My
Tying Desk
By Richard
Carter
This article topic was brought
about by an inquisitive tier who came for the first time to one
of my tying nights. He was very interested in what materials
I had in each drawer of my fly tying material cabinet. What use
each material might have and what flies could utilise the materials.
All of us when on the water try to look over someone's shoulder
and see what's in their fly box, just for interest sake of course.
So applying that to tying cabinets, what follows is what's in
my tying desk and what I may use it for. Maybe you can get something
to help your tying out of it, but everyone to their own. Enjoy.
When I first started in fly tying
my fly tying ratio was saltwater 85% flies and Australian bass
15% flies - no speckled feral flies yet. Saltwater species I
felt were much more forgiving of poor tying and fishing skills
than natives and trout, so were my main targets. This being so,
I only had to have a few small boxes of materials and tools to
start tying. After any tying session at home, it only took a
few minutes to clean up.
As my tying skills increase and
the number and types of flies increased, so too did the amount
of materials, tools, hooks and other paraphernalia increase.
Soon I could fill the top of our four seat glass dining table
with materials. More than once the materials may of been be left
overnight on the table after a late tying session due to the
hassle of packing it all up every time I finished tying a few
flies.
I was always buying more of a
material I already had, that was hidden at the bottom of a shoe
box. Remembering too, as we all can attest, that the one material
you need is always on the bottom of a particular box, so all
the contents are removed and placed on the work area just to
get at that one material.
I also liked to modify my flies
after the day on the water. After a day casting, I might think
of a slight modification to a fly to suit the particular circumstances
of the day, species and/or location. So I used to take all and
sundry with me to tie a few modified flies by gas light that
evening at the campsite.
Soon the multiple shoe boxes
just would not do any more. Then there was a series of photos
of readers tying desks I saw in one of the US fly fishing magazines
I subscribe to. Taking a bit of design from some of these and
as always adding my perception of things. I drew up a concept
of what I needed in a tying cabinet. Then tried to match that
to any future needs and what materials I had in my shoe boxes.
A cabinet maker friend of mine
made it up for me, it ended up being a first class job given
he had me hovering all over him till it was finished. I started
with something I could close up securely and put in the back
of my station wagon to take on outing for any of those last minute
flies and modifications. Also wanting to make it look nice I
went for solid QLD black bean construction, with camphor wood
drawers to keep the bugs out of any of the natural materials
I used. Problem is it ended up twenty kilos without any materials
in it.
I
could still lift it once the materials where placed in it, but
only just!
Over the years since it was first
built, the growth in the amount of materials has not stopped.
It doesn't travel out on trips any more. Now I am currently looking
at an extension or a complete new tying desk based on those old
fashioned writing desks with the roller top covers. Then as now
adding a removable bench extension for tying classes.
Tying station set up.
I do regular tying evenings for any who wish to show up. Usually
a couple of guys from the Newcastle Flyrodders club or a few
people I might be introducing to fly fishing and tying, contacted
through this fly site. The original 'portable' tying cabinet
now resides on a desk and is hardly ever moved any more. The
space under the desk has spare fly boxes (for fly swap participants
who don't send large enough containers for their return swaps),
allsorts of foams, packaging materials for swaps and print outs
of patterns, articles and other stuff that doesn't get used much
that we all seem to collect.
Attached to this desk is the
main tying table for tying classes, it can fit five at a pinch.
The fold down table of the original tying cabinet doesn't get
used too much these days for tying. The latest materials from
craft stores, mail order and local fly shops sit there ready
for packing away (I don't know where, all the drawers are almost
full). As does any materials that may be in use for flies I am
tying at the time for any of the swaps I may be participating
in.
A couple of good adjustable lights
sit in the middle of it all, nothing worse that not be able to
see what you are tying. Tools at the ready, hopefully. The next
tier who has to search for their scissors or hackle pliers will
not be the last. They are usually in my lap or the other hand
but I always seem to be looking for them.
A nice chair is the key to long
tying sessions. When I used to tie flies commercially, I had
a really good business executive type chair. Adjustable height,
back and arm rests. I lost it in the last shift for a work transfer.
Currently I am looking for another, so in the interim I have
pinched one of the dining room chairs. Right height at least
and soft on the butt for any long tying sessions tying swap flies
or flies for the next outing.
So what is on my tying table
at this moment........
A few Styrene foam blocks for holding hooks, progressive stage
and finished flies for the next fly swap or experimental flies
I may be working on at the time. Another just for flies being
tied for the next planned outing or fly club weekend.
