First Fly to Tie

[tctrout]

As I know many of you have been tying as long (or longer!) than me, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one: What fly do you recommend for a beginning tier?

Over 30 years ago, that fly for me was the Olive Woolly Bugger. There were a few techniques, it looked cool, I had no idea what the fly represented, and most importantly, IT CAUGHT FISH! Fast forward to 2022, and the fly that I share with new tiers is the Mop. Wow, have things changed! To me, getting a new tier to catch a fish on a fly they tied all but seals the deal, then it's off to the races to learn new patterns.

Below is a video I put together on this topic, but even without watching, I'd love to hear some patterns you recommend.

Tim

 

[UncleShorty]

Mr. Tick first taught us to tie bucktails back in '65...

 

[wbranch]

Woolly Worm, Walt's worm, or Hare's Ear. There are a few easier like SJ worm and Green weenie but they are so simple what is the point of teaching someone that? They aren't really going to learn how to handle and manipulate fur, feathers, and a few other materials.

 

[JerryC]

I watched the video and I agree with him. The first couple of flies I learned were the Woolly Bugger and the Green Weenie. If I were going to show a beginner an easy effective fly to tie I'd go with a mop fly. This is the mop fly that replaced the Green Weenie in my fly box.

I tie them on size 12 and size 14 hooks and different colors. Shows you how to tie in body material, make a thorax, peacock herl or dubbing can also be used , how put a bead head on the hook for weight. The mop piece in the picture is 5/16ths inch long. I have mop pieces up to 2 inches long. Just by varying the size of the hook, type and size of thorax material, bead head and mop piece, I can show them a fly that will catch everything from trout to bass. It's a good general purpose fly.

 

[Bamboozle]

I'd still say a Woolly Bugger.

It teaches proportions, tying in a tail, winding body material and using hackle. You could also do variations of that same pattern by doing a weighted version with and without a bead OR using dubbing for the body.

That's a lot of techniques learned with a simple fly that should be in everyone's fly box.

 

[afishinado]

I'd still say a Woolly Bugger.

It teaches proportions, tying in a tail, winding body material and using hackle. You could also do variations of that same pattern by doing a weighted version with and without a bead OR using dubbing for the body.

That's a lot of techniques learned with a simple fly that should be in everyone's fly box.

+1 ^

 

[moon1284]

Wooly bugger was the first I learned.

 

[JeffK]

I would still say wooly bugger because it is a simple fly that shows how to wind hackle. I was amazed the first time I learned how hackle was tied.

Sometimes I would start with a zebra midge to begin getting used to winding and tying off the thread. For some people tying off the fly is harder with more stuff around and I want to start with a fly that is basically thread.

Pheasant tail is a good nymph to start with IMHO.

All these are flies that work well and people can catch fish with their first fly - something that is important as well.

 

[JimNovo]

So I picked up fly tying just about 2 years ago. My first fly was a black zebra midge. Just 4 simple components, (hook, bead, thread and wire), where you learn to move from back to front, manipulate thread to build a body, wrap in some bling, and then whip finish.

From there I moved to Pheasant Tails and Hares Ear nymphs where you learn about feathers and dubbing, and also add some new features like wing cases or even soft hackles.

After that you are only limited by your time, creativity and materials. There are so many great videos and books to inspire you....but what will draw you back to the vise is when you catch that first trout on a fly that you tied.

 

[dryflyguy]

I took a fly tying class in 1985.
It met one night a week, and we learned to tie 2 new flies each night.
We were then told to tie a half dozen of each fly at home, and bring them back the following week for inspection by our instructor.

Flies tied that first week: white marabou streamer, and woolly worm
2nd week: muskrat and hares ear nymph
3rd week: casual dress and fur bodied ant
4th week: black nosed dace and muddler minnow.

Finally, things got serious the 5th week, and we learned dries: Cahill and Adams.
However, I realized how tying the earlier stuff taught us techniques needed to gradually work our way up to the challenge of winding hackle on dries.

Jim Novo - so true about that nice feeling the first time you catch fish on your own creations.
I still remember it well, almost 40 years later now.

 

[tomgamber]

I would recommend the bugger too. The first fly I tied was a zug bug. Effective easy nymph pattern.

