Learn Fly Tying » Beginners Lessons

The Green Beast

Jonathan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:06:34 +0000

The green Beast is an old pattern devised by a gentleman called Alan Pearson. He enjoyed a reputation for catching a lot of big trout in small still waters. It is a simple fly to tie and I thought you might like to give it a try. Originally it was supposed to imitate aquatic beetle larvae but I think it is more likely to be taken for a damsel nymph. With this in mind it might be worth trying a rib of blue or green lurex.

The Dressing

Hook - Long shank 8 ( Kamasan 830).
Lead -- wire underbody optional.
Thread -Green.
Tail -- Green Cock hackle fibres fairly short.
Body -- Green floss tapered to tail.
Rib - Silver wire. ( blue or green lurex optional).
Hackle -- Brown partridge back 2 turns.

Regards Dave C. and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTdaUo7GKLg

The Water Beetle

Jonathan — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:48:52 +0000

This fly is one I have devised after getting some dark green straggle fritz and struggling to find something to do with it. In past years I have had some success with snails which I have tied using black plastazote foam. I know that some waters do well with terrestrial insects and beetles blown on the water. I have not come across a convincing pattern for a water beetle, which I know do get taken by trout. The braid under body imitates the air bubble and the straggle fritz makes the legs when the overbody is pulled over. Leave enough foam after tying off to imitate the head.
This pattern should be fished on a sinking line with a short leader and long slow retrieves. Tie a couple up and give them a try and let me know if you have any success.

The Dressing

Hook - Long shank light weight size10 (Kamasan 830).
Thread -- Black.
Underbody - Orange/white Diamond Braid / Parton Body Czech.
Hackle - Black/Dark Green Straggle Fritz in open turns..
Overbody -- Strip Black Plasazote 3-4 mm. Square.
( It is easier to cut from the block with a knife with a serrated blade. )

Kind Regards Dave C. and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvBQc-T8yyg

The Jersey Herd

Dave Cammiss — Sat, 16 May 2009 12:07:02 +0000

The Jersey Herd was created by Tom Ivens for reservoir fishing in the early 1970s . It derived it’s name because the early pattern’s body was made from the gold colour foil on the milk bottles known as gold tops. At that time the Jersey cows were the ones milked to give the best full cream milk, hence the name Jersey Herd.

It is still a useful pattern to have in your box. Materials have changed over the years and the body is now usually made of copper lurex ribbed with copper wire, or goldfingering. I have used a material called new body czech which I prefer. This fly like so many others from that era still catches a lot of fish and is well worth giving a try.

The Dressing

Hook - L/S 6, 8 or 10
Thread - Black
Tail Back & Head - Peacock Herl
Body - Either Copper Lurex ribbed with copper wire, Goldfingering or New Body Czech.

Dave C and The Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg1L38TH5Wc

The Dark Stone Fly

Dave Cammiss — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:23:07 +0000

This is a pattern more popular in the USA , and New Zealand , than here in the UK. It is a large fly that makes only a brief appearance as an adult fly. In it’s nymphal stage it is a generous morsel for a trout.

I would suggest a long shank 8 hook for both the nymph and the adult fly. The pattern I have tied is from a book by an American author , Edson Leonard , dated in the 1950s. A large pheasant tail nymph with a leaded underbody would be adequate for the nymphal stage.

The Dressing

Hook -- Long Shank 8 ( light wire )
Tail -- Bronze Mallard ( a generous bunch ) optional
Rib -- Fine Mono
Body -- A mix of brown and grey Seals Fur. Dub 3/4 of the hook length. After tying in build up a base for the wing. The wing has to lie flat along the top of the body. If the wing ‘ cocks up ‘ carefully unwind and apply more even turns to the base and try again.
Hackle - 2 Cree Cock Hackles ( brown as an alternative ). Wind the 2nd hackle through the 1st. Make a nice neat head and tie off ( as an option you can trim the underbody hackle fibres ).
Wing -- Brown Turkey quill , doubled and tied flat .
Antennae -- ( optional ) bronze mallard fibres.

This is an easy pattern to tie and it just might be useful to have a couple tied in case you are there on the right day.

Happy Fishing

Dave Cammiss and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7kJZVrfVY

The Baby Doll

Dave Cammiss — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:41:40 +0000

This fly originated in the very early 1970s and was attributed to a Brian Kench. It differs from earlier more traditional patterns in as much that there were no moving parts. Despite this it quickly found favour with the fly fishers of the day on the reservoirs and still waters, thanks mainly to the publicity given to it by Bob Church.

At that time I was tying flies for three of the local tackle shops and I was inundated with orders for the original baby doll and the several variants it had ’spawned’. Fortunately Jean, my lovely wife, took it upon herself to deal with all the ‘baby doll orders’ and left me free to carry on tying proper flies.

It was only after a good day at Eyebrook reservoir that I appreciated how good a fly it was. Despite its success over the years it has fallen out of favour and given way to more exotic creations when more man made materials became available to fly tyers.

I would suggest that before you tie this fly you make sure your hands are clean. The baby wool is fluoescent and loses its appeal if it is grubby. I would also suggest that you scrap the fly after a days fishing, after all it is cheap as chips to make.

If you want to give your ‘doll’ a ghostly look gently stroke the wool body with an emery board to raise the fibres, but make sure that the head is well varnished and dry first.

Materials

Hook -- Long shank or Streamer hook ‘8′ and ‘10′.
Thread -- Black or Red.
Body/Tail -- White ‘Baby Wool’.
Rib -- Silver wire (strong).

