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Want to get better results when tying flies? Don’t buy your way there. Tie your way there!

A short article about adding weight to a fly – and make it do what you want and stay where you put it

Tying in a feather and wrapping it … easy-peasy, right? Or maybe there’s more to it. This in-depth article looks at various ways to make a feather hackle.

Hackle or material guards help you keep stuff out of the way while you tie or varnish your fly

British Nick Thomas has come up with a way to form legs and feet using a tool we all have to hand in the kitchen, the common fork.

My adored fly tying desk. Once cherished and down through the ages worn and abused. Now cherished again.

If knotting fibers for legs for your insect imitations drive you mad, this tool can help!

Introducing a way of making nymph bodies using elastic bead cord and a knotting technique

This type of braid is found in electronics stores, but is a great new addition to the fly tyer’s arsenal of useful copper products

A bit of stacker education and stacker philosophy is due, so here it is: quite a lot of information about hair stackers

... and then there's deer hair. And it can be many different things. It is not at all that easy to find the right kind for the many patterns with this fantastic material

Flies from Dutch Hans Weilenmann's 1998/99 project SFP - Smallest Fly Page - with size 32 patterns from all over the world

#32 Rusty Rat tied by Hans Weilenman - the man behind the project

#32 Royal Coachman tied by Jack Mickievicz

#32 Shuck Raider tied by Irish fly tier Arthur Greenwood

#32 Pink Sabalo tied by Andrew Lamborne

#32 Pheasantless PTN (Beadhead) tied by US tier Bob Petti

#32 CDC Olive Parachute tied by US fly tyer Chris Knight

#32 Blue Wing Olive (BWO) tied by US tyer Agust Gudmundson

#32 Ladybug tied by US tier Bob Kenly

#32 Once and Away (emerger) tied by Dutch Hans van Klinken

Notes for a #32 Wonderbody Parachute tied by Dutch fly tier Henk Verhaar

This article teaches you how to do a proper series of step-by-step photos of a fly pattern being tied - also known as an SBS.

We challenged artificial intelligence to create a fly pattern. It went fairly well ... and then again … not quite well.

Coming up with new fly patterns is essentially like coming up with new dishes: it’s basically impossible. Everything is a variation of a variation of something that has been made before - even The Yarn Thief

This fly is unbelievably small! It was tied by me for Dutch Hans Weilenmann’s project SFP or Smallest Fly Page. The pattern was tied once in 1998 – and probably won't be again!

A simple technique to fan out dry fly hackles to form wings the Comparadun style.

Dutch Tom Biesot has shown his skills in making tying tools before, and now takes his Hummingbird bobbin holder to new levels.

Some 25 years ago, I experimented with what I back then referred to as "linked flies". Today they’d be called articulated, and I have taken the tying method up again.

Siberian Ramil Yamaliev makes a lot of things on his 3D printer - from fly reels to lamps. And then this brilliant dubbing brush twister.

Grizzly hackle is something which most tyers use all the time and which we all take for granted, but in my eyes grizzly isn't nearly as appreciated as it deserves to be

Large feather rooster saddles are different beasts. Here are some tips on buying them.

A great and high floating caddis fly made with foam as a base material and a very simple and cool technique.

The basic technique of wrapping thread over - and under - materials is a key to getting flies that will hold well

One key to durability in flies is to prepare a bit before starting - and choosing the right hook, thread and materials

How to tie flies that last more than a cast, a trip, a month... heck, even a year. We're starting a series of articles with some tips on tying durable flies – and keeping them intact.

Swiss/Norwegian tyer Fabien Moulin stumbled upon a seemingly new way of creating a parachute hackle and wing in one.

US fisherman and fly tyer George Grant came up with a type of nymph where both body and hackle uses special techniques.

How to make a 10 dollar tying station based on a cheap IKEA cutting board.

I have a dried hare skin, which I have owned for as long as I have tied flies. A lot of flies and a lot of wisdom has come from that skin.

Renowned fly tyer and tying instructor Wayne Luallen presents a series of short videos, which will help you become a much better fly-tyer.

I have been making my own intruder shanks from straight hair pins for a while, and they are easy to make, inexpensive and work really well.

If you want to use the advantages of controlling twist in your tying thread, you need a bobbin holder that allows rotation. Not all do.

I got the crazy idea to convert some Danish sea trout and salmon flies to intruders. It worked out surprisingly well.

Plain and simple bead chain is one of the cheapest fly tying materials around, but very useful and a great addition to many flies.

Fabien Moulin aims to tie some really good looking flies, and ponders a bit about how to improve as a fly tyer.

My search for a great fly tying lamp may be over. This one is close to ideal for my purposes

The large mayflies are a summer phenomenon, but it might be worth reading up on off season.

Frogs are high on the menu for many fish If there's one thing that gives away a swimming frog, it's the legs!

