Easy dry flys to tie

[Swandazi]

well, i started tying flys about month ago and all i can really tye is a simple nymph that uses ony red wire a bead and some tinsel... :o does any one know any good web sites that might be able to help me tye some dry flies and nymphs?

Thanks
Swandazi

Sorry about the title, i was only going to talk about easy dryflys but i changed my mind

[toddsbernina]

Elk Hair Caddis is the easiest Dry fly to tie that i know of. And it is one of my favorite patterns to fish.

Sexy loops hav some very well done step by step instructions on some good flies.

http://www.sexyloops.com/flytying/elkhaircaddis.shtml

[Zen Piscator]

The wing on an elk hair can give people troubles. I would recomend starting with something like an adams with no wings and once you have the body and hackle down fairly well, move to an elk hair. The wing on the elk hair can spin around the hook and fair too much. Remidies for this are: provide a good thread base under the wing, also when tying in the wing take one wrap of thread aroudn the wing but no the hook shank, then anchor it down. Furthermore, dont use too much tension or the wing will flair too much, enough to lock it in place. Head cement will secure it much better than thread anyways.

[halcyon]

Here is another site with some excellent tutorials.
http://www.troutflies.com/
Regards,

[toddsbernina]

There you go one uping again Zen. but yeah i remember having some problems with that starting off. At anyrate the sexy loops site has good pictures and they have a way of making the instructions funny.

[halcyon]

As Zen so correctly points out, there is a big difference between tying an EHC and tying an EHC well:thumb:

Regards,

[toddsbernina]

in my experience it doesn't have to be pretty to catch fish

[Calvin1]

I find this to be a pretty good site for tutorials on a lot of different patterns.

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/archive.html

[Ned Wright]

iagree

The Al Campbell beginners tying are a great set of articles. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/

I just started this winter and found this (and a Skip Morris book) very useful.

It could just be me, but I find hair wings (elk hair, moose mane, etc.) the easiest dry wings to tie. Wood duck and mallard primaries for wings never come off right for me.

My 2 cents,
Ned

[Philster]

One of the easiest dry flies to tie is the parachute hare's ear since you've probably already tied nymphs, and this is just a nymph with parachute hackle on top. You can use krystal flash for the post if you aren't comfortable using calf tail. super visible that way too.

[WPEB]

theflybench.com has some pics and some pretty good patterns and instructions.

good luck

[Allison]

Those crazy parachutes give me a headache right now. I tied a boatload of Hare's Mask Tinsel Something or other last night and was soo glad to not have to do this Parachute Something or Other Adams Nonsense that was hurting my head the other day. I didn't use any Hare's Mask but other stuff made sense to substitute to make a nice fly.

[Minx]

I don't know, Allison......parachutes used to scare me until I sat down and started tying them, ain't the best, but they seem to look like a parachute. I found out quickly, get the best materials sized for the hook you're tying and you'll likely surprise yourself :)

[Tony Mull]

most productive dry fly i've ever fished is also the simplest and easiest to tie. it's a caddis. tie a very generous bunch of hackle fibers about 1/2 way up the hook shank for the wings and then wind a hackle or two right in front of it. finish the head and you're done. basically its an elk hair caddis, but with hackle rather than elk hair. easier to tie but doesn't float quite as well. however it whips dry very quickly. i've caught trout on that fly in most of the united states and a couple of provinces. color to suit yourself- brown, black, grizzly, dun or whatever.

[Philster]

Those crazy parachutes give me a headache right now. I tied a boatload of Hare's Mask Tinsel Something or other last night and was soo glad to not have to do this Parachute Something or Other Adams Nonsense that was hurting my head the other day. I didn't use any Hare's Mask but other stuff made sense to substitute to make a nice fly.

Are you trying to tie off the hackle around the parachute post or at the eye of the hook? Most people I see who have trouble tie off on the post. Just wind the hackle as the last tying step, pull the tag end of the hackle to the front and tie off and whip finish like any other fly.

[Kent Lufkin]

Dry flies don't get much easier to tie or more effective in the water than Hans Weilenmann's CDC & Elk

http://www.danica.com/FLYTIER/hweilenmann/cdcelk.htm

K

[Allison]

That looks like an easy one, but what's a CDC feather???

[Michael Brady]

Butt of the Duck.

[ceviche]

The Crackleback. It's just a dubbed body, two strands of peacock herl over the back, and hackle palmered over all that. All you have to do is choose the color of the dubbing. The thing is, having a rotary vise can make all the difference in the world when it comes to palmering hackle.

Tying this fly will give you a lot of practice leading up to making an elk hair caddis.

[Minx]

"CDC feather???"......Cul de Canard

[Tony Mull]

feather of the butt. those french!

[pintsize]

Easiest Dry flies to tie have got to be either the Griffiths Gnat or Gray Ugly.

Griffiths Gnat - Peacock Herl Body and a grizzle hackle palmered
http://www.diptera.co.uk/patterns/g/griffiths_gnat.html

Gray Ugly - Peacock Herl Body and a grizzle hackle at either end.
http://www.diptera.co.uk/patterns/g/gray_ugly.html

Both are great searching flies.

I've created a step by step for the Griffith's Gnat for anyone who needs it. All photo's

Tying instructions for the Griffith's Gnat (http://www.diptera.co.uk/patterns/g/griffiths_gnat_ti.html)

Materials :-

Hook - Dry Fly
Body - Peacock Herl
Hackle - Grizzle

[Allison]

Easiest Dry flies to tie have got to be either the Griffiths Gnat or Gray Ugly.

Griffiths Gnat - Peacock Herl Body and a grizzle hackle palmered
http://www.diptera.co.uk/patterns/g/griffiths_gnat.html

Gray Ugly - Peacock Herl Body and a grizzle hackle at either end.
http://www.diptera.co.uk/patterns/g/gray_ugly.html

Both are great searching flies.

Yep, the Gnat is an easy one, it's basically a micro Wooly Worm---but it doesn't teach you how to do a lot of the hard stuff that you need to learn to tie dries, like wings and such.

[ErieSteelhead]

I find this to be a pretty good site for tutorials on a lot of different patterns.

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/archive.html

iagree 100% Great for beginners. It's important to start with the first fly in it and work your way up. Don't feel bad about having to tie any pattern on there. I have caught quite a few fish on all of them. The basic dry fly pattern is a good primer for almost all dries. I still use the (I think he called it a tiny or ez nymph) frequently. Only i switched regular phesant tail feathers for peacock wing feathers and got better results.

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/

[essobee]

Hey Swandazi, try either a size 12 or 14 Griffith's Gnat. . . . . .

[pintsize]

There are now three sites in the UK with photographic step by step fly tying tutorials of patterns we use here. You might find these interesting.

http://www.diptera.co.uk/patterns/step_by_step.html

http://www.completefisher.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=25

http://www.flyforums.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=10

ptyd