A few different long nose pliers for be-barbing hooks or to bend
hooks for bendbacks or for cutting wire and beadchain
Scissors - several sizes each for it's own use - the sharpest
ones tagged to ensure only used for the right purpose. The larger,
older, more blunt ones for thick or tough materials.
A few thread bobbins with threads at the ready. I have five bobbins
at the moment, but intend to buy a couple every few months so
soon all the threads I mainly use will have their own thread
bobbin.
Eyes - stemmed plastic, mono, plastic or glass beads on mono
stalks, lead dumbbells (painted, plated and plain) , brass beads,
bead chain in several sizes and coneheads - I like to use eyes
on most of my saltwater patterns so always have these on hand
and ready to use. I also have a candle in a candle stick holder
for making mono eyes on the spot. I usually make up plenty of
mono eyes in one sitting, while watching the cricket or a late
night movie, for later use.
Pens, permanent markers for those final touches to help match
the hatch.
Super glue (what saltwater fly tier would be without it), five
minute epoxy, head cement, nail polish all for the various types
of finishes and uses for any given pattern. Not forgetting my
favourite body material at the moment - clear silicone, just
love it - prawns, baitfish, crabs - soft yet firm, clear to show
the colours of the materials beneath. Easier to shape and more
forgiving when making fly bodies than with epoxy.
A few post-it pads - these are good for jotting down notes, ideas
but mainly for mixing my epoxy on. Just rip off the top piece
of paper once the epoxy sets. Remembering that when epoxy is
mixed with cellulose base items (paper, wooden toothpicks) it
promotes the yellowing in your epoxy flies. If that worries you,
you need to cut up an ice cream container into appropriate sized
squares to mix you epoxy on. When it sets just flex the plastic
square and the epoxy will flake off. Mix it will plastic cocktail
skewers.
Lead strips, lead tape, lead wire and boxes of favoured hooks
currently being used (Gamakatsu stingers B10S for my bass flies
and Tiemco 811s for saltwater applications).
I don't use a whip finish tool, I though have got one and know
how to use it. To me the amount of time I have a fly on the leader
and in use doesn't equal all the hassle of a whip finish tool
so is not worth it. I crack the whip too much on the backcast
when in a hurry. I must take the time to fix that poor casting
problem, but maybe later. Another reason for losing flies, as
one of my tying students can attest, is my flies have an affinity
with timber snags which I don't spend a lot time trying to retrieve.
Instead I normally only apply a couple of half hitches to finish
off a fly and tie off the thread (easily done with the flick
of your fingers, even my young son(5) can do it) and as I epoxy
a lot of my fly heads which won't let the thread unravel anyway.
The others get a drop of super glue or head cement which will
hold it together long enough to catch at least one fish. Any
fly has earnt its value of tying time, effort and materials with
at least one fish caught before it falls apart, is fine with
me as I can tie some more. I retire most individual flies that
have caught me a fish, if I still have them at the end of the
day that is. These are retired to an old wide brim felt hat,
that itself has been retired and sits quietly in my tying room.
Then tie some more before the next outing, it may not kept the
wife happy, but the fly shop owners don't seem to mind all the
materials I keep ordering.
So what materials do I have on
hand for my fly tying. Lets go through each part of my tying
cabinet
The left door of my cabinet has all my chenilles - micro, medium,
large, crystal, cactus and variegated. Plus spare spools of thread
and budgie feathers. I once breed show budgerigars and their
feathers have a lot of applications in saltwater and freshwater
flies. The breast feather can be used in fly styles like a Craig's
night-time or a Mrs Simpson. They have flight and tail feather
that make good baitfish profiles too. There is also a container
with a few red lorikeet (road kill) feathers, which are great
for representation of baitfish gills. All of these materials
are in see through 35mm film containers. The Fuji ones are the
clear ones, you could use Kodak ones but they are black - which
I can still use for thinning out my silicone for brushing over
my 3D wool flies - next time you get some photos developed, go
to the Fuji store and ask for any clear containers they might
have. For the chenilles, cut a small hole in the lid and put
the end of the chenille through it. They will work like a thread
bobbin for you.
The right door of the cabinet holds all my tools - scissors,
spare bobbins, tweezers, bobbin threaders, hair stackers, the
never used whip finish tool, rulers, craft knives, files, hook
sharpeners. There is also some space to stick Post-it paper onto
that I doodle new fly designs on and keep tying lists for outings
and swaps.
