2023 Fly Tying Catalog - The Fly Shop

FlyTying

Everything you will need to tie the classic Adams or . . . the next great “go-to” fly pattern that will find a place in every angler’s fly box.

2023 Fly Tying Catalog

Fly Tying tools & materials

Why we tie

I ’ VEHEARDPEOPLEASK , “With so many amazing patterns available to purchase in fly shops these days, why would I want to invest the time in learning how to tie flies?” It’s a great question, and as someone who works in a fly shop, I will never discourage this line of reasoning! Personally, though, at some level I still believe there is the perfect fly out there, just waiting to be designed, if only one will spend enough time on the water observing fish and the critters they choose to eat.

I remember a day on a local river, decades ago, watching big rainbows as they nymphed aggressively in turbulent pocket water mere feet off my rod tip. Yet the most popular nymphs available were fooling only a few of the trout I could see. Noticing the first little PMD sailboats lifting off the water around me, there was no secret what mayfly nymphs the fish were eating… why weren’t my flies doing better? Capturing a few of the underwater insects, I noted my patterns were the perfect length and color match for the naturals…yet as I watched them hover in the pool of water trapped in my palm, I also noticed something else. First, they were easily 50% thinner than the flies I was using, their abdomens barely larger in diameter than the wire shanks of the hooks I was using. Second, suspended in the water, their gills were actively quivering, a significant movement I could see with my naked eyes. Finally, most of them had distended wing cases bulging with trapped gasses and nearly black in coloration.

Captivated by these fresh observations, I went home, designed these features into a new pattern, and the Poxyback PMD Nymph was born. It was immediately and sometimes ridiculously effective on trout streams everywhere, and the #18, with or without a gold bead remains a favorite to this day. A glimpse into the trout’s world, a stab at mimicking what I see, and on occasion, success.

That is what I love about tying flies. No matter how many patterns are currently available, there is always some new combination of components waiting to be tried, some new successes to be discovered. Few of us will pioneer the next gold bead, chemically sharpened hook, or other groundbreaking new material, but there are plenty of new and effective flies waiting to be conceived and designed using existing materials and tying techniques.

Brian O’Keefe photo

For many, the simple act of tying flies, any flies, is the magic. Sitting down to their vise and twisting up a dozen of their favorite bugs is therapeutic, and ushers them into a different world. They imagine where they’ll be when they tie on one of their creations – what the country and rivers will look like, how big the fish will be, and how mind-blowing the rise forms. And while fishing their handiwork is sort of the point, some of these guys would tie even if they could never fish again. A great friend, Jim, is a serious angler, yet readily admits he will not live long enough to fish all of the flies he’s tied. And he just keeps cranking them out, fishing some, donating others to people he meets on the water or to lucky friends who love to fish, but don’t tie. He can’t imagine not tying.

There are other reasons. Some anglers go through a lot of sinking flies every time on the water, snagging them on rocky bottoms, and with the relatively inexpensive materials involved with tying basic nymphs they can actually save themselves some money by tying their own. Or, for guys like me with very little conventional artistic ability, there is a certain visceral satisfaction in being able to create something of beauty (if only to a trout).

Whatever your incentive, fly tying can be a wonderful facet of this beautiful sport of fly fishing. If you’ve never done it, or even if you already tie but have lots of questions, give us a call. The guys here at The Fly Shop® are superb and dedicated tiers, and have the answers you need, whether your quarry swims in rivers, lakes, or oceans. We have the knowledge, the tools and materials, and the desire to help you on your tying journey.

What’s for 2023

THISYEARWE ’ VEADDED some great new tools, and materials to what we already offer. Our tube fly selection is completely revamped and there are some great new products! Some we haven’t been able to get until recently.

Look for this symbol throughout our catalog to direct your attention to what’s new.

The Fly Shop’s staff of expert fly tyers is the answer to your fly tying questions.

THIS IS OUR 8 TH CATALOG dedicated exclusively to fly tying tools, materials, and techniques.

We’ve solicited articles from our talented staff and friends in the world of fly tying that we hope will make our “magalog” entertaining, informative, and demonstrate that The Fly Shop ® is more than just a source of materials.

In an era when many fly fishing shops are closing their doors and being replaced by online-only companies and orders are being fulfilled by folks that don’t know what they’re talking about,The Fly Shop® is doubling down on our 45 years of commitment to personalized service.

We’re continuing to do everything we can to prove that we deserve your business.

WE ’ VE GOT A TEAM of experts here familiar with every facet of fly tying. It’s an area where our entire staff shines and we know what we’re talking about.

We’re committed to helping anyone that’s getting started, or a fellow tying expert with a question. Need some assistance selecting just the right cape? Want to make sure the feathers or hooks you’re getting are just what you need? Just ask.

Mike Mercer - began tying in 1972, since the age of 12 – 52 years

Zack Thurman - began tying in 1996, since the age of 11 – 28 years

Eric Fields - began tying in 1996, since the age of 20 – 28 years

Mike Michalak - began tying in 1971, since the age of 22 – 53 years

John Dietz - began tying in 1978, since the age of 14 – 46 years

Cody Hunt - began tying in 2010, since the age of 12 – 12 years

Justin Miller - began tying in 2001, since the age of 21 – 23 years

Eric Ersch - began tying in 1972, since the age of 14 – 52 years

Sandy Watts - began tying in 1975, since the age of 33 – 49 years

Erik Argotti - began tying in 1995, since the age of 19 – 29 years

Jordon Taylor - began tying in 2007, since the age of 10 – 17 years

Michael Kaplan - began tying in 2012, since the age of 18 – 12 years

Shannon Engh - began tying in 1984, since the age of 14 – 40 years

Chris King - began tying in 1996, since the age of 25 – 28 years

Bryan Quick - began tying in 1973, since the age of 10 – 51 years

Andrew Laraway - began tying in 2020, since the age of 20 – 4 years

Sam MacDonell - began tying in 2010, since the age of 8 – 13 years

on all orders over $100

Any order over $500 ships UPS 2nd Day Air

Cover: Fall River Callibaetis, Bryan Quick photo

– Mike Mercer

The Fly Shop has over five centuries of fly tying experience here to help you!

Bryan Quick photo

s Compare quality

The Fly Shop® hooks are brought to you by professionals who recognize quality. These are the best hooks for the money in the fly fishing world!

s Compare price

These hooks are a fraction of the price of comparable quality hooks.

s Not just another hook!

Our hooks are manufactured just for The Fly Shop® and not currently available in other retail locations. Some of our models can’t be found anywhere else at any price.

s Save by buying in bulk!

Our hundred-pack price represents a huge discount above an already great price.

s Save on shipping!

Purchase $100 or more, and receive free shipping.

Our Guarantee...

You don’t like our hooks send back what isn’t used within 30 days of purchase for a full credit.

The FlyShop’sFlyTying Hooks

“It’s no secret that The Fly Shop® hooks are the best budget-priced hooks in the sport. You can’t find a hook of the same quality at a lower price. The Fly Shop® hooks are very strong, super sharp, and are available in all the favorite models and sizes.”

They’re the same hooks used by several famous fly tying companies for their top-of-the line flies.

All models below excluding our unique, “specialty hooks” cost just $3.00 per 25 pack or $11.00 per 100 pack

TFS 100 Sizes 10-18 1x fine, down eye, bronze, forged, 1x wide gape The standard dry fly hook.

TFS 921 Sizes 12-18 1x fine, 2x short, down eye, forged, bronze, wide gape, short shank dry fly hook.

TFS 5212 Sizes 6-14 2x long, 1x fine. A perfect hook for terrestrials and long shanked dry flies.

TFS 2312 Sizes 6-18 1x fine, 2x long, straight eye, slight bend, bronze, forged. Excellent Stimulator and long shank dry hook.

TFS 3769 Sizes 6-18 2x heavy, down eye, sproat bend, that is very good for nymphs.

TFS 3761 Sizes 6-20 1x long, 2x heavy, sproat bend, down eye.

TFS 5262 Sizes 4-16 2x heavy, 2x long,down eye The standard nymph hook.

Great hooks at a great price...

TFS 5263 Sizes 2-14 2x heavy, 3x long, down eye, fine hook for stonefly nymphs and Chernobyls.

TFS 200R Sizes 4-18 3x long, 1x heavy, curved, ring eye. Ideal for nymphs, leeches, hex, wooly buggers.

TFS 2302 Sizes 6-18 2x long, slight hump shank, down eye. Perfect for many caddis and terrestrials.

TFS 2305 Sizes, 2/0, 2-18 2x heavy, 1x long, curved shank, super versatile from midges to steelhead flies.

TFS 9395 Sizes 2-10 4x long, 3x heavy, ring eye, extra long streamer and stonefly hook.

TFS 300 Sizes 2-8 4x long, 2x heavy, down turned eye for large, long stoneflies and streamers.

TFS 2457 Sizes 6-18 2x wide, 2x short, 2x heavy caddis pupa, scud, shrimp.

Spot-On Baitfish

#383F

Tied on TFS 5444

TFS 2500 Sizes 6-18 2x wide, 2x short, 2x heavy straight eye. Eggs, scuds, shrimp, mayflies, caddis.

TFS 105 Sizes 4-10 5x short, 2x strong, forged, ring eye. Ideal for Glo Bugs and egg patterns.

TFS 7423 Sizes 2-8 3x strong, tin, down-turned eye, steelhead, salmon, The #1 shad hook!

These three specialty hooks below are $3.50 per 25 pack or $12.00 per 100

TFS 7258

Sizes 3/0, 2/0, 1/0, 2, 4, 6 Xtra strong, stainless, ring eye, bonefish and tarpon.

TFS 5444 Sizes 3/0, 2/0, 1/0, 1, 2, 4, 6 A top quality jig hook at a super reasonable price.

TFS 8774 Sizes 2/0-10 3x heavy, up eye, limerick bend, traditional black finished Atlantic salmon and steelhead hook.

In an effort to familiarize American fly tiers with The Fly Shop’s fly tying hooks we are keeping our reduced prices for 2023.

s These are super-strong, super-sharp, chemically sharpened, super-durable hooks, and now they’re available at a super price. What was already a great hook at a great price is now even easier on the fly tier’s wallet.

s Today’s tiers are no longer satisfied with the mass produced, machine-sharpened hooks that were often inconsistent in tensile strength and durability. Modern hooks tie better flies, and serious fly tiers now won’t accept anything less than top quality, chemically-sharpened hooks, even though they cost more. The Fly Shop’s move to a more modestly priced, quality tying hook is a welcome reversal for most tiers.

s Many years ago, some of the most popular fly tying hooks on the market were hard to find, and increasingly expensive, forcing us to explore the world market for suitable alternatives. What we found is the company that makes the vast majority of the best commercial grade hooks sold in America today. That was the good news.

s The bad news – in order to get a great price we had to order millions of hooks and hundreds of thousands of each size of each model. The massive investment in inventory has translated into great savings for us and for our clients. And it’s a pretty good bet that we’ll never run out.

s Several of our specialty fly hook models are different than other models found anywhere else at any price.

s Our model 7423 replaced the discontinued Eagle Claw 1197N nickel hooks and is the best nickel-plated hook you’ll find for tying shad, steelhead and salmon flies.

s The TFS 2305 is a totally innovative, strong, uniquely curved shank hook that is ideal for creating realistic subsurface patterns.

s Our 5444 jig hook is in a class by itself.

s The heavy wired, short shank TFS 2500 is, perhaps, the most popular hook in America for scuds, shrimp, and short-shank patterns.

Umpqua Feather Merchants’ Tiemco Hooks – the standard of comparison for more than three decades

The most stringent quality control and use of the highest quality Japanese steel have firmly established Tiemco’s unparalleled reputation in the fly tying hook industry!

Tiemco Specialty Dry Fly Hooks

TMC 100 Sizes 8-26 25/$9.60

Down eye, 1x fine, Wide Gape, Forged

The most popular dry fly hook made

TMC 100BL Sizes 12-22 25/9.60

Barbless version of the TMC 100

TMC 102Y Sizes 11-19 25/10.25

1x fine, wide gape. 100/34.45 Sharp, strong, and swell for most dries

Tiemco Nymph & Heavy Dry Fly Hooks

TMC 9300 Sizes 8-18 25/$9.60

Nymphs, dries, wide gap, 1x heavy

TMC 2457 Sizes 6, 8 25/11.95

Sizes 10-18 25/11.20

2x heavy, short. Caddis Pupa & shrimp

TMC 2487BL Sizes 10-18 25/9.85

Down eye, fine, 2x wide, 2x short

Barbless, Caddis Pupa, emergers, shrimp

TMC 2302 Sizes 6, 8 25/11.95

Sizes 10-16 25/11.20

2x long, slightly humped shank.

Caddis, hoppers, stoneflies, terrestrials

TMC 3769 Sizes 6-18 25/9.75

Sproat bend, down eye, 2x heavy

Tiemco and Umpqua Saltwater & Stainless Hooks

These durable, forged hooks feature extremely corrosion resistant BN (black nickel) or Stainless Steel finishes

TMC 600SP Salt Water $30.75

Sizes: 1 or 2 package of 14

Size: 1/0 package of 12

Size: 2/0 package of 10

Size: 3/0 package of 9

Size: 4/0 package of 8

3x heavy, 2x short, 3x wide, Super Point Standard bonefish, permit, tarpon hook

UFM XS420 BN5X 14.45

Sizes 1/0 package of 15

Sizes 1-10 package of 20

Straight eye, standard length, extra strong, needle point, BN5X finish

TMC 811S Sizes 3/0-8 25/29.00

Straight eye, X-strong, forged, stainless

TMC 206BL 25/$11.20

Sizes 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20

Curved, fine wire, 2x short, barbless Perfect for emergers and caddis larvae

TMC 2488 Sizes 10-26 25/10.55

2x short, 3x wide, curved, fine wire

TMC 900BL Sizes 12-16 25/10.25

Down-eye, 1x fine, 1x wide, barbless

TMC 3761 Sizes 6, 8 25/$10.50

Sizes 10-20 25/9.65

Sproat bend, 2x heavy, 1x long, bronze

TMC 2488H Sizes 12-22 25/11.55

2x short, 3x wide, curved, 2x heavy wire

TMC 2499SPBL

Sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 25/15.75

Barbless, SP version of the TMC 2488H

TMC 2499SPBLB

Sizes 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 25/15.75

Black nickel version of TMC 2499SPBL

TMC 200R Sizes 4-22 25/11.20

Straight eye, standard wire, 3x long Caddis, hoppers, stoneflies, terrestrials

Tiemco and Umpqua Stinger, Popper, Bass Hooks

Fresh and saltwater standard bass & popper hooks

TMC 8089 Sizes 2, 6 25/$15.50 Standard bass hook Size 10 25/12.80

TMC 785 Sizes 2/0-4 6-9/9.90

Up-eye,stinger, forged, black nickel Excellent trailer hook!

