Fooling a fish into taking a fly that you tied yourself will give you more satisfaction than imaginable. Fly tying dates back many centuries ago. After the introduction of the "German" Brown trout to the U.S. around 1882, a more realistic approach had to be taken to imitating natural insects. Browns were a lot more selective and harder to fool than the native brook trout we were accustomed to. The 1950's brought a change when many exotic materials were harder to come by because of animals going on to the endangered species list. In the mid-70's, synthetic materials were introduced which took fly tying to a new level.With today's technology and the availability of many non-exotic materials (natural and synthetic), the novice fly tier and the advanced can replicate almost any pattern of insect and baitfish around.

We will go through illustrated patterns of popular flies and also give many patterns for your fly tying enjoyment. Keep in mind that there are many variations to the same fly. If your tying flies for a hobby or for use on a stream, remember this advice. Good tools, quality materials and lots of practice are very important.