I also have two small wooden boxes that slide under the drawers.
In these boxes I keep tube fly making equipment, model paints,
rarely used nail polishes. False finger nails for spoon style
flies, plus a plethora of other bits and pieces collected over
the years. In the space beside these I also keep spare swap fly
boxes, spools of mono I might need for weed guards, feelers,
antennae and eyes. Some sealable (clip-lock) bags for any materials
I might collect and my stamps for swap packages to be sent out.
My battery driven epoxy drying wheel also resides in this space
when not in use.
Now to the drawers.
Drawer one holds my good quality capes. As most of the tying
I do is saltwater, any good trout fly tier 
would not give these capes a second glance. As not
too many cock hackles suitable for size 14 or smaller dry flies,
only long wide hackles. I have a mate who only ties trout flies,
we have a good arrangement, as I don't use many of the dry fly
cock hackles on a quality Metz cape. So I swap him one of my
used capes which would only have dry fly hackles left on it for
several of his. Those few dry quality cock hackles are what the
main value on any Metz or Hoffman capes, so it takes a few of
his used capes to equal the value of one of mine. Mine have no
feathers on the end of the cape, his have none of the start of
the cape. Though now my daughter and I am doing more trout flies,
he will be missing out more often.
I have wide normal grizzle hackle capes and genetic long and
thin hackle capes in natural and various dyed colours. The wider
ones for pink thinks and deceivers, the narrower hackles for
palmering long shank prawn flies amongst other uses but those
are the prime ones.
Drawer two holds my natural feathers,
dyed and natural partridge, guinea fowl, turkey feather and other
such feathers for nymph wingcases and prawn carapaces. Mallard
flank feathers for prawn feelers and the flanks of streamer patterns.
Also some Ostrich, emu and peacock herl - some dyed and some
natural.
Drawer three is my plastics drawer,
spinner bait skirts for bass bugs, prawns, 'Beck's Sili-Legs'
flies and crab leg material, heat shrink tubing (for something?),
various coloured and styled straws for carapaces. A broken up
childs foam bath puzzle which I cut up for gurgler and popper
patterns. A few sizes and colours of lumo tubing and beads which
when tied in under a standard pattern and when flashed with a
cheap camera flash, glow in the dark for a few casts at night
around bridge pylons for a bit of fun with school mulloway and
other species.
Drawer Four has my marabou collection.
A great material for adding movement to a stationary fly. One
of the must have materials in a saltwater pattern, if possible
and suitable. Not to bad on a damsel or other nymph patterns
either. The other image above shows the difference between a
fly shop (left) bought marabou and a craft store (right) marabou.
The craft store one is long with a thick feather shaft, which
is not great for forming collars but is 25% cheaper. Remembering
you can split the thick feather shaft and use half of the longer
feather at time. I do have both types as each has it use in different
types of flies but you could get by with just the craft marabou.
I also have a few balls of craft, rug or tapestry wool and yarn
which can make quick bodies when chenille or dubbing materials
are not suitable or available. The colour range available at
craft stores is incredible. As is the range of wool/yarn types
and textures.
Drawer Five has all my synthetic hair type materials. Including
Fishhair which is very thin (can be substituted by any dolls
hair found in your sisters or daughters rooms - if they don't
mind bald barbie dolls). There is Ultrahair and Kinky fibre -
each a little bit thicker than fishhair but with crinkles down
its length which flash light off at angles as it moves in the
water. Also in the drawer are various flash materials of which
there are many these days - tinsel, Flashabou, polar flash and
Krystalflash. These types of flash materials are best use sparingly.
One or two hanks should last you several years unless you are
into ultra light tippets and bream in oyster racks.
Drawer Six has crazy Charlie body materials, prism paper and
stick on prism eyes. The Charlie fly body material is a coloured
plastic tubing with a nylon cord inside. You can use it with
or without the nylon cord, each making great size 10 - 6 crazy
Charlie fly bodies. I sometimes strip the white nylon cord out
and the using my bobbin threader insert Krystalflash in the middle
of the plastic tubing, you can do the same with Larva Lace, has
a great effect on fly bodies. Of the prism stick on eyes I mostly
use black on silver eyes but black on yellow and black on red
have their place too. So to larger prism eyes for squid patterns.
