Good starter patterns

[unforgiven]

I just started tying a couple of months ago and I think the easiest pattern to tie is the SCUD!! All kinds of scuds. Well, scuds and the old fuzzy egg.

 

[Volksnurse]

I've been tying (or trying) for about a year now. I pretty much have added a pattern every month or two and tie it till I'm sick of it. Nymphs, buggers and zebra midges are probably a good start. Learn the basic techniques (dubbing, palmering, hackle, and wings (mine suck))....

 

[PSUFishMenace]

I agree with Unforgiven. These guys were my top producers this year. basically bead, reddish-brown thread, hare's ear dubbing and thin gold wire ribbing (probably not necessary). They get taken for scuds, and the black ones get taken for ants I believe although I fooled a few nice browns twitching them like a scud. These had more dubbing when I tied them but a couple dozen trout thinned it out pretty well. sizes 14-18

 

[Foxgap239]

Tweelo, I had to get home to make sure I was correct. There is a very good book which I used when I started tying that with each chapter the author (**** Talleur) takes you through another technique. The book is called Mastering the Art of Fly Tying. If you can get a copy, I think you will be happy.

Adding an Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-Fly-Tying-Richard-Talleur/dp/0811728528/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1327531884&sr=8-5

 

[mcneishm]

Not sure I'd care a whole lot about "pretty". I've tied for more than 50 years. I used to go for "pretty" until I figured out that "fishiness" is more important than "pretty", at least for nymphs and wet flies, and catch more fish because of it. I think "pretty" has a place in the dry fly world but I don't often fish dry flies anymore so I'm not really concerned about it. Having now achieved codgerdom, all of this could well be simply a result of becoming far more of a curmudgeon than I ever was before.

 

[sandfly]

for books **** talleur's Basic Fly Tying is the best one to learn on in my opion...Then there is the course Jack Mickivitz and I teach.. Its a progression from one material to lots of materials usally around 60 flies can be learned. Its all about the material and method, no so much about the fly..

 

[McSneek]

Talleur's book is the first fly tying book I owned. I got it as part of an intro to tying class I took. I highly recommend it for a beginning tier.

 

[jerseygeorge]

I have always loved this video. It is a PT Nymph, tied in about 90 seconds. Speed in fly tying is the last thing you should strive to attain, but this video does show how simple this tie can be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD0uIga8-kc

 

[NateFollmer]

I started tying last year (addicting!). Woolly buggers, peasant tails, hares ear, prince nymphs, stone fly nymph (basically I tie an all black prince that looks good enough ha), caddis larvae, Clouser minnows and various streamers are all I tie for sub surface right now. For dries, I do elk hair caddis, Adams, ants, beetles (really cool beetle pattern that's just some folded over bucktail, but works awesome) and BWO's.

The real fun with tying is coming up with your own variations. Work with what material you have and see what you come up with. If trout won't eat it, bluegills will

 

[Fishnut]

Marabou streamers are pretty simple thats how i started out. Basic Caddis nymphs are super easy. Sucker spawn is another easy one simple midges as well.

 

[jayL]

I started out tying hideous pheasant tails, green weenies, zebra midges, and deer hair caddis (with unstacked, uncombed wings that were full of under fur and rotated around the hook. Also, trimmed hair tips, because the concept of stacking was beyond me).

 

[ryguyfi]

jayL wrote:
I started out tying hideous pheasant tails, green weenies, zebra midges, and deer hair caddis (with unstacked, uncombed wings that were full of under fur and rotated around the hook. Also, trimmed hair tips, because the concept of stacking was beyond me).

And I'm sure all of those flies caught fish for you.

End Result: fish all flies with confidence.

 

[jayL]

They fell apart pretty easily, but yeah, they did. The caddis worked especially well immediately before they came undone, which hammers home the point that sparse is better in most situations.

As to the trimmed wing tips, I doubt it matters at all, but I'll be damned if I'll throw trimmed hair wings in my box these days.

 

[shakey]

i think soft hackles are the easiest/most effective ratio winner.

however,i am a big proponent of learning to tye whatever fly you use the most.especially if it is unlikely that married wings and full dress salmon flies are the flies you use the most,haha

you can catch a lot of fish with a peacock body and ANY hackle.(hen,rooster,partridge,starling etc.)fished wet or dry


also,since you already know how to tye buggers,i might suggest a wooly worm.a time honored killer!

a pheasant tail soft hackle,with or without a tail is a good fly too.

good luck!!!

 

[Tweelo]

Thanks for all the recomendations. I am starting to get the basics down tight and I've now got a pretty strong wooly bugger and pheasent tail in my repertoire. The rest of the suggested flies are going to keep me busy for a while.


Thanks, ryguyfi, for pointing out to wrap the copper wire the opposite way on the pheasent tails. Made a world of difference.

 

[Chaz]

I started tying with 2 flies, a gold ribbed hares ear, which is fairly easy, and a pheasant tail. Both are nymphs and are prettymuch the easiest flies to tie., I then went to a woolly bugger. Which is another pretty easy tie. Then I tried some caddis, which are fairly easy dry flies to tie. I suppose a green inch worm would be even easier than those flies.

 

[Chaz]

I don't get the peacock herl on a pheasant tail nymph, but trout love peacock herl so I wouldn't object. But a pheasant tail nymph uses only pheasant tail material except for the wire.

 

[jayL]

The original sawyer pheasant tail has no peacock, but the pattern has kind of evolved to include it. I would say that a pheasant tail has herl according to most American fly fishermen. I consider it an upgrade.

Just as thorax duns used to have crossed hackles, and now it is just moved back a bit and trimmed. The default version of a fly pattern changes fairly often.

 

[bam]

To answer the original question, any pattern that you intend to fish with. Stay away from dries if you don't fish them much... same goes for streamers or nymphs. Starting out easy isn't always the best way to go about things... IMO, the more your challanged, the quicker you learn or adapt.

Now, if only I could apply that same philosphy to life I might be earning 6 figures a year and maintaining a lean 165lb frame Instead, I drink beer, eat bad food, fish, hunt, play video games, watch sports and waste time on the internet.

 

[flipnfly]

i would go with a cdc and elk (its not really elk its coastal deer hair ) but its a simple fly and a fish catching machine id do it is sizes from 12 to 16 maybe even 18 awesome fly