Odonata is the Latin name for the order of dragonflies and damselflies. This article is about them.

Get ready to meet the “Hummingbird”, a very different bobbin holder designed and made by Dutch Tom Biesot

Bretislav has a little machine in his collection of fly-tying tools. It was made by his father about 20 years back.

Australian Rob Meade's flies are totally crazy contraptions using foam in strange shapes, odd constructions, rubber legs, large eyes and lots of color. Flies just after my heart!

In this article Romanian leather artist Remus Stanescu takes you through the process of making one of his beautiful leather fly boxes.

Italian fly tyer Stefano Farkas regularly sends me pictures of his beautiful, full dressed salmon flies. Here's another batch from him.

The continuation of Tom Biesot's vise project - of course with many explanatory pictures.

Some tips on getting your hands on good skin bits

One of the big things in fly tying these days is articulated flies. Utilizing two hooks, shanks or some other technique, flies get two or more parts linked together resulting in movement and size.

Fly fishing for pike certainly seems to have been a popular in central Europe during the late middle ages

A lot of flies are tied on very short hooks, still featuring quite long bodies/wings to imitate small fish. This article looks into that style.

This small DIY article shows you how to make a leather folder or jumbo-wallet for convenient flash storage.

So you thought you'd rediscovered the wheel, the deep plate and pre-sliced bread when you discovered articulated flies? Think again! Springulated flies is where things are going.

These three articles on tying thread were written by renowned fly tyer and deer hair equillibrist Chris Helm.

Most fly tiers depend on their local fly shop for the thread, as well as other essential materials, to tie flies.

GSP or Gel Spun Polyethylene fly tying thread was fairly unknown when Chris Helm wrote this article. His observations still stand.

It makes sense to have a standardization, which would eliminate much of the confusion that surrounds fly tying thread today.

A material spring is a nifty little addition to your vise, enabling you to hold long materials like ribbing or hackles out of the way while tying in other materials.

There's so much extra paraphernalia that you can attach to your vise that you can totally block the access to the hook if you use it all.

I have used my fingers and metal bulldog clips plus varying degrees of dexterity for hair hackle loops. I decided to try to make my own material clips for the purpose.

This is the greatest little tool you can imagine for cleaning varnish off your bodkin or dubbing needle, and you can make one almost for free.

Most people need some light when they tie flies. Some people more than others. This article is about lamps to use over your vise and table when tying.

Looking for a cool, compact and cheap fly tying light? Look no further. This project will give you a nice light for about 10-15 US$

Fly tying material is often big, inexpensive pieces cut up and sold small at high prices. It's always worth looking around for alternative sources. You can find some really useful materials for almost no money.

Hackle pliers are simple tools for a simple task: handling hackles. But there might be more to the story of these humble tools.

The major difference between almost any fly and an Intruder is the use of a shank and a trailing hook. This is about shanks, wires and stinger hooks.

A lot of flies - salmon tube flies in particular – use different discs or cones, and the market is full of them. Here's an overview of some of the many types.

Intruders have been around for many years, but if you are new to this fly style, this could be a good place to start.

Yes, this is an article solely about heads on flies. Why they matter and how to get them to look good.

There are numerous applications for feathers that have had barbs on one side folded opposite to the barbs on the other.

The design and making of a homemade fly tying vise.

CDC wings are good looking and makes a dry fly a great floater. Here's a few tips on getting them perfect.

This fall marks Mike Hogue's Badger Creek Fly-tying's 20th year in business. He never thought he would be in business that long.

Finnish fly tyer Rane Olsen decided to tie all 93 Carrie Stevens streamer patterns mentioned in Graydon R. Hilyard and Leslie K. Hilyard's book on her and the flies.

This is the true story of Klympen - a sea trout fly pattern, which I witnessed being created - and have seen evolve into something surprisingly far from the original.

What should you look for when choosing fly-tying scissors? Well, that all depends on a number of factors. This article takes an in-depth look at one of the fly tier's most important tools.

I was among the lucky fly-tyers who managed to lay my hand on one of Lawrence Waldron's LAW fly-tying vises while he made them - and they could be bought at reasonable prices.

A story about a group buying some of the Ernie Schwiebert fly collection.

Considering how simple the goal is: to get the thread through the tube of a bobbin holder, there's a surprising number of ways to do it.

Most people use a bobbin holder when they tie flies. In spite of being a simple tool there are some pretty advanced models out there

The nerdy look at tying threads plotting their thickness, Denier and breaking strength in scatter charts to show correlation. There is none!

A large sortable table comparing more than 160 fly-tying threads.

The old aught system for tying threads (6/0, 8/0, 10/0) isn't really good. So the newer Denier system is much better, right? No, not really!

Somewhat an oxymoron - a fly that's a mammal - but still a fun fly to tie, and not least to fish when the large fish are tuned in on a mouse menu.