I also have some black on glow in the dark paint which work very
well for eyes on night time bream flies. The prism paper can
be used to make one off eyes and minnow bodies, cheek or eye
patches. Though clear plastic sheeting is best for the eye patches
- try the plastic packets your Mustad hooks come in, they are
great for this use. Just glue or paint your eyes on teardrop
shaped plastic patches. Tying in the point of the teardrop shaped
patch to add eyes to your larger patterns .
Drawer Seven has more body materials
including Larva Lace, Swannundaze, and Rainy's float foam. The
Swannundaze is a hard to get material at times but if you can
get it, it makes fantastic translucent ribbed bodies for both
salt and fresh water. Plus some Krystalflash tied in under the
Swannundaze onto the hook shank really turns the bream on. The
larva lace has more reference in freshwater flies, but I use
red larva lace in a small bloodworm pattern for whiting - size
10 long shank hook, a red marabou tail (hook shank length), the
red larva lace is wrapped onto hook shank forming a segmented
body, then a few wraps of ostrich, emu or peacock herl to form
a small dark head near the hook eye. A very effect pattern for
whiting who are not taking your larger flies (a slow steady retrieve
works well). 
Drawer Eight has Mylar tubing and raffia. Mylar has so many applications
in fly tying, bodies of minnows being the main one, over the
top of popper bodies another use. The scale effect of reflected
light on the Mylar is not often duplicable in other materials.
Pity there isn't a cheaper substitute material to match it. There
are a few cords at craft stores of which you can remove the center
but not nearly as good. The Mylar is expensive stuff but well
worth having in several colours. The raffia makes good wing cases
for bass nymphs and carapaces of crustaceans in various colours.
Drawer Nine has my craft glitter in a few various colours which
I sometimes add to epoxy or silicone to help create translucent
but colour tinged bodies. A spool or two of rod binding thread
for quickly building large heads for baitfish flies. This drawer
would usually contain white, blue and black velcro tabs for crab
patterns, but my daughter likes making up crabs patterns, so
all have been used at the moment. Will chat to her about that
this evening and who is going to replace them. One of the problems
in getting your kids involved in fly tying is they pinch all
your materials or use your very best, hard to get materials for
bream flies, which you were saving for flies for that next trip
to the Cape.
Drawer Ten has all my assorted
coloured threads I don't use much. Also some metallic threads,
spools of gold, silver and copper wire. I also have a tinsel/wire
dispenser I picked up in a very small tackle store in Victoria,
very handy for small saltwater patterns and bass flies.
Drawer Eleven has my cheap indian and dyed capes, and some schlappen
saddle hackles I haven't got space for in drawer thirteen. The
indian and dyed capes are good for times when you can't find
the right strung saddle hackle for the job. It is easy to find
hackles on a cape which are matched for splayed seducer type
and 'concave in' deceiver type flies then in strung saddle hackle
which can be in the cheaper bags all from one side of the chicken.
Usually all curving the one way in the strung saddle hackles
and if used on opposite sides of a pattern will cause it to spin.
The poor quality neck capes also in this drawer make good claws
for crab patterns with the bottom barbels of the hackle stripped
and the tip cut out. Plus a few other uses every now and then.
Drawer Twelve contains dubbing
materials - sparkle, natural, antron, possum and others. Also
HiVis which I mainly use for spinning 3D flies, wool or fleece
for the same purpose, craft fur patches for wings of Gotcha and
other crazy Charlie patterns. Not forgetting zonker and crosscut
rabbit fur. The crosscuts are used for collars like on a pink
thing and for bodies like the chupa chup stick flies. The zonker
strips are used on streamer patterns and as tails on popper and
sliders. I am currently tying long flies (4 - 6+ inches utilising
these zonker strips for bass, based on those plastic slug/worm
type lures they use in the US for largemouth bass - lots of action
and motion. Mustad Stinger hooks (for their wide gape and longer
shank than the Gamakatsu stinger hooks), a spun wool or HiVis
slider type head, medium dumbbell eyes and long zonker strips
out the back. Get back to you how they go next time chasing the
impoundment bass of Glenbawn Dam.
Drawer Thirteen is full of saddle hackles, wide, short, long,
narrow, fluoro, schlappen and hen saddle hackles. All with a
particular purpose and use. When I first started tying I only
used several dye coloured feathered feather dusters for my tying,
they made some really good baitfish profiles and where very cheap
as compared to a quality saddle hackle cape.
