Tying materials

All the stuff we use for our flies, feathers, fur, hair, synthetics

Tying materials - articles

Article Raising chickens Jan 1. 2001 Back yard You don't need to raise birds to get feathers for fly tying, but it's both easy and fun. Here's the story about how I have chickens for eggs, meat and not least feathers	Article Tying on hard hair wings Jan 1. 2001 Setting When I talk about hard hair I both mean hair that's hard - like squirrel and polar bear - and hair that's hard to tie in on the hook. We all know the problem: not only is squirrel wings hard as #"¤%&/ to place properly on top of the shank, but they also sometimes seem to fall off for nothing.	Article Hackle for streamers Jan 1. 2001 One of the things most often asked by neophyte streamer tyers is what types of hackle are best suited for streamer wings. The short answer is... there is no single source best suited for streamer wings. The long answer... well... I'll ramble on about it for the remainder of this essay!
Article Mix your own dubbing Jan 1. 2001 DIY Making your own or improving store bought dubbing. I recommend that all dubbing be passed through a coffee or spice grinder prior to using. The grinder tends to separate and air out the fibres providing a lighter product than would be normally accomplished by just using the blend out of the bag.	Article Dyeing material Jan 1. 2001 Color This small section with advice on dyeing fly tying materials was made after a discussion took place on the European fly fishing mailing list. The text was put together from input from several people of this list: Graham Ward, John Davies, Pat Orpen and myself.	Article Picking hackle Jan 1. 2001 Saving Some thoughts on hackle ...or living with less than the best
Article Better tinsel bodies Jan 11. 2000 Smooth How to tie a nice, even, ribbed tinsel body. Here's one way. The description assumes that you want a silver body. If you want gold, just replace 'silver' with 'gold' below. Here's how	Article Hen Hackle Demystified Jun 6. 1999 Feathers Hen hackles have long been the source of confusion to many fly tyers. Whether they are looking for wings for their dry flies or hackles for their wet flies, there seems to plenty of head scratching when it comes time to purchase the appropriate feathers. Read all about it	Article Hooks for streamers May 20. 1999 The hook is the foundation on which a good streamer is built. When streamer anglers meet, quite often it's the subject of heated debate! I've listed a variety of the streamer hooks available on the market today (and some no longer available) in the table in the article.
Article Ewing Streamer Hackles May 1. 1999 Review One of the most difficult things for today's streamer tyer to find is suitable hackle for winging Rangeley Style streamers.	Article Cleaning fly tying material Oct 25. 1996 Washing Why bother to clean your materials? Bugs, dirt and chemicals are likely on the material.	Article The nature of feather construction Aug 30. 1996 Morphology We have all read fly patterns that refer to quills, barbs, barbules, fibers, shafts, stems, vanes and so forth, but when we read these terms do we know what they have reference to? This article sets all these terms and many more straight. Read the article here