Wet flies are once again very popular, but most we see are tied for presentation and not so much for fishing. Bob Petti enjoys tying wet flies and tries to style his after the fishing flies that are popular in the UK using colors and materials that work well in the water.

A simple method of preserving bird skins from birds like ducks. If you hunt or know hunters, there's a rich supply of materials, almost for free

Make your own large eyes for pike and saltwater flies using inexpensive materials and a little time. Some adhesive marker dots, a handful of waterproof pens and some LCR and you can start your own stick-on eye factory.

Don't tie flies
- if you want easy access to tons of flies.
- if you want to save money on flies.
- unless you live alone.
- unless you have an understanding partner and/or family.
- if you want to appear cool to the opposite sex.

Tie flies
- if you want something to do off-season.
- if you want to fish the best.
- because you like being creative.
- because you want to spend many great hours alone or with friends.

A super simple and inexpensive home made tool to hold hackle and other materials while tying.

Even though the marabou is a large African stork and the marabou feathers indeed used to come from this bird, the marabou feathers of today come almost exclusively from turkeys and chickens.
The marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) is actually on the CITES list of protected animals, and feathers from this bird should not be traded or used for fly-tying or anything else.
What we're dealing with in fly-tying is mainly turkey feathers. Chicken feathers can be found, but are not nearly as often labeled marabou.

Canadian Silver Tip Fly Company makes printed fly-tying materials with a high degree of realism and can supply wings, shells and much more, ready to tie with. We asked some questions.

The fly-tying market is brimming with prefabricated materials, and Danish Easy Shrimp Eyes is one of the companies who are making them. We have talked to the guys behind the products.

The cradle of American fly-fishing in the Catskills and tube flies isn't something normally connected, but fly-tyer Richard Katzman ties tube flies to be fished in these hallowed waters.

This is an article about Don Gapen's original Muddler Minnow - a fly that is tied in countless versions and has inspired thousands of patterns, but only few that resemble the original

The soft hackle is supposed to be - as the name implies - soft. Soft hackle can come from many birds. Chickens, gamebirds like partridge, grouse and quail, pheasant and even crows and jackdaws.

When you buy feathers for hackling dry flies, you essentially have two choices: necks or saddles. Necks used to be the thing to go for, but these days genetic hackle has made up for the difference, and oftentimes saddle hackle will actually be a better and more economical choice. You simply get more feather for your money.

In this chapter of our series we look at what to look for when buying deer hair for fly tying. Get the right material whether you are going to use it for caddis wings or for spinning bass bugs.

Bucktails are a very useful, inexpensive and easily accessible material, which is very useful for people tying larger flies like pike flies and saltwater flies, as well as people tying streamers of all kinds.

Bucktails are available in natural colors (white and brown) as well as almost any dyed color you can imagine.

Some might consider it a bit mad or even crazy, but when Danish Niels Have ties full dressed, classic Jock Scott salmon flies, he ties them by the dozen... and then he fishes with them!

This article is about buying fly-tying materials. Lately when I have been shopping I have noticed a large difference in quality - even between materials of the same brand and price. Looking thoroughly can make a big difference. The same product from the same manufacturer at the same price can vary, and knowing what to look for can mean getting good and useful, and not the downright lousy.

I tied my first fly before my kids were born. That makes it about 30 years ago when this is written

Roger Duckworth shows an innovative and extremely easy technique to make durable extended bodies for mayflies, caddis, and stoneflies, and he shows a way of hackling the dry flies so that the hackle is under the body but above the hook so that it supports the fly more like the natural.

We haven't ever done any of these traditional Christmas articles before. Lists of stocking stuffers are very common everywhere, but this is the first ever on GFF. We have spotted 24 new and classic Christmas gifts for the angler, fly-tyer or just outdoors person.

This is not an article about a pattern called The Big Fly, but some general advice on tying big flies, running through several methods of growing your flies into something that can lure a large predator.

If you are embarking on the tube fly tying journey and don't have the tools, don't despair. A simple and inexpensive tapered needle is all you need - or maybe a couple.

It's been some years since The Global FlyFisher's huge article series on tube flies started, and a lot of things have happened in the tube materials market. We try to catch up.

These new fish shaped foils from Bob Popovics are really great for making baitfish imitations. They come in several shapes and many sizes, and stick on the side of your flies, ready to be covered with resin.

Golden Pheasant must be one of the most versatile fly-tying materials you can get your hands on. The wealth of different feathers on one skin is simply overwhelming. And the skin is inexpensive too.

This article features a handful of zonker patterns, which we cover in connection with our thorough theme on tying zonker flies and cutting or buying zonker strips.

I have always been annoyed by most commercially available zonker strips. Most of them are far too large and long haired for my use. 90% of all available strips are cut from rabbit, and in most cases they are both too wide in the skin and too long haired for anything but larger flies.

