Do you remember the First Fly that you ever tied? The type of fly depended upon where you lived and what waters you could access. The fly for a farm pond would vary from a fly for a trout stream. If you lived near the ocean the fly would be larger and more different than if you lived near a Spring Creek.
Generally, your First Fly was easy, simple, and an attractor or mimicked bait.
One great thing that new fly tiers enjoy is being creative. We all wanted to invent the new Super Fly. Make sure that the First Flies are fun!
Fly Fishing is one of the oldest styles of fishing. The longer rod with a heavy line that needed to be cast so the fly could just go along for the ride, has been around for centuries. Fly Fishing is Old School Simple fishing. They used what they had, which was not much.
My first tied fly was a worm. I used a red rubber band that was always wrapped, around my dad’s newspaper. I wrapped it around the hook and made what became an early version of a San Juan Worm. Later I made an egg fly that was weighted and wrapped in orange chenille. I called it the Vindicator. They really worked well.
Later I invented the Bread Fly. When I was fishing the Yellow Breeches, below Boiling Springs Lake, I struggled to get the attention of several monster rainbows that were just upstream from a small footbridge. A family of Amish folks walked onto the bridge and began to toss bread chunks into the water, The Big Pigs went wild. I was just not matching the hatch.
My first real dry fly was a Royal Coachman. My mentor showed me how to tie one and was very patient. It took me dozens of attempts to master the complicated tie. He said, “great tiers need to tie the same fly a thousand times before they master it”. Boy was he right. I finally made a few respectable keepers.
Now it was time to test my work. My Dad took me to a Thurmont, Maryland watershed called Owens Creek. We were fishing under a couple of tall train bridges. I saw a few rising trout and got into position. My dad instructed me as I made several casts. I learned to dress and dry my fly. Cast above the trout not at them. Mending my line kept the fly from dragging. There was so much to learn. Finally, a rainbow sipped my creation. I have been a fly fisherman, and tyer, ever since!
So how do you match a Bread Hatch? I looked at my vest and remembered my foam patch, that I used to dry flies on. I ripped off a chunk and took a bit of fishing line to secure it to my hook. The bite was on!
First Flies need to work and be easy to tie. The tying needs to use a bobbin, scissors, thread and fly tying tools. All flies begin and end the same way. This is where Fly Tying starts.
First Fly Suggestions
A jig head wrapped in Estaz flash body material. This works for any fish that swims. Just match the size to the species. Chartreuse is the color that fish see since it reflects light well.
Egg Patterns. Use the right size hook, egg yarn, and tie on a orange or chartreuse pattern. You need to bobbin the hook, handle yarn, lift and cut with scissors, and create a head with a finished knot. Easy Peasy and it works great.
Worm. Start with a rubber band or squirmy worm material. Attach the worm to the hook. Duh!
Woolly Buggers. This streamer/nymph pattern mimics so many things. A rotary vice makes tying so easy. It requires all of the tying steps needed for most flies. Buggers work for almost all species of fish.
Kids and new tyers, especially males, are visual learners. They are also conditioned and trained to watch TV. Find a YouTube video of the fly and let them watch. You can stop, rewind, fast forward, and repeat.
Tie one on and have FUN!
Montana Grant