 

[Skook]

It appears that I'm in the minority on this, but I believe starting someone who as never tied a single fly before with a wooly bugger is asking too much, especially if they are young tiers. The necessary steps sound rather simple in theory, but we are talking about a person who has never even wound thread onto a hook.

So, the new tier, who at this point has zero experience with thread control (just a bit of slack in the thread at the wrong moment and lots of bad things can happen), is asked to wrap the hook with lead wire (optional) tie in a marabou tail, tie in wire, tie in chenille, wrap the chenille, tie in and palmer a brittle and delicate hackle feather, and well, you get the picture. All without rushing the eye of the hook at the end of the process.

I'd start with a bead head Walt's Worm. Maybe make it a Sexy Walt's if you think the OG pattern is too boring. Adding a bead makes it easier for a beginner to learn a half hitch or whip finish without crowding the eye.

And we all know they can proudly take this first fly onto the stream and catch fish.

 

[BruceC2C]

I agree w Skook.
Bugger first prob too much, too soon.

When I started to tie, my goal was basic pattern with SUPER basic skills.
Building my fundamentals & confidence were top priority.

I chose SJ Worm & Brassie.

 

[Tups]

A proper fly is made of silk, fur and feathers. Silk is expensive for a beginner so substitute Unithread. Size 12 hook. A small thorax of hares ear and a hen hackle collar. Cheap, easy, very effective. Best of all, it’s a classic form they won’t hesitate to show and tell.

 

[phiendWMD]

I taught myself with help from here, YouTube, the rest of the internet, and the old guy at the fly shop. The first fly I tied was an elk(deer) hair caddis. It was ugly from my perspective but fish still took them.

I'm not a great teacher, if I had to instruct someone new, I'd probably go with something simple like a zebra midge.

 

[allan_s]

+3 for Walt’s worm. Base for all dubbed body flies. I like to add wire rib for durability and that gets tiers thinking about body segmentation and equal wraps over the body.

I like to teach with the principle that each new fly should build on what was learned before.

Most flies I see posted online have bulky, poorly portioned bodies. So to combat that I start with thinner, properly tapered dubbed bodies. Just my 2 cents.

 

[SBecker]

Pretty sure the first fly I was taught to tie was by HeritageEd. It was the pheasant tail and it caught fish. I started my son off with just allowing him to experiment using the materials and creating his own flies to get the interest. Now that he is addicted to fishing, I taught him the Walts worm. Then, thread body nymphs.

 

[PennKev]

It appears that I'm in the minority on this, but I believe starting someone who as never tied a single fly before with a wooly bugger is asking too much, especially if they are young tiers. The necessary steps sound rather simple in theory, but we are talking about a person who has never even wound thread onto a hook.

I agree. It' s better to teach someone with several simple patterns before moving onto a WB. The WB's also rely on choosing good materials and knowing how to handle them. Crummy marabou makes for a lousy looking fly and discouraging results. Likewise you mentioned brittle hackle, again making for a discouraging experience. Also, there is a "bad" method for tying a wooly bugger that could prove very frustrating. That being tying the hackle in by the tip and winding forward, resulting in lots of broken feathers. However, the better alternative of tying the hackle at the front and winding backwards then trapping with a counter-wound rib is fairly sophisticated for a first time tier.

 

[PennKev]

A proper fly is made of silk, fur and feathers.

You should also always wear a nice shirt and tie while tying flies.

 

[tomgamber]

I would recommend the bugger too. The first fly I tied was a zug bug. Effective easy nymph pattern.

I'm going to amend my first suggestion from a Bugger to a simple Wooly Worm. This and the zug bug are the a couple of the first flies I tied. I just can't get exicted about a walt's worm. Not wthout adding a rib or collar or bead to the basic form. I agree the marabou of a bugger could create problems. But the Wooly Worm is hard to beat. My first learning stream was Maiden Creek and I caught bluegills, crappie, trout and small mouth all on this fly, fished dry and wet. Just teaching about the different ways you can wrap a hackle and change a flies entire character is an extremely valuable lesson to learn early. And the materials are a minimal investment. You can tie these with really any hackle you can get your hands on. You cover a lot of bases with this fly and can catch anything on it.