If you never tried washing a newly bought saddle, neck or bucktail, it's about time you try! Proper treatment can transform the useless to useful and the mediocre to sublime.

Steaming materials has a fantastic effect! Feathers, fur, hair deserves some steam. You will be amazed what a little vaporized water can do.

This is an update to one of the first patterns ever featured on the Global FlyFisher. The old article about this fly is from 1996, and has been on the site with its scanned B/W pictures ever since.

Zonkers are great looking flies with a lot of volume and motion, and the zonker style lends itself well to many types of small fish and worm imitations.

It might sound crazy, but you can actually help hospitalized kids by tying flies for them! Tie flies in support for this science project for kids.

The Danish company Veevus has surprised the fly-tying market with its strong and thin tying thread. We have contacted Emir Ceric, the man behind the project, and asked a few questions about the thread, the market and the future.

Here are some general tips on composing a Scandinavian style salmon tube fly - and a bunch of flies to inspire. Learn some basic methods and you can experiment wildly and still get some beautiful flies.

Having seen, tied and fished shrimp flies for many years, Martin feels a need to do a little lecture on the real appearance of shrimp, especially targeted at fly tyers.

LCR's give you lots of working time and cure when you want them to

This book has been underway for more than 6 months, and I have worked on and off on it for a long time.

The seatrout season will soon be upon us here in northern Europe, and Martin thought he'd expand his horizon a bit and add some new seatrout patterns to his flybox before the 2012 season.

It might seem futile to try to improve one of the world's most proven patterns, but there's room for improvement. Trevor Morgan gives some classics an overhaul.

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

Someone asked me how to create the "slightly tapered" body on an Oatman Silver Darter and it was pretty difficult to describe in words, so I tied up a sample and took some photos along the way. Here for your enjoyment is a Lew Oatman favorite, the Silver Darter

Who else than epoxy wizard (and madman) Bob Kenly would take on tying... eh, building... eh, constructing a Mantis Shrimp as a fly? Follow the project this article where you can read Bob's story about the fly and see pictures of the process and the finished fly.

These foam flies were sent to us 10 years ago, and this article has been long underway... High time we did something about it! Digging into the digital archives we found this bunch of crazy foam flies.

I am as likely to sit down and tie six different flies as I am to tie six of the same pattern. Speed is not a concern, but I don't want to waste my time either. There are things I can do to make my life easier which may be different from a professional production tyer.

Back in 2000 the Danish Fly tier, Kim Rasmussen compiled all Major John Popkin Traherne's beautiful salmon fly dressings into one poster, and now, more than 10 years later The Global FlyFisher can show all these beautiful flies.

Dutch Hans Weilenmann tells the history of the use of CDC feathers in fly tying, covers the different types of feathers and their use and lists both CDC tying tips and a bunch of CDC patterns.

Hans Weilenmann's CDC & Elk is a fly as good as they come. Still a lot of people - including Hans himself and the author of this article - have made variations. The article covers a whole bunch of CDC & Elk variations.

These are some of the least expensive and most useful fly tying tools you can make yourself. A Velcro stick, a brush and a comb made from strips of Velcro, pieces of wood, hair combs and even ice lolly sticks!

This fly is a bright and tasty looking bite of feathers and fur that can sometimes be the key to luring a big trout. It's a variation of a variation of the Bloody Butcher.

David Cowardin's concept for preventing flies from sinking is slightly different—as are his flies. They are different creatures! Most anglers can put a name on them, but the way they are tied... or more like built. Different is not quite enough to say that these are not like your average dry fly.

Remember the line from "The Graduate"?
"PLASTICS!"
The hook was dressed with thread and body braid... fine makings for a proper foundation were in place... Temperamental pheatherz were spot welded in place without complaint nor defiance...

"See what you can do with these" said Stuart Anderson, who owns the Canadian Tube Fly Company to Bob Kenly who often goes berserk with tubes and epoxy. And that's exactly what Bob did. He started painting the raw tubes.

Bob Kenly takes a turn with some tubes from the Canadian Tube Fly Company and converts a traditional Irish fly into something... let's just say not as traditional. So Chris's Irish Shrimp turned into Great Lakes Orange, a steelhead pattern tied on a tube.

Eyes as large as tea cups on your flies? And still lightweight and not smashed down by loads of goo on the head? Yes, it's possible! Follow Pete Gray's instructions and your squids and baitfish will be gazing with larger eyes than ever before!

This is the Mundane Fly Manifesto: Few and cheap materials, easy to find in the shops. Simple tying methods. Mundane flies. The whole idea is to make it simple and efficient to tie flies that work. 