Straight eye, black nickel, bass stinger

Tiemco Streamer, Hopper, & Salmonfly Hooks

TMC 9395 Sizes 2, 4 25/$14.15

Sizes 6-10 25/12.80

Straight eye, 3x heavy, 4x long, forged

TMC 5262 Sizes 4-8 25/12.65

Sizes 10-18 25/11.20

2X long, 2X heavy, Down eye, Streamer

TMC 5263 Sizes 2, 4, 6, 8 25/12.65 Sizes 10, 12, 14 25/11.20

3X long, 2X heavy, Down eye, Streamer

Tiemco Steelhead, Salmon, & Tube Fly Hooks

TMC7999 Size 2, 4 25/24.20

Sizes: 6, 8 25/22.75

Up-turned, loop eye, forged, X-heavy

TMC 784 Sizes 2/0-4 6-9/9.90 Sizes 6, 8, 10 1-12/10.85

Stinger, forged, black nickel finish with a straight eye (ideal tube fly hook)

Tiemco Jig Hooks

TMC 413J Sizes 8-18 25/$16.50 60 Degree Jig Hook, wide gape, medium wire, bronze - nymphs

Umpqua Competition and Competition Jig Hooks

XC Competition hooks feature high carbon steel and large gape, black nickel finish, barbless, extra long needle points

UFM XC290BL-BN $8.95

Sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 package of 25

UFM XC230BL-BN 8.95

Sizes 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, package of 25

UFM XC400BL-BN 8.95

Sizes 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 package of 25

UFM XC450BL-BN 8.95

Sizes 4/0-3/0 package of 10

Umpqua Standard Jig Hooks

UFM XS506H $13.20

Sizes 4/0-3/0 package of 10 Sizes 2/0 package of 12 Sizes 1/0 package of 15

Sizes 1-6 package of 20

stainless steel

Micro-barb, black nickel, extra-strong

Firehole Sticks from Firehole Outdoors in Montana. Firehole Sticks have some truly unique hook styles that aren’t available from other manufacturers, including the hook that originally caught our attention, the 516 with a size #18 and #20 jig hook! The upturned hook point extends the retention point and improves hookups. Firehole sticks are all barbless, and sport a very nice, stealthy black nickel finish. Firehole sticks come in packs of 36, that’s 11 more than you’d get from most manufacturers and the price on these hooks is unbelievable at $8.35 per pack!

Firehole 315 Sizes 12-18 36/$8.35

Standard length, 2x gape, straight eye, heavy wire

Firehole 317 Sizes 12-18 36/8.35

Standard length, 1x gape, straight eye, medium wire

Firehole 419 Sizes 12-20 36/8.35

2x wide gape, down eye, light wire

Firehole 516 Sizes 16-20 36/$8.35

Heavy style jig hook, 60 degree bend, 1x wide gape, standard shank length

Firehole 633 Sizes 10-18 36/8.35

1x long, 2x wide gape, down eye, extra heavy wire

Firehole 637 Sizes 8-16 36/8.35 1x short, down eye, extra heavy wire

Firehole 718 Sizes 6-18 36/$8.35 3x long, 2x gape, straight eye, medium-heavy wire

Firehole 839 Sizes 2-12 36/8.35 3x long, 2x wide, gape, down eye, extra heavy wire

Mercer’s Jiggy Micro May

#117F Size 16 Tied on your favorite jig hook

Gamakatsu Specialty Hooks

Made from the highest quality steel, these are some of the strongest and sharpest specialty hooks we’ve used and have been proven on all sorts of species across the globe. We offer a fine selection of their speciality models, yet can special order any model we don’t have

Gamakatsu C-12B Red

Gamakatsu Dropshot Hook

4

Gamakatsu C-12 BM

Gamakatsu SC-15 & SC-152H

Gamakatsu 60º Flat Eye Jig Hook

Heavy wire hook in a corrosion resistant NS Black finish for use in fresh and saltwater.

Gamakatsu Red Octopus

Sizes 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 25/$14.95

Gamakatsu Black Octopus

Sizes 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 25/14.95

Gamakatsu L11S-3H

Sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 20/9.95

Gamakatsu C-12U

Gamakatsu C-14S Glo Bug Hook

Gamakatsu B10S

Sizes 1/0, 2/0 25/$9.95

Sizes 1, 2, 4, 6 25/7.95

Ideal for bass, pike, striper, poppers etc.

Gamakatsu SL11S-3H

Sizes 1/0, 2, 4, 6, 8 12/8.95

Bonefish and permit 100/50.95

Gamakatsu SC-17

Sizes 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 10/8.95

Tarpon and saltwater hook.

Gamakatsu SL12S pkg/7.50

Size 2 per pkg. of 12 Size 1/0 per pkg. of 12 Size 2/0 per pkg. of 10 Size 4/0 per pkg. of 7 Size 6/0 per pkg of 6

Shanks for extended body, Intruder & articulated flies

Waddington, Trout, and Articulated Fish Skull Shanks are used as a simple substitute for having to cut actual hooks. The Articulated Fish Spines connected together allows one to tie any size of any articulated streamer imaginable. Shanks are an important part to many aspects of fly-tying, ranging from Intruder patterns or the increasingly popular articulated patterns like the Game Changer. These make it simple, quick, and easy.

Intruder flies are more of a style than a specific pattern. They’re super-popular in the Pacific Northwest for both salmon and steelhead. Intruder flies are most often tied on a waddington shank rigged with an Owner SSW trailer hook either looped to braided wire (which allows one to easily and always be fishing with a sharp hook) or Intruder Wire (below) which keeps the hook permanently riding in an up-eye or down-eye position.

Fish Skull Shanks

An easy way to create articulated intruder-style flies, 3 or longer. These marry well with any straight eye hook. Stainless steel, re-usable, fits all Skulls and Helmets.

#13016 . . .Size 20mm . . . .10-12 hook range

13017 Size 35mm . . . . .6-8 hook range

13018 Size 55mm . . . .2-4 hook range

Package of 20 $5.95

#17386 Articulated Spines 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 25mm

Package of 20 9.95

Owner Hooks

These super-strong, ultra-sharp saltwater, big game and steelhead hooks are the first choice of many guides, outfitters and sophisticated fly tiers. The AKI hooks are indispensible for a solid hook up with Tarpon, Peacock Bass and Dorado.

Trout Shanks

Standard Wire, Straight Eye, Bronze. Smaller sized shanks that are appropriately used for smaller Steelhead patterns and trout streamers, and more cost effective than cutting a nymph or streamer hook.

#18359 Size 20mm . . . . .10-12 hook range

18360 Size 50mm . . . .2-6 hook range

Package of 25 $8.50

Ahrex Hooks

Made without compromise, designed by Scandinavian fly-fishermen for fishing all over the world. Ahrex hooks uses innovative technology and the best materials available for each specific hook.

Ahrex HR430 Sizes 2, 4 12/ $7.95

Straight eye tube trailer hook, black nickel finish, short shank, wide gape, chemically sharpened.

Waddington Shanks

Stainless, Heavy Wire, Double Shank. Perfectly used as a substitute for having to cut actual hooks when tying larger Steelhead and Salmon Intruder style patterns. Saving both time and money.

#18358 . . .Size 15mm. . . . .12-14 hook range

18357 Size 25mm. . . . .8-10 hook range

18356 Size 35mm. . . . .6-8 hook range

18355 . . .Size 45mm. . . . .4-6 hook range

18354 Size 55mm. . . . .2-4 hook range

Package of 25 $13.10

Daiichi barbless Czech-Style hooks

A heavy wire, curved hook popular with the competition crowd for Czech-style nymphing.The non-reflective and anodized matte finish adds stealth and camouflage.

Daiichi 1920 Czech Series Hooks #1920 . . .Sizes 6-16 . . .Bronze 10/$7.95

. . .Sizes 6-16 Green

. . .Sizes 6-16 . . . .Brown

. . .Sizes

. . . . .Gray

. . .Sizes 6-16 . . . .Black Scuds, Czech nymphs, Caddis pupa

Owner AKI

Sizes 1/0, 2/0 Tarpon 34/ $27.95

Sizes 3/0, 4/0 Tarpon 28/ 27.95

Sizes 5/0, 6/0 Tarpon 22/ 27.95

Owner

/

Ideal trailer hooks for trout and steelhead flies.

Ahrex HR482 Sizes 2 ,4 12/ $7.95

Up-turned eye trailer/stinger black nickel finish, wide gape, chemically sharpened.

Ahrex HR440 Sizes 4 ,6 5/ $8.95

Straight eye double trailer hook, black nickel finish, short shank, wide gape, chemically sharpened.

Balanced Flies incorporate a tungsten bead fixed to a beading pin tied on top of the hook shank and extending beyond the bend of a jig hook. When tied properly, “balanced” flies ride horizontally in the water column, moving up-anddown in a lifelike fashion. At the same time, they allow the jig hook to ride point up, reducing snagging on the bottom, increasing the hooking ability of the fly, and reducing mortality. “Balanced” patterns are very popular with Czech-style nymph fishermen and sophisticated stillwater anglers.

Balanced Leech Pins

#20541 Small hook sizes 12 to 16 25/ $2.95

20371 Large hook sizes 8 to 10

Flymen Fly Tester 2.0

Tie Test Fish

Take your fly tying to the next level with the complete out of the box solution for fly testing and demonstration. The Fly Tester creates a steady circular flow of water with adjustable flow control, allowing you to swim up to 3 flies in 2 directions at once – from streamer flies, to top water flies, to nymphs and emergers.

Design Better Flies

• Observe the swimming action of your flies immediately after tying

• Improve your fly designs and have confidence they will perform as intended when fished

• Share your fly patterns swimming on video with the fly tying community online

• Comes in a stylish carry case with a protective foam interior, and at a third of the size and weight of the original 2014 model, the NEW Fly Tester is highly portable and easy to store.

• The Fly Tester’s new removable streamer fly testing tube makes it a breeze to keep your Fly Tester crystal clear

• Fly Tester protective carrying case

• High-quality lightweight acrylic test tank with innovative bidirectional flow design

• Removable streamer fly testing tube • Tippet guide, clamps, and fly placement wand

• Powerful water pump with adjustable flow control • Operating instructions

• Weight: 3.5 lbs. (1.59 kg.) • Volume: 1 gal. (3.7 L.)

• Height 5 x Width 2.5 x Length 18

• 1-year limited warranty #28664 $148.95

Senyo’s Intruder Wire

Colored Intruder wire holds stiff and keeps the trailer hooks in either up or down eye position. When doubled over, Intruder wire tests at 50 lbs. Best used on size 6 hooks or larger. 8 colors to chose from.

Fishpond’s Tailwater Fly Tying Kit Bag

Made from 420 denier rip-stop nylon and 1680 ballistic nylon fabric, it is rugged for durability, and soft-sided for expandability, it’s the solution for storage at home and travel with tying tools and materials. Fishpond’s Tailwater Fly Tying Kit Bag is the best way we know of to take your fly tying stuff on a fishing trip.

• Exterior, zippered, padded pockets

• Four large, removable, see-through zippered mesh material pockets

• Large 9 x 15 padded pocket for vise heads and delicate materials

• Pedestal insert with velcro tie-downs

• 20 spool inserts

Loon Bench Rings

These stainless steel, rubber-coated, wire rings screw together and are a handy way for tyers to organize zip-lok packaged materials, hooks, beads, or any other material by style/size/type/color using the same bags in their original packaging.

#28548 12 , 16 , 26

Package of three assorted $8.00

Umpqua Hook & Bead Box

The curved bottoms on 21 easy-to-organize compartments can be defined by the erasable hook map in the lid. This box will help you to retrieve even the smallest hooks. Tight-fitting lid for even the tiniest beads and eyes, too.

#4505 10.75 ˝ x 7.25 ˝ x 1.75 ˝ $13.99

Pro Model Hook Boxes

Curved compartment bottoms on models and tight-fitting lids, allows easy storage, access, and retrieval of even the smallest hooks, beads and eyes. #9518

• Tool page with 14 hypalon backed tool slots

• 2˝ x 15˝ pouch for UV lights, brushes and resins

#28254 Aspen Green 16 x 10 x 8 $199.95

Oasis Fly Factory Bench

Compact, portable, reasonably priced, and well made. This bench organizes all your essential tools. Fits easily on a desk or kitchen table and is portable enough for travel or to put out of sight. Black sectioned tray has assorted sizes to keep all your materials organized for quick and easy access for efficient tying.

• Surprisingly portable and easy to carry

#5962 17.5 x 16 x 5 $145

• Easy to attach a C-Clamp

Choosing your next FlyTyingVise

A collaboration of ideas with Mike Mercer and Justin Miller

When you first start tying flies, you learn on what you have, which is often someone else’s old rickety hand-me-down vise or some cheap thing that came in a beginners kit. But if you get hooked by the fly tying bug like we have, you will want to upgrade your vise pretty quickly. This is the most foundational part of the entire process, the tool that you will use for every fly that you crank out over the next decade, or even lifetime...it is not a decision to be taken lightly. So, the following are a few of our suggestions about what to take into consideration the next time you upgrade your fly tying vise.

Rotary vs Standard: Which vise style is best for you?

Standard – Mike Mercer

The vise automatically adjusts to provide the perfect jaw pressure to hold whatever size hook you are using. It’s really a pretty remarkable feature. Changing between a #2 streamer and a #18 dry fly requires no adjustments of levers or cams to properly accept and hold vastly different sized hooks, which I find highly useful. For me it is not about the time savings, as that is relatively minimal; rather, it is the elegant simplicity of the design, and never having to think about making adjustments for various hook sizes. The standard jaws that come with the Regal are perfect for a wide range of hooks, although they are a bit blunt for small hooks. For tying all my trout patterns, I install Regal’s midge jaws, as they are perfect for flies in the #6–#20 range.

If I am sitting down to tie a bunch of tiny dries or nymphs – #20 or smaller –I will pull out my Dyna-King. This has nothing to do with the vise’s ability to more firmly hold the small hooks; it has to do with the actual design of the vise jaws. With the standard jaws that come with this vise, I can comfortably tie down to #18 flies. The jaws are thin and tapered to a rounded point that grasps a tiny portion of a small hook’s bend firmly, without intruding into the tying space between the hook’s shank and point. Additionally, the vise’s cam locking lever, once adjusted appropriately, locks tiny hooks solidly into place. If I install the midge jaws, tying flies even as small as #22 becomes relatively easy (about as small as I ever tie, and even then grudgingly). The Dyna King standard-style vises are beautifullymachined, precision instruments, and while they demand a bit more adjusting and maintenance than the Regals, they will often be the best choice for those tying a majority of tiny dries and wets.

True Rotary – Justin Miller

While most standard vises will rotate, the angle of the hook shank does not remain horizontal. So if you are simply rotating to inspect the other side of the fly (to make sure it is as cleanly tied as the near side), standard vises function perfectly. They also often have simple designs without a lot of adjustment knobs, though this will vary between models. I have spent nearly my entire tying career using Regal and Dyna King vises, and while they are both at the top of their respective games, they are also significantly different from each other.

For the majority of my tying, I love the simple, straightforward features of the Regal. Its unique large lever and spring clamp design instantly adapts to whatever size hook you are tying. Instead of manually opening the jaws adequately to accept the hook (as with most vise designs), then manually closing them to the correct pressure (with a levered cam lock) while being careful not to exert too much pressure and risk damaging the hook (or setting the jaw opening too loosely, allowing hooks to frustratingly move as you tie), with the Regal all you do is open the jaws with a pull on the large, comfortable lever, insert the hook into the jaws, then release the lever.

Full rotary vises are a relatively newer development in vise technology, but they have still been around long before my time. The idea is that as you spin the vise, the hook shank will always stay centered and level, with the hook shank itself being the axis of rotation. It is a great help for a variety of tying techniques, from palmering hackle, to working on the bottom side of the shank, to just checking out the backside of your fly. I love that the hook shank is always straight and flat – I can’t live without it!

I have been tying on a Dyna-King Barracuda Junior for over 15 years. It is hands down my favorite vise. All of the Barracuda series vises are phenomenal, but the Junior is a little simpler, compact and lightweight. I take my vise with me on the road and on airplanes frequently, so all of those features are a big benefit, without any noticeable sacrifice in quality or performance.

Opposite of Mercer, most of my flies are very large. I am a steelheader above all else, so I frequently tie on hooks in the #2 to #2/0 range. I also tie a lot of saltwater streamers and crabs and other big stuff like that. The jaws on the Dyna-King are outstanding when tying on big hooks, even when you are really wrenching on them with heavy thread. All of the Dyna-Kings have a groove in the jaws that the bend of the hook fits into. This really keeps the hook from moving when the jaws are locked tight. The jaws can be very precisely adjusted, and then when you lift the arm to close the jaws you can feel the tension before you feel it click and lock into place. I have never had a hook come loose from my Barracuda, and I really reef on those big bugs. These aren’t some delicate Parachute Adams!