Another tip, I suggest hanging on to all those webby butts of
your saddle hackles, they are a great source of Chickabou, which
you can use in place of marabou on your smaller patterns. Saves
wasting long marabou fibres which need to be cut short to match
the proportions of a smaller fly hooks.
Drawer Fourteen has my deer hair
flank patches used for bass bugs, sliders and the like. It also
has a home tanned fox pelt, of which the guard hairs make good
antennae, feelers and legs. Elk and moose hairs, goat hair and
pig whiskers which all have their uses in saltwater and freshwater
flies.
Drawer Fifteen has some of my larger pelts and pieces of deer
flank fur for spinning sliders, dalbergs and other deer hair
flies. Dyed and natural squirrel and calf tails for smaller clousers
and Charlie type patterns. A few hare's masks for dubbing large
bass nymphs. Also my various coloured bucktail for wings of streamer,
clouser and baitfish files. Bucktail was one of the prime materials
for early saltwater fly fishers. The 'Bullet Head Streamer' was
one of those early flies and still is a useful saltwater pattern.
For those who don't know the fly, you take a bunch of bucktail
and tie the hair butts in at the hook eye with the tips pointing
away from the hook point. You then fold the hairs back over their
tie in point, binding in at a point ¼ to 1/3 of the hook
shank from the hook eye forming a bullet head type shape. Careful
not the splay the bucktail ends, it you do a few looser wraps
towards the tail will fix that, then tie off. The bullet head
(only) is then heavily coated with epoxy, they use to use spar
varnish and the like. Gives a very attractive wounded baitfish
action on the retrieve. Painted or prism eyes optional, as is
a bit of flash in the tail and a darker back (by use of markers
or materials) or red gills by marker, red feather or other materials.
But just a plain, one colour bullet head bucktail flies will
work quite well.
On the other side of the room
from the tying station is my collection of fly fishing magazines.
I have a computer database of the magazine articles and the details
in those articles categorised by topic, subject, article name
and author. Pretty handy when investigating a new location to
go fly casting, or a new species to target with the fly or a
new prey source to tie a fly to represent. I have over seven
thousand entries in the database, of which sixteen hundred are
fly patterns (further categorised by fly type and the prey it
represents).
Also in this book case are all
my fly fishing and fly tying books. Plus fishing, location and
topographical maps. Above it I have a large sheet of polystyrene
foam which I use as a sorting board for the many fly swaps I
may be currently participating in or swapmastering. Also until
I make up some more framed shadow boxes, my swaps flies from
previous swaps reside here too. Close at hand if I am tying some
copies for later use.
My kids do a bit of tying as well, each has their own vice and
set of tools. The creations they come up with from the waste
materials in the bin (and good stuff in the drawers when I am
not around) are quite interesting, some of which I have even
taken on board. Any time, any where they are, they are always
looking out for potential fly materials. Any dead bird or rodent
on the side of the road is a potential source to them, which
they will all tell me about on arriving home from work. Fully
expecting me to go straight out and retrieve the poor dead thing
for use on my flies.
On returning from any school
trip or outing with friends, all sorts of items are handed over
to me as if they were the most treasured jewels. My youngest
child, Brad (5 years) come up with a good pattern using two sparrow
wing feathers he recovered from a feral cat kill and a few other
bits off my tying desk - gold beadchain, a yellow saddle hackle
and hot pink thread. Top pattern for trevally and other tropical
species like threadfin salmon and golden snapper. By the looks
of it, it has US Tarpon fly origins, looks like he has been flicking
through my US fly magazines again.
Another example of my kids finding materials for me happened
a few weeks after seeing the article about using chupa chup sticks
for flies, I was constantly handed over sticky bundles of these
white plastic tubes. I must admit to using them for tube flies
and the Chupa Fly (Freshwater Fishing, Issue 47, p158, by Adam
Royter). There must not be one chupa chup stick any where in
the area around home, at school, and down the road at the local
shopping center, they collected so many for me.
I used to hate going to animal
parks with the kids, far better to use the time fly fishing.
Then while in SA for a computer contract, the family went to
an animal park in Port Lincoln and dragged me along. They had
a few birds in assorted aviaries. While the kids were feeding
them, I was quietly nodding off on a bench but then noticed a
soft fluffy feather beside the bench. This sparked me up a little.