Flatwings - "the new black" in Denmark and Sweden. Are they really that good. Not too big for casting? For the trout? Will they twist? Are they better than other sand eel imitations? Are they better suited for pike? Kill your skepticism and take a

A realistic, perfect swimming shrimp imitation for both hot and cold water and a big variety of species.
The fly has many neat details and is a great upgrade from those quickly tied flies. It makes your fly box look great and keeps you away from the TV.

Without a doubt, dubbing tools and techniques are one of the things most likely to confuse fly tyers. With an explosion of new tools, comes an obvious question, how do you use all this stuff and why should I buy yet one more tool?

Five pairs of mono eyes dipped in epoxy for just around 5,50€ or 7$. It sounds like a good business opportunity, but as a consumer it just pushes you to make your eyes your self.
On a trip to Fyn this spring two Danes and an American-wanna-be-German made their own.

Tying flies not meant for fishing sounds odd to some but dragging others into the world of advanced techniques. Anders Ovesen takes us into his cave of threads and feathers and reveals some puzzles needed to tie da old school style. Hang on to this detailed description and fly to the 

This short video shows you how to whip finish with your fingers rather than using a tool. It's quite easy, looks cool and saves you trying to localize that whipfinisher on your messy tying table - that is if you are like the rest of us...

If you play guitar and tie flies...you are wasting some valuable tying material every time you change your strings. Old guitar strings have something to make flies land softly on the water and jig just enough to tease fish into striking. Learn from GFF partner Steve Schweitzer what to keep from old strings and how to tie

If you thought that silk lines, split cane rods and full dressed salmon flies was something people used a century ago, you may want to read this article about Niels Have who fishes his classical flies on a Phoenix silk line wound on a Hardy Perfect reel mounted on a Highlander two-hand split cane rod.

Having wrapped my share of thread over the years, I thought it was time to revisit a long held interest of mine - traditional salmon flies. My first attempt years ago was pretty disappointing, and I was hoping my skills had evolved enough for me to take that next step and produce a better result.

Martin has just received the ugliest flies he has ever seen in his life. And no, don't worry they weren't from a potential GFF contributor or a well meaning friend, but commercially tied. They just confirmed what he has always said: home tied flies are best.

Bob Kenly is reknowned for his radically different epoxy tube flies. This article recaps his experience with epoxy - and adds advice on coloring epoxy. If you want some truths about epoxy - and want to witness the death of a couple of myths 

Tube flies - like most other fly types - come in as many shapes and styles as you can imagine. This article merely scratches the surface in an attempt to list some of them. I also touches upon a few aspects of tying one tubes.

Have tube, will tie... but how to go about it? How do you actually manage to tie on a tube? Well, it's much like tying on a hook, just different. Learn to tie on plastic, metal, bottles, compound and rear tubes.

More information on tube fly tying tools than you ever thought you needed - from the lowly sewing needle to the full-blown several-hundred-dollar vise, and a lot in between. This article gives you essential knowledge about how to hold a tube - any tube - while tying on it.

Want to venture further into the world of tube flies? This list of material suppliers, tools, vises, DVD's, books and much more will give you links to many more hours of entertaining reading and viewing.

All kinds of tubes in an overview. Want to get an idea of the richness in the tube fly world? This is one place to look.

One evening when I was tying flies with a couple of friends, one of them, Nils, asked me to tie a muddler, just as a demo. I did. Luckily the other friend, Henning, was quick and caught these great pictures of the process.

If you think that a tube for a tube fly is a cylindrical piece of plastic, then you are in for a surprise. This article will present more tube styles than most fly tyers ever imagined, and probably teach even seasoned tubers a thing or two.

This is the first article in the GFF Tube Fly Theme: An introduction to the concept of tube flies and some arguments for using tubes rather than hooks. The article will give you a basic knowledge about tube flies and prepare you for the rest of the theme.

Tube flies are flies tied on a tube rather than a hook. But putting it that simple is almost a crime, because tubes have evolved dramatically over the last few years, and bottles, rear tubes, Shomakov tubes, FITS tubes and all sorts of new systems have seen the light of day.

A high-visibility orange post and CDC makes this small dry perfect for your 7X tippet. Easy to tie, easy to follow on the water and a perfect choice when the fish are picky. Darryl Lampert from South Africa shows us one of his effective patterns.

Maybe you found the tandem worm too tandemnised and would be better of with a one-hook-only fly.Then the fly The Wiggling Jigging Worm shown beneath is a good alternative.

It is strongly inspired by the fly Sandiglen (The Sand Leech) originally tied by René Hansen.

Every year in March and April the rag worms emerge from the bottom to secure the next generation. They swim freely in the water, wiggling from one side to the other. Sea gulls feed on the from above and many fish species seem to focus on them from beneath.

There are thousands of shrimp patterns in the world, made from the same template. This pattern is a time consumer, but it makes it more interesting tying shrimp flies. The eyes, proportions and legs gives this pattern some kind of magic.

