# My First Attempt at Fly-Tying



## BrookTroutKid (Oct 10, 2007)

Well not really flashy or intricate but I tried 
Olive conehead wooly-bugger


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## sinergy (Mar 6, 2008)

Nice Fly looks good tie a few of them in black and purple and you will be ready to hit the majority of lakes in Utah.


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## BrookTroutKid (Oct 10, 2007)

Better 2nd attempt 
Halloween Bugger


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## sinergy (Mar 6, 2008)

Maybe its the picture but you might want to get straighter and closer wraps on the saddle feather but not bad at all for your second attempt.


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## rdoggsilva (Apr 6, 2011)

Doesn't look bad, the more you tie, the better you get. Even after 40 years of tying, some of mine still are not that good.


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## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

Don't look now, but I think you have a hook stuck in your thumb in the first pic.


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## scott_rn (Sep 11, 2007)

Good lookin' buggers there brook trout kid. Welcome to the club, hope you've caught some fish on them by now.


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

BrookTroutKid said:


> Better 2nd attempt
> Halloween Bugger


I am thinking the hump look is caused by tying in the marabou at the rear of the hook and then trimming back there as well. Try tying in the marabou through out the entire length of the shank, trimming it off near the eye of the hook instead. That way the body is an even thickness the entire length of the fly and has no "noob" hump.

Make sure you leave enough space behind the eye of the hook when you tie in your materials to form the head of the fly.


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## springerhunter (Apr 17, 2008)

Those are some good looking flies for the first time. Nice work.


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## dank80 (Oct 31, 2007)

Good luck with your new flies. There's nothing quite like catching fish on something you tied yourself.


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

Good job! You'll never forget the first fish you catch on a fly you tied yourself. I still have the first self-tied fly I caught a fish on stuck in the corner of my fly box, I consider it a kind of good-luck charm. Keep it up and you'll be amazed at how quickly your skills improve!


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

Pumpgunner said:


> You'll never forget the first fish you catch on a fly you tied yourself.


That's the truth! I actually caught my first fish on a fly with a fly I tied. Pretty cool experience I must say. It was a Red Humpy. I'm not sure where the fly is these days, but I remember the whole experience vividly.

A couple pointers BTK-

As synergy said, make sure you keep the body even by tying down your excess on the whole length of the hook. Stop shy of the eye by enough that you don't crowd the eye. This will help even up the bodies of your streamers.

When palmering your hackles and ribbing, make sure the wraps are evenly spaced. On streamers, don't tie in the butt end of the saddle hackle. Rather, start with the soft end, tie it in with 3-4 good solid wraps of thread, trim off the excess, and then tie in your ribbing and body material. After the body is in place, slowly wrap the hackle forward paying attention to spacing. When you get to the eye, do one extra wrap in place so there is a bit of a collar, and tie it off. Then when you bring the ribbing forward, palmer it evenly and tight so it "locks" your hackle down. Tie off the ribbing at the eye, and then proceed to whip finishing.

Like the other guys said, its all a matter of practice! You're off to a great start. Keep trying new things, and pay close attention to the basics and you'll be set. One more thing that really helped me when I started was to study a professionally tied pattern before I started, and while tying. Pay attention to proportions of each material, both in size, length, and amounts used. In time, you'll know exactly how much of each material you need to use.


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