Which bird had it come from? For the rest of the day I was quite
enthused going from pen to pen and cage to cage. Not for the
animals and birds contained within but to see if any of their
fur, hairs or feathers could be of use to me. Peacocks, guinea
fowl, peking Ducks. But the find of the day were the emus. They
have this fluffy under feather, the tips of which are quite coarse
with a few uses but the lower part has all sorts of uses. You
can see one of the uses I found for them in the last inshore
swap - the Emu Squid. A picture of a large flathead caught on
one is in the photo gallery too. Recipe, image and tying instructions
should be in the fly box.
Other visitors to the animal
park must of wondered what I was up to always bending over and
picking up feathers and fur. The few alpacas at the park also
enjoyed a brush down with a stiff grooming brush. All the fur
brushed off ended up in the bag the bird food came in (the scissors
on my pocket knife help too!). It has since proved great for
dubbing prawn-shrimp bodies as it has a subtle translucent quality.
I also had pocket fulls of emu feathers and albino peacock herl
(spent quite a while chasing that stupid albino peacock around
till I plucked a couple of tail feathers I was after) plus many
other feathers of all shapes, sizes and textures. I certainly
got my park entry fee's value many times over.
So you can see, that new tying
desk I haven't yet made will be full in no time. More extensions
will be needed. Hope you can see why I like fly tying, always
something to do. More patterns to tie, more materials to find
uses for. More extensions to the tying cabinet and the tying
station.
Now a few tips in getting started
in Saltwater fly tying.
You do not have to have a lot tying materials to get started.
Concentrate on one type of fly for a local species and have just
the materials to a few versions of that style of fly. Then step
up to the next pattern, gathering materials as your fly fishing
passion grows and bank balance allows. Crazy Charlies and Clousers
are good all round easy to tie patterns to start of you tying
career with. Both are good, constant fish takers across many
species of fish.
You don't have to have everything
you'll ever need to start tying saltwater flies. Even just a
$2 multi coloured synthetic feather duster from the reject shop,
a metre of beadchain from the hardware store for $4, some rod
binding thread or 2 kilo fishing line to use as thread for another
few dollars. Then a few straight hooks (stainless Mustad 34007's
a good hook to start with) can get you started tying and catching
fish on your own flies. That's for your clousers.
For your Crazy Charlies you will
need beadchain, 1" craft fur from an old teddy bear or a
craft store, some Xmas tinsel wrapped around the hook shank,
overlayed with some 40 -50lb mono. You can get different coloured
mono to vary your Crazy Charlie fly patterns too. With these
two patterns you will be catching fish in no time. Later you
can get some lead dumbbell eyes for deep saltwater applications.
Don't forget all black clousers are great on bass holding deep
in impoundments.
Add a pair of adjustable multi-grip
pliers welded to a metal base or a G clamp will be enough to
get a vice going. Thirty or so dollars outlay and you can be
tying your own flies for local species. Bream, whiting, flathead
and trevally will all take clousers and crazy charlies in the
appropriate sizes. A good tip in organising the materials you
do have, is to keep your bags of similar materials clipped together
with large dog clips.
In Closing....
My grandfather used to say "Using some one else's flies
is like getting some one else to father your children - it is
far more fun to do it your self". I can guarantee you, any
fish caught on a fly you have tied for a specific fish, at a
specific location, for reasons you came up with, will long be
remember past any fish caught on a store bought fly. Please feel
free to use the commercial flies if you need to, at least till
you have more materials and your tying skills develop as that
will be one less thing you have to worry about as your fly fishing
skills develop. I still buy a few commercial dry flies when heading
off on a trout trip or will until my daughter gets better at
the dries. Then I can pinch her dry flies as she now does with
all my saltwater ones.
Any lessons by professional tiers
on fly tying are well worth the money. Join some swaps, join
a tying group anything to make you practice and/or tie more flies.
All have something to offer, maybe each can offer a little to
improve your tying. Best of all never be to proud to ask and
never be too elitist to share with others. Everyone has to start
at the bottom and everyone regardless of their skill level has
something to offer.
Just remember the main things
to have right in a saltwater fly are size, profile, contrast
and sink rate - get them right and you will catch fish. Also
if you can add eyes or marabou to your pattern do so, they are
always good components to have on any saltwater fly.
I hope you have enjoyed looking
over my shoulder at my fly tying cabinet and it's contents. Maybe
you can send in a photo of your tying desk for the photo gallery.
Enjoy your tying
LIPS
PS
Any pattern, fly type or materials mentioned above that you need
or would like more info on - place an item on the chat page or
email me direct. My email details are on any item of mine in
the fly tying chat page if you need them.
Richard Carter
