Fly Tying Videos
Half the fun of fly fishing is in the tying. I've put together some "how-to" videos that cover both classic patterns and some original ones. Two friends have also contributed their tying skills to this video project and produced some great flies.
More videos of fly tying will be added on a fairly regular basis so check in now and again to see what is new.
If you are in Southern Ontario and would like to have your tying skills put on video, contact me to set it up.
Half the fun of fly fishing is in the tying. I've put together some "how-to" videos that cover both classic patterns and some original ones. Two friends have also contributed their tying skills to this video project and produced some great flies.
More videos of fly tying will be added on a fairly regular basis so check in now and again to see what is new.
If you are in Southern Ontario and would like to have your tying skills put on video, contact me to set it up.
I've always enjoyed tying my own designs and liked it even more when the actually worked! The Brown Trout Weamer that leads the pack here, has been phenomenally successful. All of these flies have produced. Give them a whirl.
Having learned how to make a Popsicle Fly and never being satisfied to tie just tie what I had learned, I began fiddling with the idea. The first attempts produced attractive flies with palmered marabou on typical Spey fly hooks and bodies. These flies took a few fish so the modifications went on to include wings and eyes. After I while, I realized that I had accidentally created a new class of fly that was part marabou spey wet fly and part streamer that logically produced the name "Weamer." By definition, a Weamer is tied on a Spey hook, uses a typical wet fly body with marabou either palmered or collared then flash, wing material and eyes (optional) are added to complete the streamer contribution.
The Brown Trout Weamer so far has to its credit: Brown Trout, Steelhead (& rainbows), Chinook, Atlantic Salmon, Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Mooneye, Black Buffalo Sucker, Channel Catfish, Striped Bass, Hickory Shad and Pink Salmon.
The Brown Trout Weamer so far has to its credit: Brown Trout, Steelhead (& rainbows), Chinook, Atlantic Salmon, Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Mooneye, Black Buffalo Sucker, Channel Catfish, Striped Bass, Hickory Shad and Pink Salmon.
The Emerald Shiner is a common food fish for steelhead in Lake Erie so it made sense to produce a fly that looked something like for fishing the Grand River. This is a very simple tube fly pattern and it would make a good first tube fly project as it does not involve any complicated techniques. The best part, it's proved to be a very effective fish catcher.
Black and chartreuse is always a good colour combination for steelhead so I put this one together to fill that niche in the fly box. It has since proved to be a very good catcher of steelhead. When one of my fishing buddies watched me pull in tow fish in succession, he asked me for the name of the fly. I replied, "It's just a black and chartreuse thingie."
Brown and orange is a good early fall colour scheme on the Grand River, so I tied up this wet fly as a small fly alternative for pressured fish. Later I took it to the Gaspé to fish for Atlantic salmon. We were guided by Austin Clarke, a very well known local guide. He wanted one of these flies after it hooked a salmon, which provided the solution for what to call it..
This was one of my first steelhead flies and it proved to be very productive in high and dirty conditions. Since it was a magnum sized fly for dirty conditions, the name was a natural.
We often hear expert steelheaders talk about making a second pass over a fish with something, "small, dark and buggy". Well this Little Brown Thing (LBT) is my version of the fly, and the times I've made second passes with it, I've almost always received a reaction from the fish, whether a take, hookup or a landing.
The Partridge and Orange is a famous Yorkshire wet fly that has accounted for thousands of trout on this side of the pond as well. Early in my steelheading days, I'd swing size 12 versions for steelhead on Ontario's Credit River. Recently i decided to upsize the fly slightly, add a tail, and swing it on the Grand. First day out it took a fish in high and dirty conditions where by rights, it should not have worked. the fly can be fished dead drifted or swung.
This section contains videos that cover fly tying techniques rather than specific patterns.
If you're looking to get into tying tube flies, this video covers all of the basics.
If you're looking to get into tying tube flies, this video covers all of the basics.