The Hare's Ear or Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear is a traditional artificial fly imitating an aquatic insect larva (nymph) used in fly fishing.
Fly tying is the process of producing an artificial fly used by fly fishing anglers to catch fish. Historically in England, fly tying has also been termed dressing flies. People who tie flies are called fly tyers. Fly tying is a manual process done by a single individual using hand tools and a variety of natural and manmade materials that are attached to a hook. Although the recent history of fly tying dates from the middle 1800s, fly tyers were engaged in tying flys since at least 200 AD.
The Woolly Bugger is an artificial fly commonly categorized as a wet fly or streamer and is fished under the water surface. It is a popular and widely used pattern for both freshwater and saltwater game fish and is generally listed as one of the top patterns to have in any fly box. John Gierach, a noted fly fishing writer discussed the Woolly Bugger first in his chapter on streamers in Good Flies. Woolly Buggers are typically fished in streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and tidal flats. Today, Woolly Buggers are tied in a wide variety of styles and colors to imitate a wide range of game fish prey.
The Woolly Bugger is so effective, it should be banned from some watersheds. I suspect its effectiveness is due to its resemblance to so many edible creatures in the water—nymphs, leeches, salamanders, or even small sculpins. Its tail undulating behind a fiber, bubble-filled body is just too much for most fish to resist. It just looks like a meal!
Fishing tackle is the equipment used by anglers when fishing. Almost any equipment or gear used for fishing can be called fishing tackle. Some examples are hooks, lines, sinkers, floats, rods, reels, baits, lures, spears, nets, gaffs, traps, waders and tackle boxes.
The Pheasant Tail is a popular nymph imitation used when fly fishing. It is used to mimic a large variety of aquatic insect larvae that many fish including trout feed upon. It is also widely referred to as the Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail, in relation to the original creator of this fly.
An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing. In general, artificial flies are an imitation of natural food sources that fly fishers present to their target species of fish while fly fishing. Artificial flies are constructed by fly tying, in which furs, feathers, thread or any of very many other materials are tied onto a fish hook. Artificial flies may be constructed to represent all manner of potential freshwater and saltwater fish prey to include aquatic and terrestrial insects, crustaceans, worms, baitfish, vegetation, flesh, spawn, small reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds, etc. Effective artificial fly patterns are said to be killing flies because of their ability to put fish in the creel for the fly fisher. There are thousands of artificial fly patterns, many of them with descriptive and often idiosyncratic names.
Meaning "little devil", the diawl bach is a popular Welsh fly pattern used in British still waters, and an appropriate lure to use when the fish are feeding on midge pupae. The dressing is simple: size 8 to 14 hook, brown thread, a few barbs of brown hackle for the tail, copper wire, a few barbs of peacock herl for the body, and tying thread for the head.
The Woolly Worm is an artificial fly commonly categorized as a wet fly or nymph and is fished under the water surface. It is a popular pattern for freshwater game fish and was a very popular fly in the 1950s–1970s in the west. Charles Brooks in Nymph Fishing for Larger Trout recommends the Woolly Worm as a general purpose nymph pattern in most western trout waters in any fly box. Woolly Worms are typically fished in streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes for trout, bass, and panfish. Today, Woolly Worms are tied in a variety of styles and colors to imitate a large aquatic nymphs such as stoneflies, dragonflies, damselflies or hellgrammites.
Frank Sawyer MBE (1906–1980) was an English riverkeeper, writer, and inventor of such flies as the Pheasant Tail Nymph. Sawyer also invented a number of animal traps, some of which bore his name; the most widely used – the Imbra – is still approved for use in the UK although no longer in production. He died in 1980 on the banks of the River Avon at Netheravon.
The Salmon Fly - How to Dress It and How to Use It is a fly fishing book written by George M. Kelson published in London in 1895 by Messers. Wyman & Sons, Limited. This Victorian guide to fly fish tying built up the illusion that angling for salmon required feathers of exotic bird species.
