Learn Fly Tying for Beginners to Intermediate

Partridge and Orange

The Greenwells Glory

Welcome to Lesson 7.

Today we will be explaining how to tie wet flies and spider patterns, the old standard, partridge and orange popular in the north country and the Greenwells Glory, which is more universal, and has also stood the test of time. You will find them both easy to tie and well worth a place in the box of river fishers.

The Partridge and Orange has only two materials, the hackle and the tying silk. The hackle is from the back of the old english grey partridge. The ideal hackles do not have distinct brown bar across the top but those with a lesser bold bar are acceptable and you will find that most commercially sold packs have a mixture. If you want the best go out and shoot your own. Only joking. There is another similar grey hackle on the partridge plumage which is well worth using and can be used for the partridge and yellow.

The older school of fly tyers always laboured that hackles on spider patterns had to be very sparse. To do this you strip the fibres off one side of the hackle before you tie it in. To do this correctly lie the hackle on top of the hook with curved side of the feather uppermost, grasp all the fibres on the side away from you and peel them gently off to the stem. Tie in the hackle as shown on the video clip and wind round the hook 2-3 turns and tie off at the head.

You will find some tyers who recommend tying the hackle in by the point. By all means try this once you have got the hang of doing the basics, but beware, the points of partridge hackles are very fragile. You can (and I often do) actually tie the hackle in whole and give it 2 turns and tie off.

The brown partridge can also be used for the march brown spider, the partridge and yellow and damsel nymphs.

The Greenwells Glory has only three materials, the hackle, the tying silk and the fine gold braid or wire for the rib. The hackle is from a hen cape. You can either buy a full cape or buy a packet of hackles. The disadvantage of a cape is the relatively small number of hackle of a size but it does give you a better selection of sizes but they are usually more expensive. If you want to tie a dry pattern you will have to use a cock cape, it has stiffer fibres and floats better but the dressing is the same. The book states that the tying silk should be primrose and well waxed, (use beeswax), because it transforms the colour to light olive.

Hooks wet fly sizes 12 / 14 / 16.

Once you have mastered these two all you need are the various hackles to open up a new world of spider patterns.

Hope you enjoy the lessons. Beware it has been said that fly tying can become addictive.

Regards
David Cammiss and The Team

The Montana Nymph

This was originally an American pattern which became popular in the UK in the early 1990’s for reservoirs and stillwaters. It has now become a very popular fly which features in most fly boxes.

The American original was dressed as an imitation of the larva of the stonefly in the rivers in the Montana region and was dressed on long shank hooks sizes 6…10.

Over the years in the UK the pattern has been slightly modified and whilst called a nymph it is usually fished as a lure. The thorax is tied with chenille in fluorescent yellow, green or red and the most popular size is a long shank 10. I modify my version slightly. I tie in a bunch of black cock hackle fibres for the tail and for the wing case I use Sparton ‘new body czech’ which is more durable and adds a little sparkle. You can also use black nylon wool which is not as fragile as chenille which our American cousins favour.

I think you will find this one quite easy to tie and it will be a good addition to your fly box.

This series of video clips is down to the enthusiasm of my younger son Jonathan. He not only does the camera work but he keeps me focussed on my commentaries and does all the work on the web site. I have the easy part tying the flies.

We will endeavour to comply with your requests but please accept that I have had no experience with salt water flies. I am in my seventies and this old dog is not too keen to learn new tricks. However just remember whatever you tie the principles are the same only the materials are different.

Materials

• Hook long shank 6 / 8 /10
• Tail black cock hackle fibres
• Body black chenille
• Thorax flourescent chenille - green / orange / red
• Wing case black wool
• Dyed black hackle
• Tying silk black

Happy Fishing

Dave Cammiss and The Team.

The Cats Whisker

Hello Everybody,

Welcome to lesson 5. Today we will be showing you the Cats Whisker, a fairly modern lure for stillwaters.
Do not be put off by this fly’s flashy appearance. It is relatively easy to tie and can be very effective. It was always the first choice of my fishing colleague Ken until I managed to convert him to nymphing. He still sneaks one on when the going gets tough.

The original version was tied with the head from bead chain from the plug in the sink. I prefer to use a gold or siver metal bead and I dont think it matters which you use.

The popular colour chenille for the body is fluorescent green but orange and red are good alternatives. You will find the Marabou used for the tail and wing strange to use at first. Just remember to wet the base of the fibres and form a shuttlecock as shown.
You will find the fibres get everywhere, if you dont have a den you may have bother with the wife!

Materials

• Hook long shank 6 / 8 /10
• Tail marabou white
• Body flourescent chenille - green / orange / red
• Wing marabou white
• Head gold bead or bead chain
• Tying silk black

Happy Fishing

Dave Cammiss and The Team.

The Pheasant Tail Nymph

Today we are going to tie the pheasant tail nymph. This fly can be traced back to Frank Sawyer, river keeper on the Itchen many moons ago. The fly has gone through many derivations since its original form as a size 14 tied with cock pheasant tail fibres and fine copper wire used for trout and grayling.

Its use for stillwater fishing started in the seventies and I recall tying PTNs.(Pheasant Tail Nymph) on long shank hooks as big as 6. The most popular size settled down to a long shank 10 which is what we will show you today.
If you can acquire these tail feathers from shooting friends, or you have to buy them from tackle shops, try to get the centre tail feathers. These have longer fibres and make for easier tying.

The one tied today has a green thorax but I suggest you try orange, red, brown or olive as alternatives. Once you have got the hang of it try downsizing to Long shank 12. If you fish the river try standard wet fly hooks sizes 12 and 14.

Thank you all for your continued support of our site. Our aim is to raise awareness of the pleasure of tying your own flies.

Happy Fishing
Dave Cammiss and the Team.

Hi Everyone and welcome back to the next stage.

Todays lesson demonstrates a ‘ Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear ‘ . This pattern was devized by Nottingham local John Wadham in the 1970’s. John is still a well known fisherman at Rutland reservoir today.

It’s fair to describe this fly as a little scruffy, so don’t worry too much about it’s overall finished appearance.

Thanks again for all the valued comments. Any links to this site will be appreciated.

Happy Tying !!

David Cammiss

Hello again and welcome back.

Thanks to everyone who viewed my first fly tying tutorial with the buzzer, and special thanks to those who left valued comments.

Lesson 2 demonstrates tying a Diawl Bach fly, also known as the ‘ Little Devil ‘.

Hope you have fun with this one !

Watch out for lesson 3 coming soon.

David Cammiss

Hi and welcome !!This is my first official post ( hopefully not my last ).Lesson 1 for beginners is tying a ‘buzzer’. This is a basic fly and great for getting started.I hope to post another video within the next few weeks, so watch this space.Good LuckDavid Cammiss