Published Feb 9. 2012 - 12 years ago
Updated or edited Jan 10. 2020

How to submit a pattern to GFF

Occasionally visitors ask whether they can contribute a fly pattern to this site, and the answer is a clear and loud YES!

Flies to go - Enough for several articles on GFF
Flies galore! - Some people tie enough flies to share... at least the patterns
Consider contribitng - If you tie anyway, crack out a camera and a computer and share through GFF
Flies galore
Henning Eskol - Ken Bonde Larsen

Occasionally visitors ask whether they can contribute a fly pattern article to this site, and the answer is a clear and loud YES! Patterns are extremely popular on the site, and the more we publish the happier the audience is and the happier we are.

We produce quite a few pattern articles ourselves, but there's a limit to our originality and the time we have. So your patterns are more than welcome. Your own, other people's, classics, modern, proven, experimental, freshwater, salt. Just bring'em on!

We will need:

Pictures

Pictures, pictures, pictures! GFF is a picture driven site and we want illustrations to show your fly. You can shoot them or we can, in which case we need the fly or flies in hand (see below). Drawings will also do fine. We have some fine entries that have drawings in stead of photos. If it works for you, it works for us.

We don't need step-by-step images as a rule, but if you can take them, they improve the article immensely. A pattern article is way better with them. They're not easy to shoot well, but if you can do them, we can most likely work with them and publish them.

We also like to see images of the fly "in the wild" if at all possible, outdoors, near the water, in a fish's mouth, in your hand, in a log or a piece of driftwood. Anywhere but in the vice. We also like to see pictures of where the fly fishes, stream, ocean, lake. Environment, boats, cars, places you fish, places you see when you fish. We have a ton of articles on photography and a very thorough article on taking fly pictures.

If you have no ambitions of becoming an article author, but just want to share images, feel free to use our User's Images section, where you can easily upload and display your fly patterns. Another option is to post in our Patterns discussion forum.
In its place - We like fly pictures shot in an environment and even when the flies have been fished.
Out there - A fly by the water always is a great supplement to a pattern article
Hand or finger - A hand or a finger shows the size nicely
Ambiance - This looks so much better than a fly in the vice against a blue background
In the wild
Ken Bonde Larsen - Kasper Muhlbach - Martin Joergensen

Text

Shooting - You don\'t need the big gear to shoot flies although it\'s nice
We don\'t need steps - Step-by-steps are nice, but not a requirement
Fly images are easy to take - Most compact cameras have excellent macro settings
In the vice
Henning Eskol

A text to accompany the fly, like a small story about its origins, how you found it, if it's yours or someone else's or whatever is interesting about it. Also tell us what we can expect to catch with it and how, where and when to use it.
You don't need to be a novelist to write this. A few short facts can do. You are allowed to write a longer story, but not required to. We have a whole article on how to write for us.

Materials

We also want a materials list naming all materials, colors, qualities etc. List them in the sequence they are used.

Tying sequence

A written tying sequence would be nice. Even for the easiest of flies, and of course if it's complex or you use special tying techniques.

Your checklist

The more of this you can send, the better:

  • Pictures, pictures, pictures! The more the better.
  • How, where and when to fish the fly and what it catches
  • The history of the fly, where you met it first, its origins
  • Materials used in the fly, a list with materials in the sequence they are used, hook, thread...
  • Tying instructions, step-by-step
  • Images of the tying steps
  • Something about you, where to contact you

Contact us

If you want to give t a try, contact me, Martin Joergensen, through mail and I will help you through the process of planning, structuring, writing, shooting or sending flies to one of us and have us shoot them.

Don't be shy! Become a fly pattern article writer!

Relevant articles

Comments

Martin Joergensen's picture

Byron, You can ea...

Byron,

You can easily share your images in two places: the User's pictures section and the Pattern discussion forum.
For more ambitious article projects you can contact me as described in the article above.

Martin

I love fly tying and...

I love fly tying and found your excellent site quite by accident. I used to get out fishing a lot thanks to the generosity of forum members from a forum I've fallen afoul of-not by my actions, but by the fact one of the members of the group I once belonged to suddenly decided he didn't like me (unfortunately he is bipolar) and spread malicious lies to besmudge my reputation so now I no longer belong to the group and I avoid that forum. It doesn't put me off tying flies and as I,m retired it gives me an activity to help spend my time. My wife got me a Samsung smart phone for Christmas and the pics it takes are excellent so would love to post on here if possible as I've tied about 12,000 flies since 2007 and adding more all the time.

.

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