The Partridge and Orange is an artificial fly commonly categorized as a wet fly or soft hackle and is fished under the water surface. The fly is a very well known fly with its roots set firmly in English angling history. It is an impressionistic pattern fished successfully during caddis hatches and spinner falls. The Partridge and Orange is traditionally a trout and grayling pattern but may be used for other aquatic insect feeding species.
The Royal Coachman is an artificial fly that has been tied as a wet fly, dry fly and streamer pattern. Today, the Royal Coachman and its variations are tied mostly as dry flies and fished floating on the water surface. It is a popular and widely used pattern for freshwater game fish, particularly trout and grayling. Large streamer versions are also used for winter steelhead and Atlantic salmon.
Fully dressed flies are elaborate and colorful artificial flies used in fly fishing. The most famous of these are the classic salmon flies, which are exquisite patterns made from mostly rare and beautiful materials and feathers, including golden pheasants, toucans, swans, and ivory-billed woodpeckers. These flies have been popular in the United Kingdom since the 19th century. Fully dressed flies are often meant for display and are not used in actual fishing. Many patterns are expensive to tie because of the cost of rare feathers.
The Fly-Fisher's Entomology, Illustrated by Coloured Representations of the Natural and Artificial Insect and Accompanied by a Few Observations and Instructions Relative to Trout-and-Grayling Fishing, first published in 1836 by Alfred Ronalds (1802–1860), was the first comprehensive work related to the entomology associated with fly fishing. Although the work was Ronalds' only book, it was published in 11 editions between 1836 and 1913 and has been extensively reprinted in the last 100 years.
The Royal Wulff is a popular artificial fly used for dry fly fishing. It is an attractor pattern and a descendant of both the Royal Coachman fly and the Wulff style of hair wing flies named for Lee Wulff.
The Alexandra wet fly originated in Scotland in the 1860s. The artificial fly is also known as the Lady of the Lake, the fly was named by English angler Major William Greer Turle to honor Alexandra, Princess of Wales. The fly is distinguished by the heavy peacock herl wing and silver body which makes the fly resemble a small baitfish or fry. The Alexandra proved to be a very effective fly for trout in lakes and streams in England and Scotland in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many fly fishing purists derided the fly and its use was once banned on many English waters.
The Sakasa Kebari or reverse-hackle fly is an artificial fly most associated with the Japanese style of tenkara fishing but can be used in most freshwater fly fishing. The Sakasa Kebari is usually defined by firstly its reverse hackle and secondly by its simplicity as compared to western style flies. This fly was originally created to be used in the small, high gradient streams in Japan while fishing for native trout and char.
The Red Tag is an artificial fly originally designed as a dry fly for grayling and trout in the north country of England. The fly pattern, when introduced into Australia, particularly Tasmania, became extremely successful and popular for brown trout and remains today as one of the most essential flies for Australian fly anglers.
The Crazy Charlie is a bonefish fly for saltwater fly fishing developed on Andros Island in 1977 in the Bahamas by local bonefish guide Charlie Smith and popularized by San Francisco angler Bob Nauheim. They fly was developed to imitate glass minnows, a common forage for bonefish on the nearshore flats of south Florida and Caribbean islands. The Crazy Charlie has become a staple fly for bonefish and permit anglers around the globe.
Manufacturers of fly tying materials and tools produce products specifically designed for tying artificial flies used in fly fishing. For the most part, the materials and tools from manufacturers are sold to fly tyers through fly fishing retail outlets, both brick and mortar and online stores that buy in bulk from the manufacturers. The manufacturing companies are headquartered primarily in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, France, and China. The types of materials and tools that are produced include specialized fly tying hooks, metal and glass beads, feathers, thread, dubbing, tinsel, wire, chenille, fly tying vises, tools to assist in manipulating materials, and a variety of other synthetic materials used in fly tying. Processing of animal hair and fur for fly tying, as well as hand tied flies is done on a smaller scale by independent companies or professional fly tyers.
