Christmas stuff

This is an interesting time for us fly tiers, because all of a sudden, every supermarket we enter is filled with fly tying material. If you only need small amounts of material, don’t bother, but if you start tying pike flies, it’s a different story.

The first, very nice material I want to show you is this.

This is actually Angel Hair. But it doesn’t say so on the package, just like it doesn’t say ‘Fly tying material’.

 

With the result that the amount on the left costs about 1/3 of the price of the little package on the right (from a fly-shop).

 

It might look a little messy at first (Angel Hair always does), but you should be able to pull tight strings like this out of it.

Now, there is a lot of different material out there.

This stuff for example is exactly the same, but thicker (I use it as well, but not for the flies below).

Now, I would like to show you a fly which is made from only the material from above. This is an easy fly to tie. It doesn’t suck up any water, so it is very easy to cast, and it has a very attractive movement in the water. So if you are just starting to tie pike flies, this might be interesting.

 

This fly is about 12 cm, and tied on a Gamakatsu F314 size 2/0.

I like using this hook, because it is strong, sharp and it doesn’t cost to much (if you tie a lot of pike flies, hooks can be expensive). The only downside is that a size 2/0 is the biggest available.

This is a ‘step by step’, of the fly above. Click on any image for a larger view.

 

Put your thread on the total length of the hook shaft.

 

Tie in a clump of the (lets call it) xmas fibre.

 

Pull over the excess, spread it around the hook shank, tie it in, and put some varnish on.

 

Tie in this Christmas tree, which is the same material, twisted in a brass wire (one of the next articles on this blog, will be about how to do this).

 

Wind the wire forward around the hook shank, up to the hook eye. Make sure to pull the fibre backwards with each wrap.

 

Tie it in and cut off the excess. Build up a bit of a head, whip finish and varnish the head.

Now, by twisting this material in the wire (and tying it in), a lot of the fibres will be attached to the hook shank on both ends (which is not good).

 

So, you take your scissors, and put them in the fibres above the hook shank. DO NOT CUT, but pull your scissors upwards, and repeat this around the hook shank.

 

You see that by doing this, your fly gets a far better look.

Basically, this fly is finished. You can put some eyes on and go fish it.

But you can also dye it. This you can do with an ordinary permanent marker (the colour will not come off by fishing it).

 

Next to the basic colours (black, red, blue and green), some brands also make other colours, like this orange, brown, purple and yellow.

If that isn’t enough, then you have these prismacolors (they are a bit more expensive, but they exist in every colour possible).

 

I dyed this one yellow and orange, with some red epoxy eyes.

 

But anything is possible. Just use your imagination.

 

a classic redhead

 

a perch pattern

 or…