Also, when I am tying these larger flies, I love being able to spin the full rotary function and see the back of the fly still level, and I will often rotate the fly to be upside down and tie materials on the top, which is actually the bottom of the fly. I really can’t tie on standard vises for long anymore without getting annoyed that they don’t stay level when spinning the handle!

Katie Falkenberg photo

Axis of hook rotation in standard vise

Axis of hook rotation in true rotary vise

Pedestal vs C-clamp

Most high-quality vises can be purchased with either a C-clamp or pedestal base. The C-clamp design allows the vise to be attached solidly to the edge of your fly tying bench (or for some intrepid traveling tyers, the steering wheel of their vehicle!)

The C-clamp is the favorite of the vast majority of tyers for their permanent setups at home, as it is unarguably a more stable platform. Once the large knurled screw has been tightened, securing the vise to the table, there is no movement of the vise during the tying process. But, when you need to tie somewhere that has no table, or the table available is thicker than the C-clamp is wide, the pedestal base is the answer to the problem. The pedestal allows the tier to place the vise on top of the table...or tailgate, or cooler or picnic table, or any flat surface of the right height! Make sure the pedestal base is quite heavy and has rubber non-skid pads on the bottom, as the vise can rock side to side and scoot around on the tabletop as you tie, making for a nettlesome tying experience. Before you purchase your next vise, determining exactly where you will use it will help you decide between the C-clamp or pedestal base.

Obviously, there is also the option to have both for the same vise! Often tyers will use a C-clamp when tying flies at home at their dedicated tying bench and then remove the actual vise from the C-clamp base and have a pedestal base for tying while traveling. If this appeals to you, be aware that the stem length is shorter for a pedestal-base vise than for a C-clamp model. Fortunately, most vise manufacturers solve this dilemma by selling vise stems separately as accessories, allowing you to purchase what you need.

Tube Flies

Tube flies are a relatively new innovation in the world of fly tying. Instead of dressing a hook, the fly tyer wraps the materials directly onto a hollow plastic tube (or copper, or a variety of other options). Tube flies have seen a huge rise in popularity in recent years, especially with swing anglers who target steelhead, Atlantic salmon and sea trout all over the world. Leaders are fed through the tube

to commit to for the long haul. There is no simple answer to which one is the best. They all have distinct features, and it is a very personal thing to find the vise that fits your style of tying. Hopefully this article can point you in the right direction and help you know what features to look for during the vetting process. Remember that you can always give us a shout at The Fly Shop® to answer any other questions you may have to aid in your decision. We live and breathe this stuff and are always here to help!

Top 5 things to consider before purchasing your new fly tying vise:

1) What type of flies are you most into tying? Trout, salmon & steelhead streamers, saltwater, tube flies?

2) What size flies will you mostly be tying? Small, medium, large or all sizes?

3) Do you want a Standard or Full Rotary vise? Strictly personal preference

4) Will the vise be permanently mounted at your home bench, or will you travel with the vise as well? C-clamp, pedestal or BOTH?

5) Do you prefer the spring style jaws or locking cam style jaws? Regal or Dyna-King?

Give us a shout at 800-669-3474 if you have questions about purchasing your next vise or any general fly tying questions.

and can slide loosely within it, and a piece of “junction tubing” is then slipped onto the leader – a soft rubber section of hose just larger than the diameter of the tube itself. Then a short shank bare hook is tied onto the end of the leader. Finally, you slide it all back and fit them together – the eye of the hook fits into one end of the junction tubing and the tube fly fits into the other, making it all one unit.

Tying tubes is not a difficult process at all, but you cannot just stick a tube into a standard fly tying vise. There are two ways to deal with this dilemma. The first one is extreme: If you are a hard-core tube fly tyer, there are vises dedicated to this style, so there are no jaws on the “vise” at all, just a long straight mandrel to slip the tube over. Obviously this option is not for everyone, and you probably won’t want to drop $400 on a tube fly vise to see if you like tying them.

For the casual or beginner tube fly tyer, there are a few different adapters on the market that you can put into the jaws of your standard vise and turn it into a tube vise. These work great, don’t break the bank, and don’t force you to own two totally separate vises. The HMH Tube Fly Adapter is my favorite and the one I use.

Interchangeable Jaws

While the standard jaws that come with a vise will be more than adequate for all the tying needs of most tyers, it’s worth noting that many vise manufacturers offer specialty jaw options. Most common are “midge” jaws, with narrow, tapered jaws perfectly suited for tying smaller patterns. Some companies also offer oversized jaws that lock large saltwater hooks solidly into place, a task that is often beyond the capability of most standard jaws.

These alternate jaw options are easy to interchange with each other, and for some tyers offer perfect solutions to their tying challenges.

Conclusion

Your vise is the most important tool in the fly tying game, without a doubt. Purchase the best vise you can afford, and it will serve you a lifetime. Take all of these ideas into consideration when making your next big decision on what vise

Katie Falkenberg photo

Renzetti Traveler 2000 Series Vise

A staff favorite and the most popular fly tying vise The Fly Shop® has ever had!

THERENZETTITRAVELER was introduced in 1988, and immediately raised the bar for true rotary vises. At that point it became the most popular vise we have here at The Fly Shop®, and has remained the favorite of our clientele for more than 30 years. While it’s overall design hasn’t changed much in 30 years, the few changes that have been made are more than just aesthetics.

This vise is an absolute classic, and it is unquestionably the most popular true rotary vise in the world. In part that popularity is due to the versatility of the Traveller. It’s a great vise for everything from the tiniest spring creek patterns to large saltwater or jungle streamers.

• A bobbin cradle is included

• Black oxide finished cam jaws

• Rotary tension screw

• Stable 5˝x5˝ pedestal base

• Holds hooks from #28 to 4/0 #25024 Pedestal $209.95

Stonfo Transformer Vise

The Stonfo Transformer is beautifully machined, loaded with features and designed with durability as part of the package. This innovative vise should provide a lifetime of enjoyment for any fly tier.

THERE ISN ’ T VERYMUCH this vise doesn’t have to help improve the quality of your flies and make the fly tying experience faster and more pleasurable!

The Stonfo Transformer Vise comes loaded with all the features any fly tier would want, as well as an array of optional accessories.

The 3 sets of jaws are terrific, and the set of tube fly jaws (and accessories) is considered by the European crowd of fly tiers (where tube flies are the rule, not the exception) to be the best one made.

Who are these guys? Stonfo is the fly tying division of a highly respected fishing tackle company based in Florence, Italy. Their tying products are incredibly popular in European fly tying circles. The company produces nothing but top quality fly tying tools and is responsible for some innovative new fly fishing and fly tying products that are only now being introduced in the United States.

Stonfo Transformer Vise

• All three sets of jaws included

• Reversible for left hand tying

• Rounded bobbin rest

• Parachute plier

• Adjustable material clip

• Pivot thread cradle

• Allen keys

• Instruction manual

#21125 Stonfo Transformer Vise $495

Stonfo Vise Magnifier

This magnifier will fit any vise with a standard 3⁄8 ˝ vise stem, and also attaches directly to the base of the Transformer Vise.

#21448 Stonfo Magnifier $59.95

Stonfo Vise Bobbin Rest

Not pictured #21449 Bobbin Rest $34.95

s High quality in-line 360° rotary action

The adjustable rotary tension feature not only speeds up the tying process but, when used properly, will help insure that ribbing of materials and palmering of hackle is spaced evenly and precisely on both dry flies and streamers.

The stainless steel shaft on the Transformer Vise rotates on several precision ball bearings, and the shank of the hook will rotate on its axis thanks to the adjustable shaft.

s Ultra-functional pedestal base

The padded, solid pedestal base provides stability when the vise is in use. The integrated tool rack offers a place for storing the extra jaws and a convenient spot for bobbins and other tools and storage slots for hooks and beads.

s Ultra-adjustable base

The Transformer Vise features a very high collar on the vise stem which allows it to be adjusted much higher than many other models. The angle of both the jaws can be adjusted to compensate for any length or shape of hook.

s Three useful jaws

Three vises in one with just a simple click. The Transformer has a fast coupling device on the head and attachments which convert it to an in-line vise, tube-fly vise or streamer vise.

s Stonfo dry fly nymph jaws

Appropriate for a wide range of hooks (sizes 8 to 24), and the“Super soft” levers on the dry fly/nymph jaws will firmly lock any hook into position without damaging the integrity of the finished fly.

s The Stonfo streamer jaws

Firmly grasps and holds hooks up to size 5/0 solidly in place, still incorporating the rotary feature so useful in tying large saltwater and freshwater streamers.

s Versatile tube fly jaws

Accommodate any size tube, locking them in position easily for flawless ease of tying tube flies.

This might be the top all ‘round set-up for these kinds of flies!

Dyna-King Indexer Vise

The Indexer has the rotary features preferred by most experts for precise, symmetrical, quick dubbing and ribbing application. It’s an important feature that helps speed building of bodies, reduce production time and improve the quality of flies. The Indexer has a unique indent/detent feature enabling the vise to rotate freely or stop and stay stationary in any one of 8 positions, allowing epoxy to dry evenly.

• Bobbin Rest • 360° Jaw Rotation

• Super Jaws • Cam-locking head

#6019 Pedestal $576

6037 C-Clamp 576

Dyna-King Trekker Vise

Lighter weight than other quality vises, and more appropriate for travel or storage. The Trekker offers the same hook holding capabilities as the Indexer, and is completely machined from stainless steel and aluminum.

• Weighs less than 1/2 lb. without the base

• Ball Bearings for smooth rotation

• Handles hooks from size 22 to size 8/0

• Includes bobbin rest

#2827 Pedestal $325 6010 C-Clamp 325

The Peak Rotary Vise

Incredibly efficient and easy to set up, Peak vises are built from brass, aircraft aluminum, stainless and tooled steel for a lifetime of pleasure. This model is just right for hooks from 2 to 28, and features a very stable, powder-coated base with an integrated hook pocket. An adjustable bobbin rest and pivot mount are included.The Peak pedestal base has three holes. One for the vise itself, and two additional holes to mount an accessory post that any 3/8˝ stem accessory can attach to. A favorite attachment is the Peak tool post caddy, which is a great way to keep the tools you need at your fingertips without having too much stuff attached to the actual vise. Optional accessory post is easily positioned in mounting hole on pedestal. #4468 Pedestal Vise $209.95

4469 Tool Post Caddy 11.95

23479 Riser 13⁄4 additional height 43.95

23480 Accessory Post 16.95

Regal Vise

A very versatile, and reliable vise accommodating size 5/0 to size 24 hooks. Featuring Regal’s convenient “squeeze and open” design, making it easy to accommodate any hook size without any tedious cam screw adjustments. The Regal has stood the test of time, and remains a favorite vise by commercial and avid fly tiers.

• Adjusts 220 degrees up and down

• 360° Jaw Rotation

#5489 Regal Pedestal $260

5488 Regal C-Clamp 195

2409 Regal Clamp only 79

Griffin Montana Mongoose

Featuring an anodized aluminum body and tempered steel jaws, this vise will securely hold hooks ranging in size from #28 to 8/0. The ingeniously designed material clip can be adjusted forward or back depending on the size of your fly. Try using the material clip to hold a trailing hook in place, and say goodbye to the back half of your articulated fly flopping around as you rotate your vise.

• Comes with a C-clamp and pedestal base.

• Includes a padded, hard shell carrying case.

• Bobbin rest included.

• A bobbin and hackle gauge are included. #25023 $245.95

Dyna-King Squire Vise

• Serrated, powerful, grooved jaws

• Awesome grasping force!

• Accommodates a full range of hooks

• Features a full 360° degree rotating jaw

• Fully machined stainless and tooled steel

• A terrific vise and a terrific value

#6738 Pedestal $282

6737 C-Clamp 282

TFS Crown Vise

Most affordable premium vise made!

This is the perfect vise for beginners or someone that wants the same qualities as the Regal vises, but not the price. The squeeze open design makes opening and closing the jaws very simple and easy. Will accommodate a wide range of hooks from roughly sizes 3/0 to 18. Very dependable back up vise for the experienced tier.

#3388 C-Clamp $59.95

TFS Pro AA Vise

A fine introductory vise – unbeatable price! One of the most popular vises made for beginning fly tiers. The jaws are tapered and adjustable enabling the use of a variety of different hook sizes and rotates 360 degrees to allow tying at different angles.

#3398 C-Clamp $19.95

Fly Tying Lights & Desk Accessories

IF YOU WANT TO PUT a little light on the subject, need a few things to speed up the tying process, or just want to organize and make your tying experience more enjoyable, The Fly Shop® has the answers. We’ve been taking care of fly tiers needs and wants for 45 years. In the process we’ve earned a great reputation for stocking innovative tools and materials for both entry level fly tiers and the sophisticated expert at the vice. If you need help with a material selection, want an expert to give you a hand, or you can’t find what you need in the fly tying world, give us a call today at: 800-669-3474

Ultimate LED Light

This great new fly tying light from Hareline is the perfect addition to any fly tying desk. Mounts either on your table top or C-clamp (included). The 10 watt LED light provides the perfect daylight look and feel giving you the exact look of your flies once you are on the water.

• 110-230 volt compatible

• 36 adjustable goose neck

• 10 watts of LED daylight power #30048 $109.95

Peak Light

This lamp runs cool and provides up to 300 lumens with minimal power usage. 20˝ flexible neck for optimal positioning with a 120° lighting angle, and will adapt to any 3/8˝ diameter vise stem.

#4482 $194.95

Colorado Mag Lamp

One of the most convenient tying lamps we’ve ever seen! The 21˝ flexible gooseneck connects to any 3/8˝ vise stem and accommodates a high intensity, low heat, cordless (battery operated) light which adjusts to apply light exactly where you want!

#17497 $26.95

Renzetti Soft Foam Tool Caddy

Organizes all your scissors and the tools tiers use most of the time. Keeps stuff handy and helps prevent cement tipping or spilling.

#9032 8 x 6 x 2.5 $23.95

Regal’s Vise Stem Tool Rack

The Regal Toolbar is designed to fit every vise on the market with a 3/8 inch post. Regal designed this to hold every tool that any tyer could possibly use while filling their fly box for the season. Made in the USA quality, by a family-run operation. Available in a rainbow of colors. Try one on your current vise today and stop wasting time looking for tools!

#22002 $50

Hareline Low Profile Trash Holder

Easily toss excess materials keeping your desk and tying room clean. The low profile bag stays out of the way and the magnetic release makes it convenient to empty. #23366 $18.95

Loon Vise Pawn

Griffin Pedestal Vise Base

Add stability and versatility to most c-clamp vises!

• Collar fits most 3/8 vise stems

• Heavyweight for stability

• Solid padded base

• Non-reflective finish

#1695 Pedestal Base $39.95

This magnetic, chess pawn shaped tool can be placed on any metal surface of your vise, to keep materials including trailing hooks in place as you rotate your vise. Consider this a material clip 2.0.

#26906 $10

Vise Fly Rack

This handy closed cell foam drying platform fits snugly on any vise stem and keeps all the nearly completed flies out of the way while they finish drying. Just add the flies to one of the 16 slots and keep on tying.

#2031 Pkg. of 2 $3.95

Desk Organizers & Fly Tying Kits

Firehole Magnetic Tying “Bench”

This Magnetic Fly Bench is a solid addition to your fly tying workspace and will quickly become the place you’ll set those most commonly used items. This magnetic parking spot is designed to sit next to your vise, and will help keep your materials and tools organized easily visible, within reach, make your fly tying a little easier and speed things up. For easy reference, the .25-inch magnetic pad is laser-etched with a high-contrast hackle gauge, dual metric/inch rulers, bead sizing chart, and a composite loop gauge.

