Materials used by the Fly-Tier cover an extremely large field. Although
only a few simple and easily obtained items are necessary for a start,
it is interesting to know that furs, feathers and body materials come
from all parts of the world. There's the jungle cock from India whose
neck feathers are extensively used on salmon flies and a very large
percentage of all fancy flies. The golden pheasant from China, the
bustard from Africa, the Mandarin wood duck from China, the capercailzie
from Ireland, the game cocks from Spain and the Orient, the teal,
mallard, grouse, ibis, swan, turkey, and hundreds of others. The polar
bear, Impala, North and South American deer, seal, black bear, skunk,
rabbit, squirrel, are a few of the hairs that are used. The beginner
need not worry about the great variety. Some hooks, silk floss and spun
fur or wool yarn and chenille for bodies, a few sizes of tinsel for
ribbing, bucktails of three or four colors, an assortment of duck and
turkey wing quills some mallard breast, an assortment of neck and saddle
hackles, a spool of tying silk, a piece of wax, a bottle of head
lacquer, and many of the popular patterns can be made. Numerous other
items can be added from time to time, and the novice Fly-Tier will soon
find himself in possession of a collection of fuzzy furs and feathers
that will delight the heart of any professional, and from which any
conceivable lure can be made to attract the denizens of the shady pools.
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[Illustration: Page sized photograph of body materials.]
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BODY MATERIAL: Tinsel, Silk Floss, Fur, Chenille, Wool, Quill
and Cork are used for bodies. The most commonly used for Bucktail
Streamers is flat tinsel ribbed with oval tinsel or no ribbing at all.
About the easiest body to make is one of chenille ribbed with tinsel.
Silk floss is mostly used for wet and dry fly bodies. The domestic silk
floss, which is called rope, can be successfully used for the larger
flies, by untwisting and using a few of the smaller strands. An imported
floss of one single strand, with a very slight twist, is especially made
for fly-tying; this will work much better on the smaller hooks. Fur for
fur bodies, which formerly had to be plucked from the hide, dyed the
desired color, and spun on the waxed tying silk, can now be obtained in
all standard fly colors. It is called Spun Fur, and is very convenient
to use in this manner.
QUILL BODIES: Quill makes an excellent and very lifelike body,
especially on dry flies. The quill from the eyed peacock tail feather is
mostly used. That taken from the eye of the feather when stripped of its
fibers has a two tone effect, and when wound upon the hook without
overlapping makes a very lifelike and delicate appearing body.
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[Illustration: Page sized photograph of feathers.]
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HERL BODIES: Both peacock and ostrich herl is used for bodies.
These make a fuzzy body. Tie in one or two strands by the tip end and
wind on edgewise.
HACKLES: These are the most important part of the dry fly. Only those
from the neck of a mature cock are satisfactory. Hackles for the dry fly
must be stiff with very little or no web. With such hackles a dry fly
can be sparsely dressed as it should be and still maintain its natural
balance and floating qualities. On the other hand, a wet fly should
sink readily, and should be made with very soft webby hackles. These
absorb water quickly, and have better action in the water. Contrary to
the customary way to tie hackles on the wet fly, as explained in the
chapter "Wet Flies", I find it very convenient and economical to strip
the fibers from any size hackle, clip off the butt ends to the desired
length and tie them on the bottom of the hook, the same as buck tail is
tied on. As wet flies should have hackles only on the bottom or
underneath side, many hackles that are otherwise too large can be used
in this way.
TAILS: A few fibers from a golden or silver pheasant neck tippet, whisks
from a hackle feather, a strip of wing or breast feather, a few hairs,
etc., are used for tails. Many of the standard patterns are tied without
tails; however, on all of my dry flies, I tie three or four stiff fibers
or hairs. They balance the fly and help it to float much better.
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[Illustration: Page sized photograph of feathers.]
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CHEEKS OR SHOULDERS: As per Fig. 9, Diagram 1, these are used on a
great many of the fancy flies. These are straps of one or several
feathers of contrasting colors. Jungle cock feathers, golden pheasant
tippets, silver pheasant body feathers, as on the Grey Ghost streamer
fly, blue chatterer, and many other fancy feathers according to pattern
and fancy are used for this purpose. A pair of jungle cock tippets often
called eyes, added to a Bucktail Streamer will often take trout, when
the same pattern without the jungle cock will not.
RIBBING: Tinsel, Wool, Silk, Horse Hair, Quill, etc., are used for
ribbing. The tinsel from your Xmas tree will do, but it is much better
to use tinsel made for the purpose, as it will not tarnish so
quickly and is much stronger. It is advisable before using tinsel to
place a drop of good, clear head lacquer between the thumb and finger
and draw the tinsel through it. This makes it tarnish-proof, and is
particularly advisable with the oval and round tinsel that is wound
over a silk core. Besides tarnish-proofing it, it will keep the tinsel
from coming apart. Tinsel bodies should be lacquered after they are
finished.
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[Illustration: Page sized photograph of feathers.]
WINGS: Several styles of wings are used, see Diagram 2, page xi, those
on Fig. 1, and are cut from a pair of matched wing quill feathers, like
Fig. 7. Those in Fig. 2 are buzz wings taken from a pair of breast
feathers {12} (mallard, wood duck, etc.) shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 3 shows
hackle tip wings, tips of two hackle feathers, see Fig. 9. Fan wings,
Fig. 4, are a matched pair of small breast feathers, see Fig. 10 (white
duck, mallard, teal, grouse, etc.). In fact there is hardly a bird that
flies that does not supply some of its plumage to the Fly-Tier. Flies
of the order Diptera (land flies), such as the Bee, Cowdung, Blue Bottle,
etc., should be tied with flat wings as in Fig. 5. A Bi-visible is shown
in Fig. 6. This is a fly without wings, hackle tied palmer (that is hackle
wound the full length of the hook, usually tied without a body, and the
dark patterns have a turn or two of white hackle in front).
All of the flies on Diagram 2 are shown as dry flies; however, the same
feathers are used for wet flies, streamers, etc., the difference being
the style in which they are tied, which is explained elsewhere.
WAX: Use a good grade of wax for fly-tying. The proper wax will work
much better than shoemaker's wax or beeswax. Wax for fly-tying should be
quite sticky so that when the waxed tying silk is let go of, it will not
unwind while tying the fly.
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[Illustration: Page sized photograph of feathers.]
TYING SILK: Ordinary sewing silk is too coarse for ordinary fly-tying
and it doesn't seem to have the strength. Size 00 is a good size for all
flies including bucktails and streamers. For dry flies and small wet
flies a gossamer silk size 000 and 0000 is the best to {14} use.
Although the strength of this fine silk is much less than the size 00,
it has the advantage that more turns can be used, and the heads can be
made much smaller.
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