzy Fur Balls to Feathers That Fish

By John Swezey, Guest Blogger I started fly tying three years ago. Sick of these extended cold spells, just staring out the window, I needed something to keep busy and...
The Cutting Edge: A Fly Tyer's Guide to Scissors

The Cutting Edge: A Fly Tyer's Guide to Scissors

When it comes to fly tying, few tools are as essential and underrated as scissors. Every fly tyer, whether beginner or pro, knows the frustration of dull blades or poorly...
The Thread of It All: Understanding Fly Tying and Thread Denier

The Thread of It All: Understanding Fly Tying and Thread Denier

Fly tying is a unique blend of artistry, craftsmanship, and deep knowledge of aquatic entomology. At the heart of our craft lies one simple but critical material: the thread. It...