#23242 Overall length is 8 x 10 , with a height of .25 $60

Wapsi’s Deluxe Fly Tying Kit

There’s no better way to get someone into fly tying than starting them out with a fly tying kit.

We’ve searched for years for a quality tying kit; one with all the tools, everything necessary to get started, and a very reasonable price tag. This ones fills the bill.

This Deluxe Kit is a great introduction for someone that wants to get into the world of fly tying, no matter their age. Unlike other kits we’ve seen the Deluxe Tying Kit comes with quality tools and materials, that will not only tie better looking flies, but will make the learning process easier and more enjoyable.

• Step by Step instructional handbook

• Quality tools, materials, and hooks

• A fine selection of hooks, furs, feathers, lead, thread, dubbing, and the right materials to tie 17 of the most popular fly patterns.

#1967 $109.95

Loon Tying Mat

The Tying Mat is the solution for tyers who spend most of their time at the vise looking for tools rather than tying flies.

Whether the goal is to production tie a dozen Copper Johns in an hour or to simply come back to a tidy station, the neatly divided compartments allow tyers to develop a system for keeping tools and prepared materials organized. The silicone construction is easy to clean with 4 magnetic compartments, perfect for keeping hooks and beads in place. For the nomadic tyer who doesn't have a dedicated space, the Tying Mat turns a standard size sheet pan into a mobile tying station.

• 4 magnetic hook, bead or fly holders

• Organizational bins

• Protects desk • Cured UV resin easily peels off #30991 9.75˝ x 15.75˝ $35.00

Umpqua Dreamstream Tool Kit

The Dream Stream 7-Piece Tying Kit is a must-have for all fly anglers looking to begin a career in fly tying. This kit includes all the basic tools you’ll need to start tying flies. These essential tying tools are made with surgical-grade Japanese stainless steel and come in a well-organized carrying case.

• Straight Scissors

• Hair Stacker

#25475 $84.99

• Hackle Pliers

• Threader

• Medium Bobbin

• Whip Finish Tool

• Bodkin

There’s no substitute for the best tying tools!

TIEMCO ’ S PREMIUMSERIES of tying tools are designed for serious tying addicts who’ll accept nothing but the best. These are top-of-the-line, precision-machined tools unsurpassed in our sport for craftsmanship and design.

Admittedly expensive, they’re worth every cent and will deliver a lifetime of flawless performance and add pleasure to the hours spent at the vise.

TMC’s Premium Dual Midge Micro Whip Finisher

A miniaturization and modification of the utilitarian Matarelli-style whip finisher which was designed in the 1970’s. This version has revolutionized, simplified and made the precise, durable finishing of heads easy. This smaller size is ideal for tiny nymphs, midges, and micro-mayfly patterns. The ergonomic, friction-free handle also doubles as a half-hitch tool.

#22008 $56.95

TMC’s Premium Adjustable Double-Arm Bobbin

This innovative bobbin uses four stainless wires to maintain pressure on the thread spool and ensure consistent thread tension. The length of the superdurable, friction-free ceramic thread tube is adjustable for different size and style flies and the combination of features all but eliminates thread abrasion and breakage during the tying process.

#22007 $84.95

Cutting & Trimming Tools

Dr. Slick Razor Scissors

Durable steel, hollow-ground scissor blades live up to their razor sharp name. They can be sharpened, and have an adjustable tension screw and fine, wellmatched points.

#4328 4˝ model $32

Dr. Slick

Finishing Scissors

Razor-sharp scissors with fine points that will fit in the palm of your hand. Finishing Scissors are great for trimming fur and for production tying.

#6028 $13.95

Dr. Slick

Serrated Scissors for Glo Bugs

The best scissors we’ve found for cutting Glo Bug Yarn or McFly Foam! Excellent for cutting wire. Large blades make the one cut needed to make that perfect egg.

#15628 8.5 long with 3 cutting blades $32.95

Loon Prime

Taperizing Scissors

Super-sharp shears that leave super-soft lines. Including one blade with teeth and one without, these shears allow tyers to thin or taper materials without leaving distinct lines. The broad blades offer a stouter feel and increased stability, regardless of what you’re cutting.

• Powder coated ergonomic handles

• Hand honed in the USA

• Precision Peg increases comfort and control #30990 7.25˝ long $35

Loon Prime 5 ˝ Scissors

A large, premium pair of scissors that is the kind of sharp you only see on infomercials at 2 am. The broad blades offer a stouter feel and increased stability, regardless of what you’re cutting.These are an excellent pair of scissors for working with big materials and tying big flies, and the blades are honed to perfection right here in the USA.

• Precision Peg increases comfort and control

• Powder coated ergonomic handles

#30989 5 model $32

Loon Ergo Hair Scissors

Dr. Slick Arrow Scissors

TMC’s Premium Adjustable Magnetic Bobbin

This precision-made bobbin has it all, including a fully adjustable ceramic tube and a unique magnetic tensioning device with a low startup inertia which puts an end to breaking even the finest thread.The length of the super-durable, friction-free ceramic thread tube is adjustable for different size and style flies and the versatile bobbin adapts to different width thread spools, helping to make the tying process smooth and effortless. It even has a builtin keeper for the tag end of your thread to keep it from falling back through the tube during storage.

#22006 $114.95

TMC’s Tungsten Carbide Razor Scissors

These extremely sharp 4-inch scissors feature razor-edged, tungsten carbide blades that will easily cut through any material, still stay sharp, and outlast any other tying scissors made.

#18363 4 model $109.95

Well-designed, precision-point scissors with extremely sharp, accurate tips that fit in tight places. #1705 $15

Loon’s largest non-tension scissors are hand-tuned by Loon’s own mad scientist. Features a halfserrated/half-razor cutting surface to manage the slickest of hair and synthetic materials. These are scary sharp, super versatile scissors.

#21986 4.5 model $19

Loon Ergo Precision Tip Scissors

Tiemco Razor Scissors

These are among the sharpest, highest quality scissors we have ever carried. These models feature perfectly sized handles, and are meant to last. Worth every cent to the serious tier.

#18361 Standard 4 model $79.95

18362 Serrated 4 model 85.95

Dr. Slick

Curved Fly Tying Scissors

Larger than average scissors for big hands and featuring razor-sharp, curved blades with matched points for delicate work, and stainless steel blades for durability.

#1706 3.5˝ Curved $15

Designed to be the ultimate utility scissor offering a razor-sharp hand-finished edge that is attached on a half all-purpose half arrow point scissor giving you the fine tips needed for small delicate nymphs and dry flies while offering a longer and stronger blade at the base to get through tougher materials. High visability coated handles accommodate any hand size and are easy to find on a cluttered desk!

#28549 4 model $20

Umpqua DreamStream All Purpose Scissors

A very sharp, smooth operating multi-purpose scissor, built with the quality you expect from Umpqua products.

#25470 4˝ model $16.99

TMC Ceramic Fly Tying Bobbins

The durable TMC flanged bobbin tube is polished to perfection, which eliminates all friction, and simplifies tying and threading.

#1707 Standard $39.95

1709 Heavy Duty 45.95

The Fly Shop’s Economy Ceramic Bobbin

A quality ceramic bobbin with a modest price tag. The full, abrasion-free ceramic tube allows maximum tension to be applied to light thread.

#14454 $13.95

Loon Fly Tying Bobbins

The perfect balance of heavy-duty and comfort. An ergonomic and high-performing update to an indispensable tying tool. Powder-coated ergonomic handle rests perfectly between the thumb and fingers, while the spring steel spool holder allows for easy adjustment in tension by changing the pressure applied by the grip.

#28545 Ergo Bobbin $20

#28546 All Purpose Bobbin 19

Dubbing Hook

Includes a half-hitch tool built into the handle, and is great for spinning all types of fur and hard-to-use dubbing material, like Angora Goat or Seal Sub. #2989 $8

Y Dub Tool

Ideal for forming dubbing loops and twisting evenly segmented dubbing.

#1354 $4.95

Cautery Tool

Used for removing loose fibers or burning deer hair or wool. #6636 $24.95

Whip Finishers

Ergonomically designed to help create a clean, professionally finished head. Swivel tube rotates smoothly. The long model reaches over large hackle and wings.

Dr. Slick Bodkin/Half Hitch Tool

#23367 $14

Dr. Slick Ceramic Bobbin

Tubes are tipped with a tough, smooth, porcelain quality ceramic and provide a lifetime of butter-smooth fly tying.

#5964 Ceramic Supreme $18

5107 Ceramic Saltwater

Fly Rite Ceramic Bobbin

Standard size ceramic bobbin with tension control, allowing easy adjustment to accommodate different diameters and strengths of thread.

#15381 $34.95

Umpqua DreamStream Bobbin

A redesign of everyone’s favorite bobbin. The smooth steel tube will reduce thread breakage.

#25466 $19.95

#3113 Standard Whip Finisher $8.95

3114 Long Streamer Whip Finisher

Umpqua DreamStream Whip Finisher

A very smooth opperating, high quality whip finisher that will produce a very durable, and professional looking whip finish knot on your fly.

#25474 $13.95

Umpqua

DreamStream Hackle Plier

These hackle pliers have very strong gripping power, thanks to rubber and textured brass jaws. Your feather will break before these hackle pliers slip.

#25469 $10.95

Dr. Slick Hackle Pliers

Feature a rubber tip that grabs hackle firmly and holds material in place.

#23276 $7

Dubbing Spinner Set

The best dubbing loop spinner we have ever used! With three interchangeable attachments you can make any type of dubbing loop. This 4 tool also can be used as a hair packer.

#30282 $18.95

Umpqua DreamStream Bodkin

An essential tool for picking out trapped fibers, pin point application of head cement, and about a hundered other uses.

#25467 $10.95

Dr. Slick BambooWhip Finisher

Protects fine thread and is a very easy to-use whip finisher.

#23368 $14

Rainy’s Hopper Leg Tool

Easy-to-use for making jointed hopper and stonefly legs.

#21132 $17

Loon Ergo Comb

The solution to unruly materials at the vise or mangled streamers on the water. Ergonomic powder coated tool is easy find and comfortable in hand. Stainless steel shaft and teeth make quick work of messy flies at the bench or on the water.

#28547 $15

Umpqua DreamStream Bobbin Threader

This threader will make it easier to get any thread through the tiny hole on a bobbin. A bump on the handle will keep it from rolling off your desk.

#25473 $10.95

Rising 90 Degree Fly Tweezers

• Easy-to-grip rubberized • Stainless Steel • 4 inches long with fine points

#3036 $10

Zuddys Leg Puller

An essential tool for pulling rubber legs through foam, cork, and spun deer hair flies.

#25027 $18

Umpqua DreamStream Dubbing Brush

A great tool to tease out dubbing to create a “buggier” look to your finished fly. A bump on the handle keeps the tool from rolling off your bench.

#25468 $10.95

Stonfo Comb and Brush Combo Tool

A comb and velcro rasp on opposite ends of the tool allows the tier to work more easily and effectively with hard to manage synthetic fibers and dubbing.

#19902 $9.95

Hook and Hackle Pliers

Spring loaded, easy-to-use, and very useful on small, fine hackle and spey flies.

#17181 $4.95

D-Loop Tweezers

Loon’s Gator Grip Dubbing Spinner

This might be the last dubbing spinner you’ll ever need or buy! Hexagonal shape features anti-roll. Shepherd’s hook and the gator grip tips are interchangeable. The gator grip tip clamps easily onto the most fragile hackle stems and will combine materials like a dubbing loop and chenille to create complex twists!

#21985 $19

The new D-Loop Tweezers from Loon Outdoors are going to change the way you make dubbing loops! The oversized, 7.25˝ long surface area of the tweezers holds any material of your choosing evenly, and secure. Just lay your materials on a flat surface, rearrange the materials to your liking, pick them up with these tweezers, and twist them into your loop. See a short instructional video: https://catalog.theflyshop.com/products.php?product=Lo on-D%252dLoop-Tweezers

#25022 $15

Thread

Understanding the diameter and the tensile strength of the various brands of thread will help you make the correct thread selection for tying, spinning, dubbing, and building bodies for tying both fresh and saltwater flies.

Ultra 70, 140, and 210 Tying Thread

A favorite of many professionals for tying anything from small dries to streamers, steelhead or saltwater flies. Spools feature a handy way to secure thread tags. Ultra Thread wraps smooth, doesn’t fray easily, lays flat, and is super stong. Tiers can build strong flies with a narrow profile without having to use a ton of thread.

FlyMaster Plus 1/0 Thread

Extra strong, tough, abrasion resistant, and just the right thread for big flies, streamers and saltwater patterns.

Flat Waxed Nylon Thread

Great for spinning hair or building ant and terrestrial bodies. Experienced tiers often spin their bobbin to tighten, compress, and make waxed thread thinner.

GSP 200

Great for larger flies, salt and freshwater streamers, or when a lot of torque is required to firmly cinch down bulky material.

#3968 Black, 100 yard

15366 White $3.95 spool

Uni Single Strand Floss

An excellent substitute for silk, rayon floss. Easy to work with and has a beautiful shine, like real silk floss.

Spool

This handy thread tender is the ideal way to help keep your wires, tinsels, and threads from unraveling and neat.The tabbed band tightly fits any size spool.

#18541 6 per pkg. $8.95

UNI Big Fly Thread

Kevlar

Ultra strong for tying big saltwater bucktail patterns. The best choice for Glo-Bugs and cinching material.

Great for larger flies, and our favorite thread for spinning deer hair. 400 denier has very high break strength, and a large enough diameter to reduce your thread cutting into hollow deer hair.

#26908 Black, 80 yards

26909 White $3.50 spool

Katie Falkenberg photo

Cement

Zap Quick Set Z-Poxy

Quick drying epoxy, ideal for fly heads, attaching fly eyes, and rod building. Five-Minute Epoxy in a smaller size for much easier handling and less waste.

#4315 4 oz $13.95

Zap-A-Gap

Most popular, permanent, fast-drying super glue on the fly tiers’ bench. Countless applications from finishing heads to on-stream repairs. No fly tier should be without a bottle.

#1544 Small, 1⁄4 oz $4.50

6617 Large, 1 oz. 9.50

3974 Thin, 1⁄4 oz 4.50

23841 Brush-on 1⁄4 oz. 4.95

Zap Z-7 DeBonder

The only thing that will work to clean up spills or neutralize and soften the super quick-drying ZapA-Gap cement.

#9282 1 oz. bottle $5.95

Zap Zap Goo

Wonderful for gluing on eyes or attaching lead bodies. This stuff will even patch waders in a pinch.

#3973 1 oz. Tube $4.95

Squeeze Applicator

A convenient way to dispense head cement exactly where you want, in just the right amount.The fine tube is ideal for smaller flies and delicate work. Evaporation and clogging is prevented by the tight needle closure.

#6346 $4.95

Glass Applicator Jar and Bodkin

This user-friendly head cement dispenser keeps your bodkin right where it’s needed, and helps reduce unnecessary evaporation.

#1761 $4.95

Tear Mender

The best glue you can use for marrying leather, rabbit hides, or sandwiching together materials for saltwater crabs. Flies like the Lanier’s Streamer are suddenly very durable, easy and quick to tie.

#9275 6 oz. bottle $12.95

Softex

A clear flexible coating for building up heads or bodies, and for finishing off flies like Peacock Cruisers. It is fast drying, and penetrating. Sets in only a few minutes.

#5046 $9.95

Dyna King Cement Reservoir/Bodkin

Stainless steel, has a rubber base, broad, square, heavy and hard to tip over. Airtight seal prevents premature evaporation and hardening of most cements.

