Somebody shoot me now please.

Sitting on my desk on Friday morning was a cake tin, containing a Gordon Griffiths starter kit, mostly complete, but at least ten years old, courtesy of a fellow worker who has given up fishing.

Had a little play this morning and this is the first attempt. No particular pattern, just trying a few techniques.




First dumb question is, in attempting a hackle, all the small feathers I have inherited are very fragile and fall to bits with the slightest encouragement. Have they gone past their use-by date, if so, should I just bin them?

Good first attempt Mike, seriously. It's possible the hackles have become weak over time, of course it's just as possible you may be applying too much pressure. Invest in a small packet of hackles or a cheap cape and try them, only way to find out. You're spot on your approach, don't worry too much on the pattern you're trying to achieve, just concentrate on proportions of the fly.

Many years ago my father sat me in front of a vice, showed me how to tie 2 simple patterns, a black zulu and a black and peacock spider and wouldn't let me progress until they had reached an acceptable standard (which was many many attempts later). Which made more complex patterns easier to overcome because the basics were learned. Take the thorax colour change on your fly, it adds unnecessary complexity to the pattern before the basics are mastered, which can dent confidence if the end result is not what you wanted.

Another handy tip I found useful Mike, hen hackles are (IMHO) a lot easier and 'forgiving' for a new tier, so maybe try those first.

Good job Mike.

Great start Mike - better than my first.

__________________

Help fund the WTT study of the Softmouth

Keep at it it will get better day by day

TT

Thanks Stu, Toby, TT, my first purchase might have to be desk magnifier, or some varnish, or some beta-blockers.

Attempt no.2. With a little help from Davie McPhail.



Apologies for posting in the wrong section.

Good first effort Mike. Have a look at the step-by-step section on here and check out Pheasent Tail Nymph. All you need is a Pheasent tail feather a bit of copper wire and a hook. Looking at what you have come up with above I reckon you would have no prob with a PTN. Well done Mike keep going.

Chris

Good effort Mike, but be warned it does get very addictive! When I first started tying I found the book "The beginners guide to fly tying" extremely helpfull as it guides you through most of the required techniques and also gives you 12 very detailed step by steps to follow. You can also buy a materials kit which will give you all the materials you need to tie the 12 flies in the book. keep up the good work.

Paul.

search google for learn fly tying david cammiss, open his website and watch his videos their in order of difficulty. I preferred his videos as a beginner as they aren't perfect like Davie Mcphails ones which made me go nuts trying to make my flies look perfect.

AL