Good Luck and Happy Fishing.
Dave Cammiss and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHQytZ6RDKk

The Shipmans Buzzer

Dave Cammiss — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:37:51 +0000

This fly pattern was originated by Dave Shipman over 20 years ago. The original pattern was tied using white antron to make the fly float on an even keel in the surface film, imitating the midge emerging from its nymphal shuck. In recent years, CDC., because of its excellent floating properties, has become more popular. The antron is the cheaper option without sacrificing floatability but foam is also an alternative for larger flies.

The body is best tied with seals fur in claret, red, orange, olive or ginger. Do not be afraid to try different colours. The rib is pearl tinsel tied in fine or medium widths.

Once the fly has been finished and the varnish on the head is dry gently stroke the seals fur with Velcro stick or pick out fibres with a dubbing needle.

The fly can be fished on a floating line, individually or in a team of three when the trout are feeding on flies emerging from the surface. I have found that a static fly is often better during the day but a slow retrieve gets more reaction as the night closes in.

Hook - Light weight. long shank sizes 10, 12, and 14.
Tying Thread - Brown or claret.
Body - Seals fur. Red, claret, olive, and ginger.
Rib - Pearl/ Holographic tinsel, medium or fine.
Tail / Wing - White Antron, CDC., Foam or Dapping Floss.

Happy Fishing
Dave Cammiss and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqmDzGBIz1c

The Egg Fly

Dave Cammiss — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:36:56 +0000

Strictly speaking this is not a fly, something it has in common with many of the creations invented in recent years. However it does have its place in the fly box.

The origins of this fly can be attributed to our American cousins. It was designed to imitate the salmon eggs which get dislodged from the redds when the salmon are spawning, and which are greedily devoured by waiting trout.

This is all a long way from our stocked stillwaters in the UK where it can be effective on its day for browns and rainbows. I have used them occasionally with some success on rivers.

The Materials required could not be simpler.

Hook -- fine wire, wide gape, fly hook sizes 10/12 (kamasan 160)

Tying thread -- red, fluorescent red or orange.

Egg fly yarn, fluorescent orange,pink,red, or yellow

( I have found the most popular to be a mix of orange and pink ).

Once you have followed the simple steps to create a ‘fluffy ball’ you can trim to the size and shape to suit yourself.

Best fished with an intermediate flyline.
David Cammiss

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zie03a1sWE

The Woolley Bugger

Dave Cammiss — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:05:51 +0000

This is a lure which is equally effective in rivers and stillwaters, particularly for rainbows.
The most popular colours are olive, black, orange and red. Can be tied on longshank 8s, 10s, and 12s. For rivers I prefer a size 8 wet fly hook.
Early season on stillwaters a size 8 L/S olive fished on an intermediate line is a good starter. On my recent trip to N.Z. I had about a dozen rainbows to 3lb. in a fast river all on olive and orange woolley buggers on size 12 L/S in a morning session.
There is little new on the tying of this fly which we have not covered on previous lessons.

Materials

Hook -- L/S size 8, 10 or 12 -- wet fly 8
Thread -- To match body colour
Rib -- Gold or Silver oval -- Gold or Silver wire optional
Body -- Black , Olive, Orange and Red Chanille
Tail -- Marabou to match body
Tail Flash -- Colour to match
Hackle -- Henny cock, colour to match body ( long enough for 2 turns at head and 3 turns down the body )
Gold Bead -- optional
Clear Varnish ( cement ) -- for the head

Happy Fishing
Dave C and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC4LO_nXoKE

The Cormorant

Dave Cammiss — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:07:23 +0000

This fly has its origins in fly fishing competitions. It is neither a nymph nor a lure but can be fished as either. Primarily a still water fly it can also be used on rivers and tied with a silver or holographic body. It bears more than a passing resemblance to a butcher , only with more mobility.

The early patterns were tied with a body of peacock herl with a wire rib. More recently you will see them tied with fine fritz or metallic bodies, usually silver. This is because of the fragility of peacock herl.

The materials are very basic:

Hook -- Heavy weight wet fly size 10 / 8
Tying thread -- Black
Tail -- Tag of Flour. Red wool / Floss
Body -- Silver / Red wire
Wing -- Black marabou
Wing flash ( optional ) -- Red lurex

A good fly to have in your box, particularly if you do boat fishing.

Regards, Dave Cammiss and the Team.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzgPk8XBL9Y

The Stickfly

Dave Cammiss — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:43:45 +0000

This fly has been popular with reservoir and stillwater trout fisherman since the seventies. It is an imitation of the caddis grub in its shell. The caddis grub eventually matures to be a sedge which is also popular with the trout. This fly can be tied on all sizes down from long shank 10s. Smaller sizes can be good on rivers.

Back in the mists of time when I was a young lad we used to turn over the bigger stones on the local stream and collect the caddis grubs in their shells and use them for bait, but that is another story.

This is a relatively easy fly to tie. You will have used all the steps at some time on the previous lessons. The peacock herl is fragile and does need the ribbing. You can give the body 2 coats of varnish and it will make it more durable. The hackle can be any shade of brown or orange. I have used brown partridge hackle to good effect, particularly on the rivers.

Materials

Hook -- Long shank 10/12/14.
Thread -- Black or Brown. If you tie some flies unweighted use a different colour thread to the weighted.
Rib -- Wire copper,red.green or black.
Tag -- Fluorescent antron or wool. yellow, green / lime.
Body -- 3-5 strands of peacock herl depending on the size of hook.
Hackle -- Henny cock. brown, ginger, orange or brown partridge.
Underbody fine lead wire. If not available copper wire.

Regards Dave C and The Team