#1763 $65.00

Flexament

Our most versatile cement. Several coats creates an epoxy-like finish or use thinner to water it down for dry flies. Flexible, durable, one-coat cement for hopper wings, under-bodies, and reinforcing quills.

#3834 Flexament $6.95

3843 Flexament Thinner 5.95

Hard as Hull Head Cement

One application provides a very highgloss and durable finish just perfect for saltwater or bass flies and the cement doesn’t require thinning.

#1284 $6.95

Loon Hard Head, Water Based, Cement

Loon’s Hard Cement is a great substitute for epoxy or building glossy heads. Waterbased is great for when you need a thinner glue for finishing off your flies

#8187 Hard Head $8.50

30451 Water Based Kit $8.50

Loon SWAX

Low tack dubbing wax that makes tying salmon and steelhead flies easier. Using this wax with a dubbing loop technique will make building larger fuzzy bodies a lot faster and requires less effort.

#5786 $6.50

Finishing off your flies using UltraViolet Technology

A fast, clean and efficient way to finish off a fly is with a UV coating for durability.

Loon UV Clear Fly Finish

Dab or brush it on, hit it with one of Loon’s UV power lights after application and it dries instantly.

#18423 Thin Delicate applications

18424 Thick Substitution for epoxy

18422 Flow Substitute for head cement

20542 Fluorescing Reflects color

1/2 oz. $19

Loon Infiniti Fly-Tying Light

The Infiniti Light has the highest UV irradiance (amount of radiant energy per unit area) and is the ultimate tool for curing UV Resin. With a recharable battery the light will last nearly 13 hours on a single charge. USB cord included.

#22706 $59.95

Loon UV Plasma Light

Provides a faster, stronger, more tack-free cure on all of Loon’s UV resins. The larger body allows for beefed-up components and a second chip, making for unmatched curing power.

• On/Off switch indicates power level #29914 Rechargeable Battery and USB cord included $100

Rainy’s Popper Paint

This special formula remains flexible when dry. The colors are just what you’ll need and want to personalize your popper bodies and paint distinctive eyes fish can’t resist. Popper Paint is water-soluble, non-toxic, non-flammable, and simply the best fly tying paint we’ve seen to give your flies a custom look.

. . 8909

Fl. Pink 8905 Yellow. . . . . . . . 8902 $4.95 each

Solarez UV Resin

Waterproof, quick curing, non-tacky, non-yellowing UV resins in thin and thick viscosity, as well as a flexible formula. Thin 5 gram Delicate applications #25019 $6.95

Thick 5 gram Substitute for epoxy #25020 $6.95

Flex 5 gram Substitute for Softex #25021 $6.95

Bone Dry 1/2oz Cures quickly #25161 $21.95

Solarez UV Fly FInish Colors

Colored version of Solarez UV resin makes it possible to add a ‘hot spot’ or collar to your fly, touch up a damaged fly, or quickly build bodies. Quickly cures when exposed to UV light.

White . . . . . . #26900 Black . . . . . .#26901

Fl. Orange . . . 26902 Fl Pink . . . 26903

Fl Green . . . . . . 26904 Fl Grape . . 26905 $12.95

Loon UV Bench Light

A push of the button and the powerful beam makes quick work of curing Loon’s UV resins. The variable focus allows fine tuning the UV cure pattern. #22705 AA battery included $39.95

Fly Tying Wire, Tinsel & Lead

Wapsi Ultra Fly Tying Wire

The proper material for building the body of the Copper John and Brassie. Also ideal for ribbing nymphs, reinforcing peacock, pheasant, or ostrich herl bodies. Ultra Wire not only provides a sheen and durability to your fly, it also provides weight to help get flies down to the fish.

Small is best for sizes 16-20

Brassie is fine for sizes 8-18

Medium is best for sizes

Large is best for sizes

Tips for Tying Euro Nymphs

EUROORCZECH nymphing is an ultra-effective tangent to our sport spawned by European competitive fly fishermen. Their rules don’t allow anything to help float a dry or sink a nymph. No indicators. No split shot. So, these guys have refined ways to get their flies down quicky, and better suit their style of fishing.

s Commonly, they’ll use heavier hooks to add more weight to their nymphs (Umpqua’s Competition Hooks on page 5) as well as tungsten beads instead of brass, and add lead to the fly’s underbody whenever possible to beat the need for split shot.

s Tungsten Czech Bodies were designed and manufactured for tiers to address the weight issue, while simultaneously creating a lifelike profile with a heavier (than thread) body.

s Some Euro Nymph aficionados further modifiy their flies by using jig-style hooks (like the Firehole 516), so their flies will ride point up through the water and have less tendency to snag on the bottom.

Bulk Lead Wire and Lead-Free Wire

The Fly Shop® offers the optional standard lead or a non-toxic, lead-free environmental alternative.

Holographic Tinsel

A flashy tinsel that is used for bodies on patterns like the Lightning Bug or Chironomid Pupa, but also can be used for wing cases to spice up any nymph. When using for bodies we recommend segmenting Ultra Wire over the top to make the fly more durable.

An easy way to build flat bodied nymphs or add extra weight to Mylar Zonkers and Streamers.

31 x 3/16 $3.95

Flat Mylar Tinsel

Most commonly used as ribbing, mylar adds sparkle and durability for large flies. It is gold on one side and silver on the other.

Small Small Medium Large

Lead Adhesive Zonker Tape

The name says it all. This lead adhesive tape is what makes the shape of the Zonker body possible. It is also helpful in tying a large variety of salt water patterns and spoon flies.

#9219 24 x1 sheet $5.95

Tungsten Czech Bodies

Nothing has a more dense specific gravity than the tungsten used to create these grooved, curved, ribbed, heavy tungsten, pre-formed Czech nymph under-bodies. The ultra-heavy, ultra productive body replaces thread build-up and a less dense underbody material. The four convenient sizes make tying this style of fly fast and easy.

Flashback Tinsel

$1.75 spool

Alternative tinsel that gives a red or blue hue that will make your wing cases and bodies pop. #5132 Red #5130 Ice Blue Pearl 1/16 wide $1.95 spool

Uni 2-Sided Mylar

This Mylar variation adds realistic color options. It’s a great material for body ribbing, flashbacks and dozens of other fly applications.

Channel Lead

A different concept in weighting flies. Delivered in strips that are extruded with a groove or channel that fits on the top or the bottom of a hook shank and is easy to anchor. Excellent Euro Nymph body.

Pearl & Mirage

Opal Tinsel Add pearlescent flash to bodies or wing cases.

Tube Fly Materials

Aqua Ultra Tubing

Need a hook holder? The Aqua Ultra Tubing fits the 1.8mm Aqua tubing perfectly. Simply cut a point on the back of the 1.8mm tube prior to tying your fly. Cut the Ultra Tube to desired length and attach to the tube. The Ultra Tube will accept hooks up to a size 2.

Clear, Fl. Org, Fl. Pink, Blue, Black, Olive, Fl. Char #AUTUBE $4.99 pkg.

Tying Tube Flies

TUBEFLIES have seen a huge rise in popularity in recent years, especially with swing fishermen that target steelhead, Atlantic salmon and sea trout, all over the world. There are a few great reasons for this increase.

Aqua Fly-Tying Tubes

Poly tubes for fly tying. Whether you tie trout flies, steelhead flies or saltwater flies. Formulated from a temperature stable polyethylene, meaning in near freezing conditions the tubes will not break. Large selection of colors to choose from, you can give your tube flies a new look.

The 1.8mm (1/16˝ OD) is the right size to tie trout flies or lightweight steelhead flies, such as marabou tubes. Tie a fly directly on the tubing or use it as a liner for metal tubes or weights, this tubing is very versatile.

The 3mm (1/8˝ OD) outside diameter tube makes a great platform for tying larger steelhead flies, such as Intruders or saltwater streamers.

Inside diameter of the 3mm will accept the 1.8mm tube perfectly. Add a cone to your fly by using 1.8mm tube as a liner for the 3mm tube. A drop of super glue will hold the smaller tube in place, but to make for a more secure fit, cinch down on the tying thread so the larger tube is bound down onto the 1.8mm tube. Hold the cone in place by holding a flame close to the end of the tube so it melts slightly and creates a collar.

#ATUBE1.8 20 per package $7.29 pkg.

Clear, Red, Blue, Black, Fl. Red, Fl. Org, Fl. Char, Fl. Pink

#ATUBE3.0 20 per package $7.29 pkg.

Clear, Red, Blue, Black, Fl. Red, Purple, Fl. Org, Fl. Char, Fl. Pink, Org Glitter, Pink/Fuschia

Clear Tubing

Standard clear tubing cut to 5 in total length for tying traditional tube flies. Available in 1/32˝ and 1/8˝ diameter’s these two sizes will cover most tube fly patterns and situations. Included also is 12 of clear junction tubing that secures perfectly to the clear tubing and trailer hooks.

#1783 Small #2222 Large $5.95

Junction Tubing

Colored flexible plastic tubing designed to keep the hook and tube fly together until the fish is hooked. Using Junction Tubing you ensure the hook stays in place while the fly swings, keeling it correctly.

#2001 Small(1/8 diameter)

2002 Large (3/16 diameter) $6.95

Aqua Torpedo Weights

Adding weight to a tube fly is easy with the Aqua Torpedo Weights. Simply slide the weight on the tube before tying your fly. The 10mm fits perfectly on the 1.8mm Aqua Tubes, while the 13mm is ideal for the 3mm Aqua Tubes.

10mm13mm

Silver 3106831070

Gold 3106931071

12 per package $8.29 pkg.

Aqua Cone Heads

The Aqua Cones are a great way to add weight to your tube flies, as well as add action to the fly in the water. Available in 7 great colors and 3 different sizes to pair with either size tube.

Olive, Purple, KF Blue, Fl. Salmon, FL. Char, Fl. Flam, Fl. Pink #ACONE3/16˝ #ACONE7/32˝ #ACONE1/4˝ 20 per package $5.50 pkg.

The biggest advantage of tube flies is actually when fighting big fish. When fishing with a large fly, we recognized that a long solid shank acted as a lever, prying the hook out of the fish’s mouth, especially on larger fish, during lengthier battles. When the fish grabs a tube, the tube will separate from the hook, allowing you to fight your fish on a stout short shank trailer hook, without the long leverage of a standard shank. The tube will just slide along the leader independently during the fight.

Tubes work by allowing the leader to feed through the fly, so it can slide loosely on the mono. Then a piece of “junction tubing” is slipped on the leader, a soft rubber section of hose just larger than the diameter of the tube itself. A bare hook is tied onto the end of the leader, the eye of the hook is pushed into one end of the junction tubing; and the tube fly is pushed into the other end, making it all one unit. For the trailer hook you want to pick a stout, straight eye, short shanked stinger, like the Ahrex Tube hook, or the Gamakatsu C14S. Steelheaders stick to the single hooks, while most Atlantic salmon anglers on the other side of the pond prefer the short shank double hooks.

Aqua Un-Real Jungle Cock

Aqua’s Un-Real Jungle Cock is like no other synthetic jungle cock on the market. It has been meticulously color corrected to bring the fly tyer the most accurate synthetic feather. The Un-Real Jungle Cock is then printed on a waterproof material that is super tough, but still has some flexibility and movement in the water. The fly tyer can use a permanent marker on the back and edges to create a natural look or a color accent. With a variety of sizes available, the choice is similar to selecting a feather from a real cape. #31072 12-13mm #31074 33-34mm

31073 13-21mm 31075 48-51mm $11.99/pkg.

Tube Fly Vise Adapter

Another easy way to transform any vise into a tube fly vise. Just clamp the adapter into the jaws of the vise and start tying. Ideal for the standard clear tubing. #568 $44.95

Another huge feature to actual fishing performance is that you can replace the hook with a brand new one at any time. If your hook point is fouled and dull or bent out, you can just nip it off and replace it, not worrying about trying to bend it back or sharpen it to save a fly that took you forever to tie.

Tying on a tube is no different than tying on a regular hook. Just get yourself the adapter for your vice and get after it!

– Justin Miller

Aqua Ultra Tubing

Aqua Fly Tying Tubes

Aqua Torpedo Weights

Eyes

Peacock bass in the Amazon have actually developed a unique, protective coloration to encourage aquatic (and perhaps aerial) predators to attack their wrong, and far less vital, ass end.

Enrico’s Crab and Shrimp Eyes

These are realistic, pre-formed, colored, stiff, durable, epoxy/mono eyes that are primarily used for shrimp patterns and other saltwater flies.They add realism, save a ton of time in fly production, and eliminate the need to craft (uncolored) shrimp eyes from heavy mono by melting the ends.

Dazl-Eyes

A vast improvement over standard cast eyes, Dazl Eyes are machined from brass, are more durable than cast eyes. They fit better, stay in place, and attach more firmly on the hook than most other barbell-style eyes.

Most fish in the wild live in fear of each other and it is uncommon to see a smaller Peacock bass that doesn’t display a ragged tail that’s been gnawed on by one of its own. Eyes are a very important predatory “trigger”. In fact,an extra eye on the tailgate is a common camouflage among a great many fresh and saltwater species.

Eyes can’t be emphasized enough, and serious fly tiers should give a great deal of thought to the color and size of the eyes they choose.

Monofilament Nymph Eyes

These are just the ticket when you want to add eyes to a fly without a lot of weight. Mono Nymph eyes will provide realism to flies, and allow softer presentation and a slower sink rate than standard bead chain. Ideal for damsels, dragons and, ultra-shallow bonefish situations.

Non-Toxic Non-Lead Barbell Eyes

Larger eyes often trigger a strike. These are excellent eco-friendly alternatives to lead barbell eyes and weigh only 63% as much as the lead eyes in the corresponding size. (Tiers are able to use a larger eye).

Pseudo Dumbell Eyes

Brass barbell-shaped eyes with built-in colored pupils. These are super-durable, will add weight and will make any size fresh or saltwater streamer more attractive.

Double Pupil Lead Eyes

These brightly colored, enamelled lead eyes add more than weight to any fresh or saltwater fly and the highly visible black-on-white pupils ought to trigger an attack from any hungry predator with a brain in its head.

Flat End Eye Glass Rattles ™

A great way to add sound to your flies without dealing with the bulk of a standard glass rattle. Tie in like a normal dumbell eye and coat with Zap-A-Gap to help keep in place.

#28530 3mm 1/4 , 10 per package $6.95

Chicone Stealth Bead Chain

Standard bead chain painted in stealthy matte colors to add needed weight, without the flash.

Bead Chain Eyes

The simple, practical, and effective solution to adding eyes to many patterns while simultaneously improving the sink rate. They’re excellent for bonefish or shad patterns and simulate the bug-eye effect of many small fry and other little baitfish. It’s important to remember that applying chain bead, barbell, Dazl-Eyes, Real Eyes, and I-Balz will make your fly ride hook up (and weed/rock-free)

There’s 18 inches of strung chain in each package.

Machined from brass, etched, then painted with durable black enamel pupils on a contrasting iris to achieve a realistic, attractive and irresistible effect.

Painted Lead Eyes

Identical to the brightly colored, Double Pupil Eyes, but employing a less complicated paint effect and slightly larger black-on-color irises. Color

John G. Sherman photo

Matt Harris photo

Tacky End Embellishing Tool

This is a great new tool for sticking eyes onto your fly without getting adhesives all over your fingers, or on the eye. This tool works great for picking up any small items like hooks and beads as well!

#26907 2 per package $6.50

The Fly Shop’s Glass

Taxi Eyes

Lifelike, Irresistible, and Durable!

These new glass eyes, available exclusively from The Fly Shop® are practically indestructible, and when they’re attached to a hook, they’ll be the last material that comes off your favorite fly. Developed for professional taxidermy, they’re translucent, incredibly lifelike, and add a new, natural, 3-dimensional aspect to all our streamers!

