What are you tying to get ready for the Spring season?

[ryguyfi]

Do you spend all winter tying just about everything for the season, or do you just tie for the first month or so and then tie as you know certain hatches are coming up.

I'm still getting used to everything, so I tie up a bunch of GRHE's, Princes, and PT's; a few familiar dries, griffiths gnats, BWO's, Sulphurs, Adams; and some streamers and buggers. I'm usually behind and scramble about 2 weeks before opening day to tie about 50 flies lol.

What's everyone elses habits in tying to get ready for the season?

 

[trowpa]

There is no "season" for me. I tie and fish, fish and tie all year.

I'm relatively new to fly tying though - so i get such a kick out of catching fish on flies i tied - what i'll do is tie 6 of a new pattern, take them out the next time fishing - if i catch fish on it, I'll tie a dozen more...and then try a new pattern. Its gotten so I need to buy more fly boxes.

 

[MKern]

I have already started:
Green drake nymphs and wiggle nymphs
sz 12 & 14 BH FB pheasant tails
Kern Special PT's
Isonychia nymphs
More of my killer foam extended body coffin flies
The dry fly pattern that I have posted before
My new assending caddis pupa
More of the frogs and peeper patterns that I posted in the "warmwater" section.

I will also tinker with a new foam hopper pattern. (and probably a handful of new patterns).

 

[littlelehigh]

I am new to tying as well and although I have not fished any of my patterns yet I am anxiously awaiting warmer weather to do so. I just finished up Mike Heck's book and order the material to tie up some of his emergers as well as material to start dry flies.
I just finished tying :
pinket pins
pheasent tails
GRHE
stone flies
numerous streamers and sow bugs

Like Trowpa stated I need more boxes to hold everything when I hit the streams!

 

[afishinado]

Ryguyfi wrote: “Do you spend all winter tying just about everything for the season, or do you just tie for the first month or so and then tie as you know certain hatches are coming up.”


I usually look through my fly box and tie what I need for the upcoming season in the order in which they hatch. I have the mayflies arranged in my fly box roughly by hatch date. I use a lot of generic nymphs like HEs & PTs, but I tie many hatch matching patterns for emergers and adult mayflies and larva, pupa and adult caddis. As an example I will now tie: early black and brown stones, blue quills, quill gordons, BWOs, hendricksons, little black caddis, grannoms, etc. I’ll move on to sulphers, cahills next, you get the idea. No need to tie say tricos or isonychias yet, since I have 6 or more months to tie them.

My advice to anyone starting out is to learn to fish a few major hatches. Reading about them in books is good, but nothing replaces seeing and fishing them on the stream. Next season build on that knowledge and master a few more hatches. Good luck.

 

[reds]

Start out by saying I am not tying enough of anything. I did my inventory recently and remembered that i am understocked as usual. I will try to start by taking care of myshortages in HE's and PT's then move on to woven stones. I think filling my nymphs is always more important because I lose more of them and fish more of them. Usually, i am tying dries either that day or the night before I fish a hatch so i end up with two or three good imitations and a few that the effects of alcohol have compromised. Oh, and sculpins only get tied when I am using one that is all messed up and it is the last in my box, no respect for the fly i catch my best fish on most years.

 

[jrcll]

i always say i`m going to ty up on whatever flies i needed last season, but i do the samething and end up tying in march and tying at the last minute

 

[EA88]

I took inventory and have been tying a few hours every night right now Im tying PT,GRHE, BWO nymph, caddis nymphs, Midge larva, and Buggers and streamers I generly tie a bulk amount of flies this time of year twards the end of febuary I'll start tying dries I tie all year but in the winter I tie general flies the rest of the year I'll experiment with tying my creations and see how the work to me the best part of tying is catching fish on flies you personally created

 

[dryflyguy]

Right now - sulphers.
I always go thru lots of them, in many sizes
I carry them from size #10, down to #20

 

[yea-who]

I got a little crazy last year tying it was my first year. i Should have listened to my cuz And tied Buggers in a varity of colors like i'm doing this year and some pt, grhe, Jaun worms, Mcfly eggs.

I didn't start tying till feb. this year. i reload and i was out of odd 6 shells, and low on 30-30, 9mm, .45's and .380's. so it took me a month to get that out of the way. i should be good for the year now though. i'll tie hardcore till the season then taper off to freenights and rainy days. and replace stock of what is or will be working good.

 

[JustFish]

I am tying a lot right now. Mostly Hendricksons and caddis for dry flys. I am tying up all of my nymphs and midges right now. I'll wait closer to the hatches to tie my dries. Although the above are for my NY trip so I am tying them up now.

I just started tying my leaders up last night. I got a bunch of 9ft 4x nymph leaders finished. I'll probably start my 12 ft dry fly leaders in a couple of weeks

 

[tabasco_joe]

I have not fished streamers much, usually weighted ones like buggers when I did. Bruce at Penns Creek Angler got me turned on to older, more traditional streamers without weight. I'm tying up some old classics like the Black Ghost, the black nose dace, Hornberg, etc. I'm determined to learn how to fish streamers this year.

Also tying up a good supply of midges, both nymphs and emergers, using goose biots and CDC for the emergers.

 

[flipnfly]

lets see so far i tied for this spring a few brown owl variants with dk. brown buck tail instead of the teal feathers because that can be fished either as a streamer or as a stonefly i intend on trying both also red squirrel nymphs with a half dress soft hackle some caddis larvae versa nymphs and a few experimantal soft hackle wet flies anyone have any reccomendations for laurel hill creek?for early spring?

 

[Rkey530]

Well when i finish some more studying and one more test I'll start tying some early season black stonefly dry's #18 some #18 hare's ears, #18 bead head prince nymphs, # 16-20 keegans killers (i'll post about these when tying them), some comparadun emergers in #20, then move onto the yellow caddises.

 

[Fishinmagician]

I've been tying alot lately too,mostly various midge patterns from size20-26 and a bunch of nymphs.I usually tie as i go so to speak,but this year I should pretty much be stocked.I also tied up a bunch of emergers and BWO.

tight lines,
Don