Scouts fly tying classes - Chosing the pattern

This is the first lesson I give. The pupils tie at least half a dozen
flies.

http://www.mike-connor.homepage.t-on...st_spider.html

TL
MC

"Mike" wrote in message
...
Oh, and it is five materials! Thread, ribbing wire, marabou tail,
chenille body, hackle.

A simple hackle pattern only has two.

Second lesson, hackle pattern with a rib

Third lesson, hackled with tail and rib

Fourth lesson, tail, rib, and palmered hackle.

Things like using wire, tensioning materials and thread also have to
be learned before one can tie an even half way presentable Woolly
Bugger. Whip finishing and other things too.

The main problem for newbies is working on such a small scale, and
coordinating hand and eye. This is best learned in small cumulative
steps. Trying to do it all at once is doomed to failure, and causes
disappointment and frustration.

Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.


Wolfgang

On Nov 28, 4:26 pm, Mike wrote:
Oh, and it is five materials! Thread, ribbing wire, marabou tail,
chenille body, hackle.

Well, it's six if you count the hook; but I don't count thread as a
material, and I don't use ribbing for smaller buggers. That's how I
got 3.

The main problem for newbies is working on such a small scale, and
coordinating hand and eye.

That's why I think a nice 3X long #6 streamer hook is a great start.

Trying to do it all at once is doomed to failure, and causes
disappointment and frustration.

I agree in principle; but speaking for myself (and everyone else in my
class IIRC), a simple tie-****-on-&-wrap-it-around-the-hook fly was
pretty easy to start with and almost impossible to screw up.
Obviously your experience with your students is otherwise, and I can't
argue with that.

Joe F.

Hello rb608,

On Nov 28, 3:27 pm, Mike wrote:

For complete beginners, I think a woolly
bugger is too complicated, and introduces too many techniques at
once.
I still remember being a newbie, and the wooly bugger definitely had a
great "gee whiz"-to-difficulty ratio. It's only three materials, so
you learn to tie stuff in order as well as three simple techniques;
and it's a pretty cool result that even a bad one can catch fish.
It's the kind of fly that will give you the confidence that maybe you
*can* get the hang of this fly tying stuff. I don't know about kids
at scouting age; but as an adult newbie, I thought it was an easy
first fly.
Joe F.


I agree completely with Joe's comments. I started tying about 1 1/2 months
ago. The olive woolly bugger was my first tie and I caught 6 fish on it
during my next outing. That got me excited enough to invest in a quality
vise and commit to tying pretty much everything I will use on two upcoming
trips! The hardest thing for me was stripping and holding the marabou.

Sprattoo a écrit :

I am going to get together with the local scout group and do a fly
tying 101. The problem I am having is which pattern to have the scouts
try for a starter pattern. Everyone seems to go for the ever present
woolly bugger.

For dry flies, any Lee Wulff pattern is easy and effective: a tail, a
body, hair wing and hackle. My favorite, the Royal Wulff, might be a bit
hard for beginner, but a white, brown or black Wulff is easy and
effective in many sizes.

To see something different a Prince Nymph our a Zug Bug are both easy
and effective nymph and introduce them to wrapping peacock earl.

Someone said it already, a video and a large screen are a must; plus you
get to replay them again and again. Be sure, if you do this, to wear a
plain coloured apron it will provide a uniform coloured backscreen to
your tying. Green or blue are good colours to wear, anything that
contrast with the materials. ;-)

--
Hope to read you soon,

Denis
www.uqtr.ca/~lamyd

You'll have to eat the SPAM to E-mail

The first dry fly I was taught to tie was the Grey Duster

http://www.sexyloops.com/flytying/greyduster.shtml

- without a tail, as is traditional.

Rabbit underfur is very easy to dub, and the traditional tying doesn't
have a tail.

It's a very easy fly to tie, teaches essential techniques, and is a
fine general upwing (mayfly) imitator.

Laz`arus

Dredging up a dead thread:

On Nov 28, 4:01 pm, Denis Lamy wrote:
For dry flies, any Lee Wulff pattern is easy and effective: a tail, a
body, hair wing and hackle. My favorite, the Royal Wulff, might be a bit
hard for beginner, but a white, brown or black Wulff is easy and
effective in many sizes.

In my entire, albeit limited, fly tying career, I've tied exactly one
Royal Wulff. It was tough, but it turned out beautifully. I'm not
sure why I never tried it again.

To see something different a Prince Nymph our a Zug Bug are both easy
and effective nymph and introduce them to wrapping peacock earl.

I sweartagawd, I hate the Prince. For some reason, I can't, just
can't, get those quill wings on right. I just gave up. :-(

Joe F.

On 30 Nov, 15:03, rb608 wrote:

I sweartagawd, I hate the Prince. For some reason, I can't, just
can't, get those quill wings on right. I just gave up. :-(

Joe F.

Seems most people try to tie the biots in wrongly. Try this;

http://www.iowaoutdoors.org/article....20429005629697

This is also good;


http://globalflyfisher.com/patterns/universal/

TL
MC

Sprattoo wrote in news:651efa7f-6c33-4822-9a44-
:

Hello again fly fishing gang.
I have picked up so many really good tips, how to and advice from this
group and the bass fishing group by reading through posts, following
links etc.. I really wanted to come back again when it was time for
me to get some more opinions.

I have gotten pretty good at tying quite a number of patterns, and
lately have really grown to enjoy tying wire tandem flies. I also
think I now have got a good handle on keeping my streamers upright and
all.... Thanks again, I am now looking much more closely to my knots.

I am going to get together with the local scout group and do a fly
tying 101. The problem I am having is which pattern to have the scouts
try for a starter pattern. Everyone seems to go for the ever present
woolly bugger.
I will probably graze this pattern, but I would like to go for
something equally as effective, and as easy to learn, but a different
than the norm.

Any suggestions? I think I might go with a simple bucktail streamer,
but would like to mix it up with some different patterns, maybe a
nymph and an easy dry. I want to be able to offer the scout tying
kits, or figure out how to raise a little cash to donate some kits.
So material cost for the patterns I choose is an issue. Anyone can
just throw chenile, herl, and a few feathers in a kit, but I want to
put together kits with materials that the scouts will be seeing in the
101 or demonstration.

Lloyd M
The Fishin' Hole
http://www.mainetackle.com


Something real simple made out of chenille and hacke.
--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

Lloyd:
A couple of questions:
1. How much teaching time do you have?
2. How many students at one time?
If you can only tie one pattern, then I suppose the tried and true wooly
bugger is as good a choice as any. However, more time would enable a series
of flies to teach different skills. Mike's approach is sound, if that
is the case. I seem to remember a similar sequence recommended in some
British author's Tying book, and it teaches strong basic skills, after which
the interested newbie will practice until he/she can tie anything they wish.
Tom