Fish Skull Living Eyes

Photo-accurate holographic eyes that have an ultra realistic 3D look. Best glued on with Zap-A-Gap, then coated with UV Clear, Epoxy or Softex.

A CENTURY AGO tiers began using Jungle Cock to represent eyes, add realism to their baitfish imitations and make them more effective. Modern fly tiers have a far broader choice, with paint-on, stick-on, epoxy, holographic, monofilament, bead chain, and a variety of barbell eyes in their tool chest.

Taxi Eyes are an import from the professional taxidermy industry, where there’s no substitute for realism and life-like accuracy. Taxi Eyes feature a black pupil (common to all animals) surrounded by a perfectly round eye in a choice of three translucent colors. That color is often enhanced by the color of other materials in the pattern. And, becuse they’re glass, Taxi Eyes pick up and refract light in low light conditions, making them more visible in all situations, and at greater depths than alternative eye imitations.

Holographic 3-D Eyes

Molded, stick-on eyes with an awesome 3-D effect add both realism and effectiveness to streamer patterns. Best to be glued on with Zap-A-Gap, then coated with UV Clear, Epoxy or Softex.

TAXIEYES are permanently molded to a durable, small diameter wire that can be cut and bent to a 90 degree angle, then tied to the shank of an appropriately sized hook. Without having to resort to messy glues or timeconsuming epoxy, fly tiers should be able to use Taxi Eyes to create more durable and life-like eyes and profiles quickly. A coat of head cement is all that’s necessary to ensure you won’t have to retire an otherwise perfect fly because one or more of the stick-on eyes fell off.

Pairs of Taxi Eyes are permanently molded to a durable, small diameter wire that can be cut and bent to a 90-degree angle, then tied to the shank of the hook.

Surface Seducer Eyes

Versatile eyes to imitate anything from baitfish to amphibians, or even a reptile! These specifically fit into the Surface Seducer Popper bodies attracting the most weary of fish to aggressively blitzkrieg your fly.

THEY ’ REAVAILABLE in three practical colors and three sizes that are appropriate for a wide variety of tropical and freshwater streamers, bonefish flies, and saltwater patterns. We’ve already used Taxi Eyes on a number of standard streamer patterns, adding an awesome, threedimensional, realistic effect to our Peacock Cruisers, Home Invaders, Whitlock streamers, Gotchas, and a variety of other popular flies.

Beadheads & Cones

Innovations in freshwater nymphs and streamers

The Fly Shop’s Bead and Conehead size guide

Taper Drilled Bead Heads

Bead heads add weight, flash, and has revolutionized nymph fishing, producing fish under nearly all conditions. The wide array of sizes and finishes will cover any fly-tying or fishing situation.

Rising Bead

Chart Coaster

Choosing which size hook to go with which bead when tying flies can be tricky, especially if you are starting out. Lucky for you Mickey Anderson at Rising did all the homework, and created our easy to use Bead Chart. Keep the coaster on your tying table and always have the reference chart handy. Time saved tying equates to more flies, more time on the water, or just more time contemplating the big fish your creation from the vise will catch.

#21998 $10.00

Hareline

Feed-A-Bead ™

with Organizer

Stores, organizes and acts as a steady, third hand that helps to feed beads onto hooks with remarkable ease. Will work on nearly all styles of beads, cones and larger hooks.

#28528 5 pack Organizer set $5.50 28529 10 pack $5.50

Hareline

Hump Back Glass Beads ™

Great for creating transparent backs in a wide variety of colors to match many bug patterns. A new favorite for midge patterns, as well as various nymph emergers. Easily slides on hook shanks and adds a unique look to flies of all types.

Peak Hook and Bead Cup

Terrific way to organize those tiny, easy-to-lose and misplaced items. Fully rounded bottom makes removing items easy, and is lightweight with a table friendly bottom. Multiple cups can be easily stacked so they store neatly out of the way when not in use.

#4483 $27.95

Tyers Beads

Glass beads are an indispensable part of fly tying used to add both weight and iridescence. Tyers Beads are synonymous with quality and many of the sizes and colors are incorporated in flies found only at The Fly Shop®.

Nymph Head Anodized Beads

These are a low cost option to getting a “true” anodized bead featuring a broad selection of great fish loving colors that will spice up any nymph.

Firehole Stones

Firehole Stones

Firehole Stones are the most modestly priced, top quality tungsten beads. The matte paint job on these beads is very unique, and available in colors not found from any other bead manufacturer.

beads per pack.

Almond Joy. . . . . #25043. #25044. #25045. #25046. . #25047

Autumn. . . . . . . 25053. . 25054. . 25055. . 25056. . . 25057

Black. . . . . . . . 25058. . 25059. . 25060. . 25061. . . 25062

Caddis Green . . . 25028. . 25029. . 25030. . 25031. . . 25032

Cream Puff. . . . . 25033. . 25034. . 25035. . 25036. . . 25037

Dark Olive. . . . . 25063. . 25064. . 25065. . 25066. .

Taper Drilled Hot Beads

Brass beads with a brilliant baked-on enamel finish.

Taper Drilled Cone Heads

These very dense cone heads are intended to get the fly down fast and deep. These are perfect caps for heads on many streamer patterns.

Cross-Eyed Tapered Cone Heads

Add realism, weight, and action to your streamers by using these conehead eyes that feature deep recessed pockets, and bright, prismatic eyes. Each finish is packaged with the appropriate, complementing eye colors.

Slotted Mottled Tungsten Beads

These mottled slotted tungsten beads will look great on your tactical jig patterns.

Fish

Skulls

Revolutionary weighted heads add a realistic baitfish profile to fresh and saltwater streamers.

Firehole Bug Bands

Add a hot spot just behind the bead while adding weight to the fly with a seamless segmented look.

standard beads, and slotted beads.

Firehole Tear Drop Body

Tapered design for a perfectly shaped thorax on your subsurface caddis pupa/larvae or mayfly nymphs. Tungsten is almost 2 times as heavy as lead, your fly will get down to fish faster, and without bulky lead wire.

Fish Skull Sculpin Helmets

An exciting new style head with a realistic, flat, broad profile that imitates anything from a sculpin to a baby catfish. Heavily weighted keel bottom lets you tie flies that swim hook-up.

Tungsten Beads

Tungsten beads help eliminate lead and drop flies quickly for a deep, deadly drift into the fishes kitchen. Black

Firehole Slotted Tungsten Beads

The new Firehole Slotted Tungsten beads have a slot for jig hooks and to make it possible to get oversized or undersized beads around the bend on standard hooks. Very nice, stealthy matte finish.

Fish Skull Masks

Super attractive, realistic plastic heads, with recessed eye sockets for attaching stick-on eyes.

Slotted Tungsten Beads

The proper beads to use with jig hooks that will butt up to the eye and sit properly on the hook shank.

Tungsten Cone Heads

Twice as heavy as standard cone heads that will get down twice as fast to the fish! Refer to Bead/Cone chart for sizing. (page 22)

Firehole Bug Bands

Firehole Tear Drop Body

Dubbing

Arizona Diamond Dubbing

Dubbing genius, John Rohmer’s latest creation will add extra life to your nymphs or streamers. A bit longer than AZ Synthetic Dubbing and different color spectrum.

Hareline Ice Dub & Hareline Steelhead Ice Dub Dubbings

Ice dubbing is great for nymphs, emergers, buggers, leeches, and steelhead bodies. Easy to use, either straight or blended with another dubbing.

#4848 Ice Dub Dispenser $20.95 Individual packages $3.50 pkg. 9240

$20.95

Arizona Synthetic Dubbing

Innovative blend of synthetics that simulate natural peacock, plus much buggier and more durable.

Trilobal Dubbing

This Trilobal dubbing will add translucence and life to all of your flies. Great for streamers, buggers, or steelhead flies.

Per package $1.95

Natural Muskrat

One of the most traditional dubbings for dries and nymphs, most famously used for the Adams and counterpart the Parachute Adams.

#6183 patch $2.95

Australian ‘Possum

A great fur to blend with other dubbings or a wonderful substitute for Hare’s dub. Brushed out will give a buggy profile that is great for any subsurface pattern!

#112 patch $1.75

Super-Fine Dry Fly Dubbing

Super-Fine is the best small dry fly dubbing we've found, used or even heard about! The buoyant dubbing fibers are pre-treated with a waterproofing agent to help dry flies ride even higher than most synthetics in the water.

Extremely natural practical colors.

Individual - 24 colors $2.25 pkg.

Super Fine 1 Dry Fly Dubbing and Dispenser #3778 (With these 12 colors) $12.95

Buggy Nymph Dubbing

A fibrous semi-coarse, translucent, and absorbent synthetic that’s quick and easy to dub. Use for nymphs like the Birds Nest and other nymphs that requires a buggy, dubbed body.

The exact formula blend that Mike Mercer developed for his own patterns. A spectrum mix of anywhere from 5 to15 colors in each dubbing blend. Individual or Dispenser.

Antron Dubbing

The

and effective when the antron yarn is combined with any other dubbing or fur.

Per package $1.95

McFlylon Poly Yarn

Great source of poly yarn in all the colors you wish they would come in. Super parachute post material. Used in the famous Tarpon Toad pattern.

Polytron Yarn

The closest thing we’ve found to Z-Lon, in an easy-to-use, spooled format.

Hareline’s Custom Blend Dubbing Kit

Create your own blend of colors and fibers easily and quickly with this new set of blending tools. The kit is manufactured by the leader in packaged dubbing, complete with a sampling of dubbing and instructions to help you create your own unique dubbing colors and fiber combinations. Simply work the furs and or synthetics into evenly distributed mats on the dubbing board and blend them together with the wire brush.

#19818 Hareline Custom Blend Dubbing Kit $119.95

19969 Replacement Brush 18.95

Why the sudden popularity in Jig Hooks?

IT ’ S HARD TO TELL sometimes whether new fly fishing techniques develop first or if they’re the result of new tackle, flies, or materials. Maybe both.

The current enthusiasm that surrounds Euro (or Czech) nymphing has flourished simply because it works. And while some argue that it’s just a more sophisticated version of the high sticking method that’s been around for a long time, this offshoot of competition angling has spawned an entirely new generation of terminal tackle and shifted the focus of how we tie and fish some of our flies.

The Euro Nuts weren’t the first to point out that flies tied on jig hooks ride hook up and have less tendency to snag on bottom debris. But they did prove conclusively in competition that flies tied on those hooks caught more fish than those which weren’t tied on jig hooks. Add to that the inarguable fact that a larger number of fish nabbed with a jig hook actually make it to hand, and that (because most of those fish are more commonly stung in the upper mouth or lip) it’s a quick and easy task to release fish nailed with a jig hook. Proven more effective with a lower mortality.

Jig hooks certainly aren’t the correct choice for every fly, but they should be considered as the hook of choice for some nymphs, balanced flies, streamers and lots of others.

Our in-house expert tier, Mike Mercer, questions “whether the common dorsal features of a nymph – wing cases, abdomen carapaces, etc. – should be tied inside the hook gap to accommodate the upside down presentation of the jig hook.” He prefers in most cases to tie these on the opposite, more traditional side, as it is easier to accomplish and he notices no difference in the number of takes he gets between the two styles. He points out that “there is a definite learning curve associated with tying on jig hooks, most noticeably when securing materials such as wing cases inside the the hook gap …it is just awkward.“

As with many innovations in tying, jig hooks are not going to take the place of existing options, but they are a highly useful addition to our arsenal for nymphs and streamers and they certainly deserve your attention.

Slotted Bead Head and Jig Hook Chart

Here’s a helpful chart The Fly Shop® developed from a lot of trial and error that’ll make selecting the appropriate slotted bead head for the jig hook you’ve chosen a lot easier.

The Fly Shop® prides itself on our cutting edge inventory. We have an excellent selection of jig hooks and other specialty products. All our hooks can be found on pages 4, 5 and 6 in this issue.

The Fly Shop Model TFS 5444

Available in sizes 3/0, 2/0, 1/0, 1, 2, 4, 6

Standard wire model appropriate for most jig hook applications. A top quality at a super reasonable price. This is a solid hook in large sizes for Striper flies; i.e. Flashtail or Clouser Minnows, as well as other freshwater nymphs and streamers.

Umpqua Feather Merchant UFMXS506H

Super-heavy, forged wire model ideal for larger fish.

Available in Sizes 1, 2, 4, 6, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0 60 degree jig hook, extra heavy wire, needle point, black nickel finish. The extra heavy wire makes this a top choice for big game flies, jungle patterns and saltwater applications.

Umpqua Feather Merchant UFMXC450BL-BN

High carbon steel with a curved, barbles, needle point.

Available in Sizes 10-16 60 degree jig hook, heavy wire, barbless, Xtra long needle point, black nickel. A great choice for all “jigged” nymphs including “Balanced Leeches”. The curved needle point sticks in the fish’s mouth once hooked.

Umpqua Feather Merchant UFMXC400BL-BN

The new standard in jig hooks, high carbon steel wire.

Available in Sizes 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 Jig hook, needle point, black nickel, barbless. Slightly longer shank length hook than is most commonly used for “Balanced Leeches”, but is still great for all “jigged” nymphs.

Firehole Model 516

Heavy Wire Jig Hook

Available in sizes 10-20

Heavy style jig hook, 60 degree bend, 1x wide gape, standard shank length, barbless. Heavy wire jig hook available in smaller sizes not found in other models.This is the hook for anyone who is tying small “jigged” nymphs.

Hook Bead Hook

Bryan Quick photo

Dynamite material for both saltwater and freshwater patterns. Flashy, durable, gives plenty of action.

Midge Flash

A smaller, more supple version of Krystal Flash that will add more motion to nymphs, saltwater flies, streamers.The colors are fantastic and mimic bait.

Fluoro Fiber

A fluorescent micro fiber with a very fine texture. Used extensively on commercial, contemporary Steelhead and Baitfish patterns.

Saltwater Flashabou ™

This wider (1/16 ) version is great for saltwater baitfish and bass patterns. Required for the Dali Lama.

Grizzly Barred Flashabou ™

Great substitute for saddle hackle on steelhead flies and a provocative, versatile new streamer material.

Lite Brite

Superfine, Mylar hair that is ideal for baitfish imitations and a million other patterns. Also try dubbing it.

Glow-in-the-Dark Flashabou ™

“Charge” this material by exposing it to bright light, causing it to slowly emit a soft glow for several minutes. It’ll increase visibility on dark days, dim light, in murky waters or night angling.

Krystal Flash

A material some anglers/tiers consider absolutely indispensable as part of their tool chest.There’s a myriad of practical colors useful for complete wing or as sparkle in combination with other fur or synthetic wing material.

Holographic Flashabou ™

This is an imaginative blend of colors incorporated in thin Flashabou fibers that achieves a scaly, realistic look. Holographic Flashabou effectively replaces standard Flashabou in many tying situations and is highly recommended for salmon flies and all streamers.

Electra Scale

Arguably the single most reflective flash material made. Experts feel it should be built into saltwater and jungle flies whenever possible, and with the broad color spectrum, that is a lot! The corrugated texture of Electra Scale mimics the look of fish scales.

Flashabou ™ Mirage Mirage combines Flashabou reflection with a unique iridescent chameleon effect.

Synthetics... essential modern alternatives to traditional materials

FLIESTIEDONLYHALF A CENTURY AGO were nearly all constructed of natural furs and fibers. While they seem primitive now, early flies were built using Plymouth Rock,Rhode Island Red, and common barnyard roosters. Bodies were often built from burlap, and eyes from simple bead chain. In the nascence of our sport we had only the natural world from which to source our fly tying materials.