Awhile back, I received a shipment of hen necks and saddles from Whiting Farms. The saddles struck me with their intense colors and solid web, then necks with their stem length and shortish barbs. These feathers were perfect for the wet flies I was working on.

Tired of buying eyes, that make your shrimps look great? They are expensive and yet it is hard to find the color you want or the right size. It is not complicated and a good pursuit during winter time.
Make your own in all sizes and colors you want.

It has been a hot and dry summer in Scandinavia. Wasps have been a plague in many areas. They have been in every apple, every drink and every house. Some of them may have crossed a stream or river, winding up on the surface before continueing the rush. Some of them never left again.

Dutch Henk Verhaar finds that producing his own tools is just as satisfying as tying flies or building rods. Follow his small course in woodturning here and learn to turn hair stackers, bodkins and other beautiful tools in exotic woods

On a shelf in the shop was a little book that was propped open. It was Leisenring and Hidy's The Art of Tying The Wet-Fly and Fishing The Flymph. Inside, I found a treasure of patterns and some fishing instructions and I suddenly switched gears and began fishing these great little flies.

The principle of nymph-fishing with Czech nymph is short-distance fishing, practically under the tip of the rod. The flyline is hanging under the tip of the rod and its end often does not even touch the water level.

In the vise, this pattern may not look exciting, but when wet, this fly takes on a whole new personality! It's a simple pattern for complex trout. Be sure to read Steve's "Tips for the Curious Fly Tier" which explains how this pattern came about and

Made with only two materials, this highly effective caddis emerger pattern will take only minutes to tie and allow you to load up your fly box with the Global FlyFisher's hottest new pattern.

Framed flies can be pieces of art - both the flies and the framing. But creating your own framed flies is not that difficult. Follow these instructions and frame your first fly with few tools and few demands on routine and skill. You can develop it into art later.

German Jan-Ole Willers wanted to be able to clear his vise, tools and materials off the dining table for such unimportant events as lunch and dinner. That made him think out and build his own inexpensive portable fly tying bench. You can do the same.

Shiny tubing materials are widely used as body material on streamers. So is ordinary tinsel. Here is a new way of making glittering, but more volumnious, pulsating and living bodies for your streamers using Angel Hair or a similar material.

Painting eyes on streamers is nothing new, but as with any other tying procedure, there are some tricks that can help, and some pitfalls that should be avoided. This article shows you how to do it on-the-cheap with readily available materials.

Martin Joergensen writes: "I always wanted one of these tools. I have seen them used at fly tying shows and by a few tyers elsewhere, and found the tool to be an excellent companion for the lazy and sloppy fly tyer. Just my kind of tool!"

How many of your flies work both in salt and fresh water? How many of these actually look like something real?
The Deep Diving Shrimp is such a fly. Oliver Edward's allround Gammarus imitation works equally well everywhere you find this very widespread animal.

A fly tied for sea trout in the Baltic area. It proved to be efficient in other places too. Translucent and yet colored. Tie it in olive, rusty or tan and you can imitate any camouflaged mysis—and it will stand out from the crowd. Can be tied by seniors too...

Until now The Epoxy Miracle has given me quite a few fish and still is my favorite baitfish imitation. It is perfect under most circumstances.
But, sometimes it seems too small for the big sea trout, which come close to the South Swedish shore from January to March.

A tying station is a small, mobile board where you can set up your vise and your tools, making it quick and easy to move your favorite tying spot around: from the dinner table to the TV to the office to... the bed? This article gives you some ideas on how to make one yourself.

"I have severely neglected my day-to-day flybox for more than a year" writes GFF partner Martin Joergensen. Now he sets out to fill a box with hundreds of sea trout flies in preparation for the coming spring. He envisions rows of uniform and neatly arranged flies.

Tying instructions? Materials list?!
You must be kidding me!
The list is close to being an insult and it is almost ridiculous to tell you how to create this fly in more than a sentence. This little saltwater fly is soooo simple.

If you tie flies incorporating epoxy, you will probably have great benefit from a rotating drying rig like this

Advice on how to lay out a good classical salmon fly.

It all started when I had to toss my bottle of Pharamcist's Formula in the trash. Scanning the net for a suitable replacement, I found a husband and wife team that are producing a bunch of interesting products for fly fishers and tyers.

This fly is called Twospotted Fairfly. The two spots in the name comes from the bait, which it is supposed to imitate: the twospotted goby. Gobies are a common kind of fish in the shallow parts of almost all bodies of water.

GFF partner Martin Joergensen has let one of his favorite sports events, the bicycling race Tour de France, inspire a way of tying flies. He argues why tying many identical flies can be a good thing - and can be better than tying many different flies.

