Learning to Tie Flies In the Internet Age

I started learning to tie flies at the end of the 2022 trout season - around 4 months ago.  I wouldn't say I have mastered the art but I have reached a point where I can generally have a go at most patterns and achieve a respectable result after a few goes.  

Like many, I started with a book.  In my case it was Fly Tying for Beginners by Barry Ord Clark.  The idea of the book was to teach a number of flies in an order that was designed to guide you through various techniques and materials you need to learn about. The thing that made this book different to any other was that Barry had also posted videos on his YouTube channel of each one so you could follow along.

Now, I don't want to criticise Barry or the quality of his work; but after a couple of weeks I started to wonder what's the point of having the book when you can just watch the videos online?

My other problem was that I found the flies he'd chosen a bit irrelevant and costly.  I live in the Scottish Highlands and I mainly want to learn to tie traditional wet flies for use in the lochs.  While there is plenty of value the skills needed in learning to tie a Montana Nymph, for example, I'd also have to buy streamer hooks and chenille when I could have learned the same basic skills tying a Lough fly like an Olive Bumble that I'd be able to use immediately and have the materials there for other useful flies in the future.

Mind you, the book was useful in other ways.  Having a sequence of progressively more challenging patterns to follow is invaluable as a beginner.  As were the sections on tools, materials and basic skills like how to adjust a bobbin threader.  But I quickly got bored with the learning path in the book and started searching YouTube for the flies I actually want to tie.

So this has got me thinking about what would the ultimate beginners' guide look like in 2023 when we have easy access to experts via blogs, social media and YouTube.

A Better Way?

Here's what I have in mind.

The core of the guide would not be about teaching flies.  Instead, it would focus on learning paths for different types of flies building from simple through to tricky and the reader would be encouraged to go and find their own instructions on YouTube.  

The goal would be to get a beginner to self-sufficiency by tying some useful flies and with a modest outlay (let's say £200 in today's money) on materials and tools.

For Loch Flies it would look something like this:

- A black spider pattern like the Black and Peacock.  Teaches thread control and winding a hackle

- Black Pennel (using dubbing instead of floss). The first proper loch fly, uses the materials you already have but adds in a tail, dubbing and ribbing

An earlyish Black Pennel (not sure about that head!)

- Bibio.  Adding body hackles and 2 colours of dubbing

- Mallard and Claret.  Making wings from bronze mallard

- A Cloaked Dabbler.  Which would be a logical progression bringing together the use of hackles and bronze mallard

- Silver Invicta.  Definitely a step up but a great fly to learn about making wings from quill slips.  The blue jay throat is also a bit tricky.

Silver Invicta

- Something with legs (or jungle cock but that's expensive).  Introduces tying in pairs of materials on either side of the fly and getting them to stay level.

- Stone Goat Muddler to finish up with. Using deer hair and multiple body hackles - a stern test!

The Stone Goat Muddler is still a work in progress

All of these could be tied on a Kamasan B175 or similar in size 12 and the materials and tools you need would form a solid basis of a collection.

I'd want lists like this for other common disciplines like:

- Dry flies 

- River flies

- Nymphs (possibility for sublists here)

- Stillwater/Rainbows

- Salmon flies

These would be useful for the beginner but also for a more advanced tier who wants to branch out.

What's The Point Of The Guide Then?

To supplement this, I'd want a detailed explanation of the tools and materials you need with pictures and explaining the trade offs you make.  Too often I see the advice to "buy quality materials and tools" given to beginners but no real description of what good looks like.

Again for example, what are the differences between cheap, midrange and expensive vices?  What is a genetic hackle and what differences do you see in the feathers and does it matter (clue, no it doesn't when you first start out)?  What types of scissors are available and how to choose a decent first pair?

... and so on.  You get the picture

Good cock or bad cock? A beginner wouldn't know

The final strand of the teaching would be to introduce some useful topics as they progress.  At first, basics like how to setup a bobbin and how to whip finish, but later you'd want to talk about proportions and finer techniques like how to keep the head of the fly small and neat.

So what do you think?  Would this something you'd have found useful when you started and would it be something you'd recommend to a friend?  Leave your thoughts in the comments.