Fly tiers look at the world through different eyes than most. Innovation and experimentation have taken us from road-kills to the exotic. A flexible string becomes the next big thing for tying nymph bodies and as modern materials have emerged, fly tiers have adopted and adapted a wide range of products for use on their flies. Synthetics include an enormous variety of materials and many are fibers adopted from the textile and garment industry.

Synthetic Peacock Quills

A great material for making segmented bodies fast and easy. Color dyed over clear which gives it a bit of a translucent quality.

Pearl Core Braid

Thin pearl braid with a dyed core adding a dual-color depth. Burn the end for a tapered, life-like insect body look. Great for San Juan Worms and Caddis Pupae.

Bungee Braid

A larger version of Mylar Tubing for saltwater poppers.

Holographic Mylar Tubing

Baitfish flies will shimmer spectacularly in the

Midge

Diamond Braid

Very versatile braided material dyed over pearl. Used for bonefish, steelhead, salmon, shad and bluegill flies.

Hair

Subtle blend of natural and synthetic fibers, has great movement in the water.

Adds a segmented translucent effect to any fly and is ideal for overwrapping nymph and streamer bodies.

Mini Flat Braid

Modern replacement for flat braided mylar, the 1/16

material is easy to wrap and easier to use than mylar for steelhead and saltwater fly bodies. Terrific visibility in the water and sure to improve most patterns.

Pyrex Fly Rattles

These noisy Pyrex capsules contain small BB’s that rattle and vibrate. Sound works! Especially in the salt. Build them into the body to attract bass, stripers, or stimulate any predator fish.

It’s easy to incorporate these rattles with any fly that has a mylar tube body, or simply add them to the shank of the hook on any streamer or popper patterns.

Mylar Tubing

Body tubing for fresh & saltwater streamer patterns.

Copic Markers

The latest colored markers are perfect for coloring flies at the bench or as needed on the water. These markers are waterproof, color fast, and are compatible with the Copic Marker Spray gun.

Ice Dub

Minnow Back Fringe

These mixed colors from light to dark Ice Dub Fibers will make a great addition to your minnow patterns or with the Ice Dub Shimmer Fringe.

Chart/Peacock . . . . #15180 Hot Pink/Purple . . #15181

Pearl/Bronze 15182 Pearl/Dark Blue . . . 15183

Pearl/Gray 15184 Pearl/Peacock . . . . . 15185

Pearl/Yellow 15186 Pink/Bronze . . . . . . 15187

Shrimp Pink/Hot Pink 15188 Yellow Pearl/Chart . . 15189

Per package $5.95

Sculpting

Flash Fiber

Great for creating baitfish or streamer patterns that will hold a perfect profile. The hint of flash gives the material a little bling, and is very easy to work with.

White . . . . . . . . . #19872 Silver Gray . . . . . . #19873

Natural Belly . . . . . . 19874 Wild Olive . . . . . . . 19875

Light Pink

19876 Camo

19877

Sea Blue . . . . . . . . . 19878 Mullet Brown . . . . . 19879

Herring Back . . . . . . 19880 Midnight Blitz . . . . . 19881

Chartreuse . . . . . . . 19882 Bronze Back

Black

Mackerel

Live Bait

Per package $8.95

Puglisi

3-D Silky Fiber

Softer and finer fibers than Sea Fiber, but with the same character that makes it just right for smaller saltwater and freshwater baitfish or streamers.

Ice Dub Shimmer Fringe

A flashy synthetic material that is a perfect addition to spice up any baitfish pattern. Can also be cut in smaller pieces and used for wings on nymphs.

Farrar Blend

This flashy synthetic streamer material is perfect for saltwater, striper, and jungle patterns. When wet, the fibers undulate and present an irresistible profile to finned predators.

Super Hair

Large minnow and streamer material, that becomes lifelike in the water, and will not absorb water.

Select Craft Fur

One of the most popular wing materials for saltwater or freshwater streamers, bonefish and steelhead flies. Cut and tie it in as a wing or palmer as the body. Both give great profiles and undulate in the water. Absolutely indispensible for the Gotcha and a terrific material for contemporary jungle and blue water

Puglisi

3-D Sea Fibers

Pre-blended colors of Sea Fiber strands that will add multi-dimensional attributes and lifeline action to fresh and saltwater streamers. Holds a great wet profile.

Tan.

Loon Ergo Comb

The solution to unruly materials at the vise or mangled streamers on the water. Ergonomic powder coated tool is easy find and comfortable in hand. Stainless steel shaft and teeth make quick work of messy flies at the bench or on the water.

#28547 $15

A terrific, fibrous body material. Similar to Craft Fur, but the fibers are more fine, and not as coarse. Makes excellent, life-like bodies on baitfish patterns.

Flash-n-Slinky

This has become one of our favorite materials for tying large streamers. The fiber will hold a great profile, doesn’t retain water, and is mixed with the perfect amount of Gliss-n-Glow flash. 8˝ in total length.

Pseudo Hair

Rubber & Legs

Barred Fire Tip Sili Legs

Mini Squiggle Worms

A very realistic and wormlike material that is tapered, and thinner than the Squirmy Wormy material. This material can be easily attached to a hook with Zap-a-Gap.

Squirmy Wormies Rubber

Simple, effective, durable heavy body/legging material. Keeps a profile when wet and is ideal for the San Juan Worm and other similar applications.

Centipede Legs

Centipede legs will spice up any fly and have been a staple for years. Round, barred, and ideal for

Barred & Speckled Crazy Legs

Terrific

material that combines speckles, bars and pattern that will add realism to any legged pattern.

Brian O’Keefe photo

Sili Legs

Soft, pliable, speckle flaked, silicone, gummy rubber legs that drive fresh and saltwater fish wild. They add sizzle to medium-sized freshwater streamers or nymphs and are super when tied on bonefish flies.

Amber/Gold Flake . . . #6543

Black/Red Flake . . . . . 5956

Blue/Silver Flake . . . . 6542

Brown/Black Flake . . . 6524

Brown/Orange Flake . . 5955

Clear/Pearl Flake . . . . 5918

Chartreuse/Black Flake . 5954

Per package $2.95

Nymph Sili Legs

Another effective version of Sili Legs in randomly mottled, natural colors that are most appropriate for freshwater applications.

Yellow Barred . . . . . #4494 Orange Barred . . . . #4545

Brown Solid

Black Solid . . . . . . . . 4511 Pearl Barred . . . . . . . 4547

Thin Skin

Stretchy, translucent sheets for scuds, carapaces and wing cases. Paper backing makes it easy to cut.

Olive/Black Flake . . #5871

Orange/Black Flake . . 6545

Pumpkin/Black Flake . 5870

Purple/Blue Flake . . . 6090

Sand/Black Flake . . . 6546

Smoke/Blue Flake . . . 6334

White/Silver Flake . . . 5953

Fire-Tipped Sili Legs

A bright, fluorescent-tipped version of Sili Legs.

Black/Red Tip . . . . . #3372

Clear/Fire Orange Tip . 3375

Olive/Orange Tip . . . . 4268

Chartreuse/Fire Tip . . 4298

Per package $2.95

Orange/Red Tip . . .# 4266

Black/Purple Tip . . . . 3374

Pumpkin/Orange Tip . 3373

Purple/Hot Pink Tip . . 3376

Pumpkin Barred . . . . . 4530 Fl. Chartreuse Barred . 4548

Per package $2.95

Loco Legs

Identical to Sili Legs in a color palette best suited for bonefish, permit, and other saltwater species.

Super Floss Stretch Leg & Body Material

This unique, flat, stretch rubber fiber will build smooth, colorfast, durable, segmented bodies or make lifelike legs that can be customized with marking pens. Creative use of Super Floss is a perfect example of the contribution that creative use of these new rubbery materials can make to the sport. The Pat’s Rubberleg (pictured above) uses only chenille and rusty olive Super Floss. It’s a modern version of the Rubberlegs, and is one of the single most popular and productive local trout flies in our arsenal.

Round

Rubber Legs

Small diameter rubber legging material in solid colors molded to a round shape. It’s just the ticket for a lot of flies. Available only in medium sizes except for black and white. The small size is for flies that are in the #12 to #16 range.

Perfect for shellbacks on scuds or wing cases on nymphs. Will stretch to the width needed.

Rubber Fly Tails

An adaptation of the effective rubber tails used on bass lures and jigs. Add to streamers or crayfish patterns and the erratic action will drive fish wild!

Web Wing

Semi-transparent sheets for caddis, and other wings.

Flyfoamtying

FOAMFIRSTBEGAN showing up on flies in the 1980’s. Before then, anglers did a lot more false casting and added a lot more floatant to keep their flies on the surface. Along came the craft store industry, a sudden explosion of synthetic materials, and today we’ve got a variety of tying options to craft buoyant, high floating silhouettes designed to attract every species of fresh and saltwater fish from Alaska to Argentina.

It’s a waste of good fishing time to spend hours discussing the chemistry of different types of foam. There are only so many times you can say the word polyethylene and even scientists are bored by talk about cross-linking process different polymers.

The only real scientific variable in the choices of foam is density, which relates to softness and flexibility. It’s the first thing to consider when choosing what foam to use. You need to match this up with your desired application or design.

Should the foam be soft or would you prefer it to be rigid? Too soft and the foam may tear. Too hard and the foam may dent. You may need to wrap the foam and want it to be soft, or you may be shooting for a durable, “bullet-proof” option for aggressive or toothy fish.

Foam specifics: For practical purposes anglers need know only that foam comes in two main types: “open cell” and “closed cell”. Closed cell foam is buoyant and floats. Open-cell foam absorbs water (like a sponge) and would help make a fly sink. In most circumstances foam is added to a fly to add buoyancy and closed cell foam accounts for 98% of all the foam used in fly tying. Fly Foam (Sheet Foam) is a closed cell, high density foam. It’s very buoyant and extremely durable. It comes in a variety of thicknesses from 0.5mm all the way to 6mm and a variety of colors not found anywhere else on the planet. Rainy’s makes all our popper heads out of this same material. It can be shaped and sanded smooth without tearing, and can also be painted, epoxied, and glued. In thin pieces it can also be used to wrap small fly bodies.

Rainy’s Evazote Sheet Foam is flexible, closed cell sheet foam that is not as dense as Fly Foam but is still very buoyant. Evazote foam can be used for bodies and, due to it softness, can also be cut into thin strips and used to wrap bodies of hoppers, beetles, ants and other flies. It comes in a very large variety of colors and thicknesses and has a lot of applications.

– Jesse Riding

Rainy’s Foam Cones, Poppers, and Divers

These evenly pre-shaped foam bodies and heads have done a lot of the work for you. Just add one of these super-durable, buoyant heads or bodies to your hook to create a fly instead of the traditional alternatives of trimmed hair or other, less buoyant animal products. Lash on a foam body or simply dress the hook and then slide the popper head over the eye of the hook and cover your thread wraps for a nice clean look. Add eyes or paint to personalize and dress up the finished fly. It can be as simple or sophisticated as you choose.

The Diver heads and Pencil Poppers are designed for Stinger hooks while the Saltwater Poppers models are sized for 1/0 and larger (and terrific in the Amazon).

We use the Cone model to tie the Mercer Lemming. Color Saltwater Sm. Pencil Med. Pencil Diver Cone

Marcel Siegle photo

Choosing the right foam

Consider thickness or shape. Does the foam with the right density for your pattern also come in the right size, shape, or thickness? What about color? Most foam accepts all sorts of marking pen, paint and various glues and epoxy with little to no side-affects and allows art, personalization, and creativity that often goes into painting and dressing your popper.

Choosing the correct hook

We have access to all kinds of hook models, so this may not seem like a big deal. But sometimes it’s hard to find the perfect hook for your fly. Strength and other factors are considerations, but you have to pay attention to shank length and hook gap. You may want a long shank for more materials or want the hook point further back in the fly profile. You may want it to be a short fly and will just need enough hook to put the popper head on. The hook gap is perhaps the most critical part of the selection process. It’s the part that actually catches the fish so it is important to choose the right combo of foam body or head and the correct hook to maximize gap and be able to properly stick the fish. Often you’ll need to physically match up the hook with the desired foam body or head.

Razor Foam and Fly Foam

Identical products, varying only in thickness, these thin foam patches are ideal for creating high-floating nymphs, spent spinners, terrestrials, ants and a multitude of other pattern applications. The 2, 4, and 6 mm sizes add excellent floatation and are great for dries, beetles, unsinkable ants, and skaters. 6mm. is a very thick foam patch for tying mice and skaters.

Surface Seaducer Popper

Double-Barrel Foam Bodies

Make some real noise with these new double-barrel shaped bodies. The new age deep cupped foam head is sure to attract attention from below the water line. Flip it around to make a great slider.

UFM U504 Sizes 2 25/$11.35 Sizes 4 - 10 50/14.50 Popper hook, 2x long, kink shank, bronze.

Metallic and pearlescent hued 2mm foam that will add flash to your fly, yet still keep it floating like a cork.

Mini-Me Pops & Pee-Wee Pops

Takes permanent marker, paint or epoxy. Just slide them on the hook or cut a slot. The Mini-Me’s are best for hook sizes 2 or 4 and great for saltwater or bass poppers. Pee-Wee pops are swell panfish popper bodies, and work best on stinger style hooks, sizes 8, 10, or 12.

Gorilla pre-formed Chernobyl Bodies

The quick and easy way to tie Chernobyl’s, hoppers, and stoneflies.

Rainy’s Round Float Foam Great for terrestrial bodies. Easy to use, durable.

UFM U505 Sizes 3/0-1/0 25/$13.75

Saltwater popper, 2x long, kinked, stainless steel. Perfect for large poppers and saltwater/brackish water.

Furry Foam

A flexible sheet with a soft foam center and a flocked, fuzzy outer layer. Furry Foam can be stretched for thin bodies and thin applications.

Zuddys Leg Puller

An essential tool for pulling rubber legs through foam, cork, and spun deer hair flies.

#25027 $18.00

Foam

Parachute Posts

These foam micro cylinders form a nice rigid post to wrap hackle around. Easy to see and adds buoyancy. Three sizes will cover 99% of all dry fly applications.

Call Us For Cree!

THEMOST difficult chicken to breed (for color) is Cree. The feathers combine both grizzly and brown in the same feather and produce spectacular, ultraproductive flies. It is the least common, and most sought after natural feather.

The Fly Shop® has standing orders for every top quality Cree we can get.

You can trust our staff of experts to assist you in the selcection of the best available cape or saddle, and we guaranteee satisfaction!

Metz Capes are incredibly stiff and long with a minimal webbing. These fly tying feathers have been consistently the most popular fly tying capes ever produced.

Metz capes (necks) offer a very broad range of feathers appropriate for many different sizes. The difference between the three grades is based on the quality of the hackle, the total number of feathers on the neck, and the amount of webbing on each particular neck. These are worth every cent.

Metz Premium Grizzly Saltwater and Bass Necks

You won’t find quality like these feathers anywhere else. Period! The dyes are perfect, and the barring is bold. The hackle on these necks are wide and webby with rounded tips and create a great full bodied profile.

Jay Fair Grizzly Premium Grizzly Saddles

These are the best saddle hackles we’ve seen! They’re beautifully dyed in terrific colors for stillwater, nymphs, and subsurface streamer patterns. These saddles will help produce beautiful flies on any size hook from #6 to #16.

Metz Medium Dun Cape

Pale Blue/Gray shade, hint of creme.

Metz Black Cape

Terrestrials, Gnats, Ants and Poppers.

Metz Grizzly Cape are the most common and useful feather in fly tying.

Metz Ginger Cape are essential for the common spring creek.

Metz Light Blue Dun Cape Very limited supply of this Andalusian.

Metz Brown Cape rate as the most essential feather used in fly tying.

Metz Cream Cape a needed color for many mayfly and caddis flies.