The C&F extended tube body tool is more than two darning needles in a fancy holder. If you - like Dutch Henk Verhaar - like doing it yourself, this might be worth looking into. The flies tied with extended bodies can become very realistic and still be simple to tie.

A recent tying binge left me with a few thoughts on how to tie a quicker and better blue-winged olive mayfly. The ideas aren't necessarily new, but they certainly are worth sharing.

Wooly buggers are one of the all time most effective fish catching flies. However, if you think you need heavy tackle and lots of lead to get them to work - think again. Peter Frailey tells about his "Baby Buggers", and how well they cast and fish.

This section of Tie Better will deal with rotary fly tying vices. I will try to explain what a true rotary vice is, what its advatnages are and how it can be used in different steps of fly tying.

A bunch of quite realistic flies by a bunch of well known and unknown international tiers. These fantastic flies are not super realistic imitations, but they certainly look real and convincing enough to fool both men and fish!

Comparaduns are one of the most versatile mayfly patterns in existence representing a low-riding mayfly to near perfection. However, many tiers shy this simple pattern due to the perceived complexity of tying the deer hair wings. Learn to master the technique with GFF partner Steve Schweitzer.

Harrison Steeve's story about a brand new foam material for terrestrials and many other flies. "You guys are crazy to spend so much time messing around with that loco foam." Needless to say the name stuck. Read the whole story here.

Make your dry fly dubbing in bulk quantities while washing your clothes! It's that easy! Harvest the fibers that come from you tumble dryer and prepare it for fly tying. Read the whole story by Steve Schweitzer here.

Epoxy is out! Hotmelt glue is in! When it comes to tying eggs and MOE blanks, this stuff is the new hot way to do it! Let our own Mad Scientist
teach you more...

Shrimp patterns are always fun to tie. These salt water imitatoins are easy to do and fish well. Martin Joergensen has once again pursued the art of imitating these salt water arthopods - this time utilizing his family's hair brushes!
Read the story and find the patterns here.

Prime Jungle Cock necks are rare to come by. Learn how 'upgrade' fishing quality JC necks in this article.

I'll warn you now; the hopper is my favorite pattern. It's big, I can see it, it's fun to cast and present it with a plop, I have fun tying them and the fish just adore the big, juicy, summer delight.

Classics in a classic way. These flies may look like something of today, but the concept of Wadington shanks is old as Methusalem. Danish fly tyer Niels Have has converted four classics to effective flies for early salmon and sea trout fishing. See the pictures and patterns.

As you probably know the egg was way earlier than the chicken. This article show you how to make The Cluster Egg Fly (pom-pom eggs) - a very popular type of fly for steelhead and salmon.

Almost everyone has the right stuff at their tying bench to make a great batch of dubbing. But not many people know they have everything they need to make an outstanding seal's fur dubbing substitute. This dubbing is a viable replacement for SLF, angora goat and seal's fur, and the trick to making it is so simple it will amaze you!

It should be no secret that I'm a great fan of muddlers. These functional, characteristic and very beautiful flies that I connect directly with my favorite kind of fishing: night fishing for sea trout in the ocean. The technique used for tying them has always fascinated me, and although I do tie a lot of them, I still have a lot to learn in respect to spinning deer hair.

I've developed a habit instilled in me by my salmonfly tying mentors. When evaluating the salmon fly dressings of others, I look at the floss work first. It is a key characteristic that determines and shows the skills of the cream of the crop.

If you ever saw skilled tyers tie, you'll probably have noticed that many of them keep spinning the bobinholder more or less vividly every time the let go of it. If you didn't notice, try looking the next time you see a 'pro' tie.

The most important step in preparation is getting the right kind of hair. Buy your hair at a reliable source. Good spinning hair patches are dense and have little underfur. The single natural hair should be dull and light at the base, slightly waved at the root, and have a short tapered tan/black tip section.

Whip finishing without a tool is not at all difficult. Lots of people use and praise the whip finishing tool which comes in many variations.

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.

Let's look at a hook, and try to put the right terms on the right parts. This picture shows a hook (note that it actually is a rare vertical eye hook, great for this purpose).

When I recently reached the bottom of my last tube of Overton's Wonder Wax, I decided to try making my own instead of buying one of the newer commercial dubbing waxes. Like a lot of other tyers I had made my own dubbing wax years ago, but I didn't do it with a critical frame of mind.

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.

"...my hats off to the folks at Mustad for having the ability and willingness to make a change." GFF partner Bob Petti has had a look at the new Mustad Signature series and parts wth a Global Class mark for the new, improved and very consistently produced hooks - with a naming convention, which is a blessing to fly tyers.

Some thoughts on hackle ...or living with less than the best

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

The first rule of salmonfly tying is preparation... gathering your materials, laying them out and sizing up the situation.

Here's a quick and simple way to make your own dubbing wax if you don't have the patience or confidence to custom blend your own.

