The Best of my first 12 flies

[fishyjames]

As said in the title I have tied 12 flies so far since Monday, and I have been given a few basic materials and tools by the kind people from the Fly Dressing Guild where I had my first lesson (obviously I will give the tools and vice back)

The materials I have are 1 Pheasant tail, a couple feet of fine gold wire, Uni 6/0 light cahill, Uni 6/0 Tan, some grey hen hackles, 1 brown badger cock hackle, one white badger cock hackle (I think they are badger and they are very long) Peacock herl, Buzzer and wet fly hooks (can use to tie dry flies for the moment) and spool of some black thread, and couple inches of, I think, Uni mylar pearl or similar. The reason I am telling you this is because I am wondering if there are any other flies I could try and tie with these materials.

Now to the photos
I think that this white dry fly (not sure of real name) is my best so far (sorry about the small size, that is the only size where the pictures where not blurred)

I do know that on the brown dry fly I chopped off some of the hackle at the bottom, did this while cutting off the thread, will try one of those again soon.

All comments welcome, especially the ones where you tell me how to improve

Thanks, James

[salmoman]

That lot are excellent.
The one you accidentally chopped the hackle on can be made good by chopping the rest of the hackle underneath to square it off. This will make the fly sit lower in the water.

[black knight]

A good start Fishyjames. Keep at it. Don't worry too much about perfection the fish don't know the difference between very good and excelent.

BK

[salmoman]

Originally Posted by black knight

Don't worry too much about perfection the fish don't know the difference between very good and excelent.

BK

And BKs tying is the living proof

[fishyjames]

Thanks for the replies, I was taught these by Chris Reeves who is great at explaining things to someone new like me, also, does it matter too much about varnsih at this stage, because looking at pictures of other flies on here the head is always smooth, and all buzzers are smooth down the whole body, at the moment I am using my mum's clear nail varnish.

Thanks and All the Best, James

[flytyingguy]

These are crackers, i presume you are quite young if you are borrowing your mums nail varnish which is a good thing, start off young and yu can iron out any glitches and you will have a head start, the buzzer is crackcing, but if you have any fl orangeyellow/red wool or floss then you could make them cheeks on the thorax

[fishyjames]

Originally Posted by flytyingguy

These are crackers, i presume you are quite young if you are borrowing your mums nail varnish which is a good thing, start off young and yu can iron out any glitches and you will have a head start, the buzzer is crackcing, but if you have any fl orangeyellow/red wool or floss then you could make them cheeks on the thorax

Thanks flytyinguy, I am 14 and I am going to try and persuade my Dad to take me to Albury Game Fishing to have a look at some tools and materials that I could buy to open up a few more fly possibilities

Thanks for the tip with the buzzer, I will look for some floss or something to give it cheeks

All the Best, James

[Chris Reeves]

James, Very nice, I'm glad you are practicing at home!

As for varnishing stuff, If you get a good whip finish on the head then the varnish is only a second level of protection to stop the trouts teeth pulling the thread off, The shiny heads you see in magazines are given extra coats of varnish to make them look pretty, it is not necessary on fishing flies. A single blob will do the job just as well

With the buzzers try giving them three of four thin coats of varnish over a couple of days to get a glass like finish, Someone told me it needs at least 6 hours between coats to dry fully, It improves them no end visually although of course you have to get somewhere to stand them while they are drying and free up the vice for the next fly. Remind me before the next session and I'll dig out a fly stand for you.

Don't forget to open the scissors and "push cut" the thread rather than snip it off, this will ensure your don't chop hackle by mistake

Keep at it, I'll find you a load more materials for the next session too.

Cheers

[weight_forward]

Originally Posted by fishyjames

Thanks for the tip with the buzzer, I will look for some floss or something to give it cheeks

Doritos or McCoys crisp packets are perfect for buzzer cheeks, get some of the red or orange ones. Cut the packets into 1 to 2mm strips. Tye a strip in either side with the coloured side facing the hook, build up the thorax with thread, fold the strips forward and bingo.

[Chris Reeves]

Gents , remember James has had One lesson so far, don't over complicate things too much for him

cheers