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.

A way to palmer or body hackle

Dubbing must be said to be one of the most universal fly tying methods. Dubbing is mostly used for bodies, but will often form other parts of the fly as well. Using different materials and tighter or looser dubbing along with different techniques, can result in an amazing variety of body shapes and textures.

There is a story behind "The Garage". Not too long ago my wife and I were renting a two story house that had a tiny little room upstairs with no closet. Since we already had a spare bedroom for family visitors, this room was quickly claimed as the "Sports Room".

These eyes are actually quite easy to make, but can tease a bit if you want to do them both on the same piece of monofile -- which is the neatest way to do things.

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.

You will see that many of the Danish saltwater flies - The Magnus, Bjarke and Grey Frede are prime examples - have bead chain eyes. These eyes serve two purposes: weight and imitation. The eyes will add quite a bit of weight in the front end of the fly and the beads obviously look like eyes. Their shiny surface even adds an attractive feature that will glimpse and get the attention of the fish.

George F. Grant's flies utilize some very special techniques.

I've been fascinated with spey flies for a long time. The first I had ever seen was a Purple Spey tied by Tim Purvis, which arrived in a swap of steelhead flies a bunch of us FF@'ers exchanged several years ago. The next was an Olive Spey tied by Juro Mukai in a swap of atlantic salmon flies.

I have to admit a particular fondness for woodduck flank. Ever since I was given my first baggie of feathers from a duck hunting friend, I was smitten. The color - the texture - the barring of the feathers.

A few early samples of Danish fly tyer Ken Bonde Larsen's cone head flies.

There are other ways than bead chain eyes to make eyes for a fly. Here are two ways: Copper thread and pearls and melted monofile.

Fly hooks for Scandinavian salt water fishing There are several considerations to make when choosing fly hooks for salt water fishing for sea trout.

A brand new way of tying tube flies. The usual way of weighting a tube fly is by using copper or aluminum tubes. This article shows a totally different approach

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.

More than 30 years ago I tied some of the North Country Flies on blind hooks. At that time Veniard Ltd. had them in their catalogue - but I had no silk-worm gut, so I tied them to fine monofile nylon.

There are many intended uses for this guide, namely as reference to ensure you have a fairly complete compendium as to what you will need to get started in flytying or to use when dropping the perfect holiday gift hint. But more importantly, it is meant for the budding fly tyer, in hopes that the years of wisdom gained through trial and error from myself and my tying buddies will steer the newcomer down the right path

Hook comparison charts are at best fickle or at worst too confusing and inaccurate to use. It is critical to remember that this chart does in no way list equivalent hooks but attempts to list hooks based on similar applications.

A bottom seeking fly for pike, bass, cod, pike perch, sea trout - even bonefish and many other fish.

Learn to tie a really classical wet fly hackle.

It is now more than a year ago since Mustad took over Partridge of Redditch. And I thought it might be of interest to you to have an update on the status...

Dyeing with picric acid yields colors between a gorgeous olive and an electric yellow.

Who would have guessed that a fly tied to fish the lakes of New Zealand would have such an impact all around the world?

The flies on this page are all well known patterns which have all been juiced up a bit - many with some modern materials, but all with cone heads.
By Bas Verschoor

I purchased a copy of Skip Morris' book on tying flys for bass and panfish and another of his books on foam flies. His books are excellent and I recommend them above all others for beginning tyers. The pictures and instructions are superb!

Choosing the right hair will make your deer hair flies - Comparaduns, EHC's, Muddlers, bass bugs - much easier to tie.

The gold bead flies that are now so popular, actually originated in the central part of Europe - more than 100 years ago.

Beads or eyes are added for one or both of two reasons: weight and appearance. The eyes and beads discussed here are made from metal: brass, steel, lead - even tungsten. This will make them heavy and thus add weight to the fly. The weight will bring the fly down and often give it a certain behavior - a diving or jigging motion. But it will also add to the looks of the fly, the most obvious case being eyes added to fish or fry patterns like streamers.

Why bother to clean your materials? Bugs, dirt and chemicals are likely on the material.

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.

Hooks do break occasionally. It's a typical error when night fishing: you trust that everything is OK at the business end and just cast away

The flies on this page all have one thing in common: they have a linked body. Many of us strive to add life to our flies - the sense of something living. This can be done by using soft materials or adding long tails like on zonkers. These are all fine techniques that work well. But something urged me to try something different.

When stacking materials it is important to consider it as consisting of more than just one process. There are several steps involved: material selection, cleaning and preparing, selecting the right tool and performing the stacking process itself.

In the most simplistic terms, a flytying kit must only have the tools and materials necessary to tie the flies you may use on a single trip or a single river. However, like most of us, a travelling flytying kit consumes more space than 26 high-schoolers crammed in a Volkswagen Beetle.