Grizzly Dyed Olive Cape for Drakes and spring creek patterns.

Grizzly Half Saddles

These half saddles from Hareline are a very economical way to obtain a wide assortment of colors without breaking the bank. All of the colors are dyed over natural grizzly.

Metz Half Necks are perfect for the tier on a budget, who doesn’t need a full neck, or is just getting started, or only ties flies occasionally! We stock these great necks in the most popular colors and grades.

Our #2 grade necks will tie flies in the size 16 and 18 range, and are the best value in fly tying. The #3 Grade Metz necks are perfect for larger dry flies (12, 14, 16) and are webbier, with larger hackles ideal for streamers and saltwater.

Hackle Gauge

This handy tool takes the guesswork out of choosing hackle, allows for fewer mistakes. The gauge attaches to any standard vise stem for convenient, quick, accurate feather measurement and gauging. #1765 $5.95

n Whiting Spring Creek/Midge Saddles

80% of saddle feathers are #18 or smaller.

n Whiting Cock Saddles

These saddles are what sophisticated tiers prize. They’re 5 to 10 long!

n Whiting Cock Necks offer a larger size range of feathers extending from small dries to bass poppers

Silver Whiting necks have come a long way, they are an incredible value and it’s hard to find a better neck anywhere.

n Whiting Hen Necks are ideal for mayfly wings, nymphs, and wet fly collars.

Whiting Farms Super Saddles and Necks

Whiting Farms hackles are the most prized feathers on any fly tiers bench, and the best value at any price! Whiting saddles and necks are twice the length and twice the quality of the best saddle and necks that you will find produced by other growers.

Whiting hackles will not only tie better flies, but typically tie twice as many flies from the same size skin. Though the initial expense is more, you end up with better hackle and will be able to produce infinitely more quality flies. Arguably, these are the finest quality and a much better value in the long run.

Whiting Farms Saddles, Necks, and Hen Necks

Schlappen

This is the big, fat, webby part of saddle hackles that work well for collars on streamers, spey, and steelhead and salmon flies. These solid colors will cover any situation.

Hen Back

Soft, webby fibers are an excellent substitute for partridge and grouse that some tiers feel is superior. Unlike natural partridge, every feather on a hen back is very consistent in size, web, color and all are usable. Perfect

Hen Saddles

The short saddle feathers are perfect for tying soft hackle or smaller flies. These feathers are very webby and can give a great twist to the appearance of a fly. They also work great for gills on fresh and saltwater streamers.

These short, webby, hen saddle feathers dyed over grizzly are another ideal choice for soft hackle and nymph patterns.

Super Strung Webby Saddle Hackle

Strung saddle feathers, ranging in size from 4

to 6

These are useful for wooly buggers, saltwater flies, bass patterns, freshwater streamers, collars, and a million other fly tying applications.

Pheasant tail is essential for wing cases and body material on dozens of standard nymphs.

Wapsi Select Marabou Plumes

Our first choice for tails on leeches or buggers. Marabou Plumes are softer, bushier fibers that undulate more in the water giving your fly a more lifelike appearance.

Ringneck

Pheasant Skin

Complete cape and saddle without tail. A ton of uses!

Ringneck Pheasant, Full Tail

Perfect for the pheasant tail fanatic that uses a large quantity of these iridescent fibers. #5314 $8.95

Strung Ringneck

Pheasant Rump

Used primarily for collars on larger nymphs like the Carey Special, as well as traditional steelhead flies.

Ostrich

Hareline CDC

The oil and natural properties of CDC provide the flotation of these feathers. Perfect for dry flies and emergers. No dressing necessary.

STH Turkey Flats

Coq De Leon

The original fly tying feather. Coq De Leon is a very unique feather that is naturally mottled, shiney and hands down the most durable natural material available. Makes great tails and legs.

Coq De Leon Fire Tail Feathers

This ultra soft marabou is perfect for damsel or small leech tails.

FishCamp™ for

10 -15 year-old kids

FISHCAMPERSLEARN the basics of fly casting, fly fishing techniques, fly tying, how to read water, and other fly fishing and outdoor skills that’ll stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Young boys and girls (age 10 - 15) are kept busy every minute of the week in an action-packed curriculum that’s been polished for 3 decades. Kids meet other junior anglers with the same interests. They’ll have lots of opportunity to reinforce daily instruction with angling excitement and have a ball catching (and releasing) trout with flies they’ll probably have tied themselves.

s Fundamental fly casting

s Tackle set-up &knots

s Safe wading

s Basic entomology

Youngsters can build summer camp memories while learning the sport with other kids at our ranch in the heart of Klamath National Forest. Get your kid out of the house, into the outdoors, and away from television, electronics, or other distractions. Start him or her off right as a fly fisherman this summer by reserving one of The Fly Shops 5-day FishCamp sessions.

Beginner June 19-23, 26-30, $995 July 10-14, 17-21

Advanced FishCamp July 24-28 1,395 Family FishCamp July 31-Aug 4 3,980/Tent

s Conservation

s Introduction to fly tying

s On-stream classes

s Reading streams & lakes

Visit

s Leave-No-Trace

s Hiking & games

s Stream courtesy

s Catch-and-release ethic

The Fly Shop’s award-winning 5-day summer camps are held in July at our Antelope Creek Ranch campus, two hours north of Redding on the slope of Mount Shasta. It’s a well-developed fly fishing learning center and an ideal fresh-air classroom where FishCampers can practice new skills on miles of private stream and fish-filled lakes.

Everything is included

Every meal, all the equipment, comfortable wall tents, bunks, professional round-the-clock supervision, experienced instructors, superb counselors, lots of fun and loads of fish. Kids only need to bring along their sleeping bag, clothing, toiletries, and a big smile.

Toby Nolan photos

Our mid-summer, Northern California camps are the perfect way for kids to learn all the fly fishing fundamentals and have fun doing it.

Tying with Feathers

I ’ VEBEEN A FLY TYERFOR 40 YEARS and many times people ask me how I tie a particular fly or about a technique that I used. I always tell them that they need to manipulate the material to make it do what you want it to do. Sometimes the manipulation works and other times, well you know the answer to that – it doesn’t. You’re always learning and developing the skills of a fly tyer.

Take feathers for example. Most folks think of hackle either chicken saddle or neck hackle in the tying world. But as there are many different types of feathers. From that traditional neck hackle to mallard flank to turkey biots. A large majority of feathers that are available to the fly tyer can be used for multiple purposes. You just need to think outside the box. Use your imagination. Many times, I get inspiration from other tyer’s creations and how they performed the technique application to make it work.

I like using natural feathers. For example, I like natural wood duck flank over dyed wood duck mallard flank. You also have to realize that not all materials are going to be available. The natural wood duck flank, if you can find it, will cost you multiple times more than the dyed.

Take mallard flank. You can use it for tails, gill plates, wings, legs, bodies and the list goes on. On Zack Thurman’s Float-N-Fly the mallard flank feather is used for the complete side of the fly to represent scales, with the translucent feather allowing the dubbing colors beneath to come through when wet. The fly breathes, jigs, and pulsates without the fly fisher even moving it. Just a side note – the wing underneath the mallard flank is dubbing. Zack used it not as dubbing but to layer the colors he wanted to represent the shad and pond smelt minnows.

Cul De Canard, aka CDC feathers have generated a huge improvement in my personal tying. I use the CDC feather not just for dry fly wings, but also as the legs (palmered style underneath a hen turkey molted tail feather wingcase) on a Hexagenia nymph I am currently fishing. Again, the feather is not being used as it was originally intended. The CDC brings the nymph alive with movement. Each strand of the CDC is moving like the real legs of the Hexagenia nymph. Could I have used just traditional saddle hackle? I could have. I also could have used a partridge feather or even a mallard flank feather.

That is what makes fly tying such an art. You as a fly tyer can find ways of making flies with feathers that look good, are well-constructed and most of all that fish love to eat.

– Lance Gray

About the author:

Lance and his wife, Kirsten, have more than 50 years combined experience in fly fishing. Lance started fly fishing with his father and brother, Lincoln, at age 7. In his teens, he began tying flies commercially for shops all around Northern California. At 17, he went to work at Powell’s, in Chico, working in the fly shop and building rods. He guided for Powell’s, conducted fly-tying and fly-fishing schools, and traveled.

In 1993, Lance and Kirsten started Saltwater Innovations, a company that manufactured and distributed products for saltwater fly fishing. Lance’s Crystal Popper, Gray’s Billfish Fly, the KO Charlie line and the Raghead Crabs are all Saltwater Innovations products. Kirsten worked behind the scenes, handling the day-to-day operation of running the manufacturing floor of the company.

In 2003 they launched Lance Gray & Company, a full-service outfitter offering guided trips, fly-fishing schools, workshops and a travel agency. Lance conducts presentations at fly clubs and outdoor shows and supports local groups like Cub Scouts and 4H. He's a signature tier for Solitude Fly Company, pro staff member for Sage and Rio and is a featured writer, with articles published in Angling Trade Magazine, California Fly Fisher, Fly Fishermen, Sierra Fisherman and American Fly Fishing.

Mottled Ozark Oak Turkey Quills

First quality and difficult to find! The choice of most fly tiers for hopper wings, muddlers, and some caddis. #3666 Per pair $7.50

Turkey

These extra long biots make perfect quill bodies.

Duck Quills

These are matched pairs (left and right) that are ideal for quill wings, no-hackles, and small biots. Natural Gray

Per pai r $2.25

Hareline Partridge Packs

An assorted package of top quality soft hackle for tails, legs and collars.

#3588 Per package $6.95

Select

Natural

Natural

Beautiful hard barring! Makes excellent collars on steelhead flies, legs, and tails on nymphs.

Mallard

Dyed Wood Duck

A great substitute for the diminishing supply of natural wood duck flank.

#3586 Per package $3.95

Super Select

Mallard Duck Flank Feathers

An essential material on classic Spey flies.

#3585 Natural Mallard Per packag e $3.95

Natural Peacock Eyes

Peacock around the eyes is much fuller bodied, less fragile, and more iridescent. This traditional, effective material helps create realistic segmented bodies that will be quite durable if they are ribbed with fine wire. Our peacock is first class quality and second to none!

#2980 Package of 4 $4.95

Jay Fair’s

Dyed Mallard

Jay’s famous mallard, all dyed by himself. We purchased the very last of this great material. Great for legs, wing cases, tails on nymphs, dries, or even steelhead flies. Limited supply.

Full Hungarian Partridge Skin

The feathers from different parts of the skin have lots of uses, particularly on soft hackles and nymphs.

#754 $49.95

Gadwall

Great mallard flank or wood duck flank substitute that can change the complexion of fly patterns with long, thin fibers and distinct barring.

#7062 Per package $2.95

Dyed

By popular demand of traditional steelhead fly tiers.

Stripped Goose Quills (Biots)

We’ve taken all the work out of preparing for the application of perfect antennae on salmon flies, stone fly patterns, legs, and tails on nymphs, like the Prince.

Peacock Herl

No doubt more flies have been tied using peacock as a material in the recipe than any other fur, feather, or synthetic. Natural iridescence is responsible for the success of many patterns.

#2936 1/8 Ounce package $4.95

2937 1/4 Ounce package 7.95

Peacock Sword

Required for many of the most popular nymphs, like the Zug Bug, and used on a number of saltwater patterns.

#2979 Package of 4 $3.95 pkg.

Stripped

Peacock Quills

Save yourself valuable time with these hand stripped peacock herl. Dyed in colors to match the hatch. Polish quills make beautiful segmented bodies. We suggest soaking them in water before using them to reduce brittleness. Coating the body with a thin UV resin will make your fly practically bomb-proof!

Stripped Hackle Quills

These finely tapered hackles have been painstakingly stripped and softened chemically, then dyed in very practical colors for wrapping on traditional dries and modern parachutes for a perfect, tapered, segmented body look.

Per package $4.25

Select Guinea Body Feathers

1st class feathers, stacked and strung for easy selection.

DaveWhitlock

Deer Hair

Very Buoyant, high floating, straight fibers, little underfur, available in ten beautifully dyed colors.

California Coastal Deer Hair

Seldom seen outside the Golden State. These straight, thin, hair fibers have very little underfur because of the temperate climate. Fiber tips match evenly on most patches. The thin fibers are perfect for deer hair posts, elk hair caddis and comparadun wings.

2.5

Bass Bug Deer Hair

Bright patches of the very best, coarse, hollow hair we can find that’s perfect for spinning. This hair flares and compresses well for tying bass bugs.

Elk Hair

Terrific to work with because it has very little underfur, and long, straight fibers. These replace the need for patches of elk body hair and are much better quality and easier to work with in virtually any application.

Select Bucktails

This superb quality bucktail is great for many larger streamer patterns. These premium bucktails stack easily and help produce the best looking flies. Bucktail is an easy, effective way to add bulk to any fly.

Yearling Elk

This hard to find hair is very fine and doesn’t flare as much as mature elk. It’s an ideal natural fiber for smaller dries and tails.

#15326 Natural 15327 Bleached

patch $7.95

Elk Hock

Another hard-to-locate fur that’s excellent for tailing dry flies and specialized wings.

#15331 Natural 3.25 x 3 patch $5.95

Dreamstream Hair Stackers

These reliable, well built hair stackers are perfect for aligning the tips of materials like deer, elk and calf tail.

#25471 Small $14.99 25472 Large 19.99

Moose Mane and Body Hair

Long, black, tan, and white mane fibers are great for dry fly tails and Mosquito bodies. The black body fur patches are used for wing cases on nymphs, Humpy shellbacks, and highfloating dry fly tails.

Squirrel Tails

A good tail or wing material for streamers, steelhead, and larger nymphs.

Calf (Kip)

Tails

The prefered material for wings or tails on dries, streamers, and steelhead patterns.

Tailing Fibers (Microfibbetts)

These synthetic tailing fibers are very easy to manipulate and to work with. They are stiffer than natural fibers to keep your dry fly floating high. They are also much more durable than natural options, and mimic the taper of traditional tailing fibers.

Arctic Fox

Excellent wing material for traditional steelhead and Atlantic Salmon flies. Makes great tails or wings and is a fine alternative to marabou.

Calf Body Hair

Simple, quick and easy way to tie Wulffs, Royal Humpies, parachutes and hair wings. No stacking and very little under fur.

Rabbit Fur Strip

Pre-cut Zonker, streamer, and bunny leech material. These strips speed up and simplify the process of tying.

Two-Tone Rabbit

Pre-cut and ideal as Zonker, streamer, steelhead, salmon, and bunny leech material. The distinctive twotone barring will spice up and add one more element to traditional rabbit strip patterns.

Magnum

Barred Rabbit

1/4˝ wide strips that look great on most streamers, bass, salmon and steelhead flies. Terrific dye job, and good selection of attractive, usable colors.

Hareline’s

This is the best dye job and combo of colors we’ve ever seen! Excellent for Zonkers, streamers and bass or saltwater patterns. Best used for tails.

Tying with Pine Squirrel

HEREINNORTHERNCALIFORNIA fly anglers take full advantage of the fact we have a plethora of different aquatic insects that trout take full advantage of all year long. In many cases, so many insects are present at one time it can be difficult to discern whether trout are keying on one over another. These insects are incredibly important to the trout. However, I think we as anglers tend to overlook that fish have other forms of food available, with one in particular being the sculpin.

Sculpin are a common baitfish found in many freestone rivers and creeks throughout the country, and in this region it is no different. In my favorite fishery, the Pit River, sculpin are abundant. If you ever watch a sculpin in their natural habitat, they tend to squirt

Crosscut Rabbit Strips

The preferred material for Alaska and Kamchatka flesh fly patterns. This cross-cut, soft-tanned fur lays down like a palmered hackle when wrapped around a hook.

Hare’s

An absolute necessity for any serious tier, and an important fur for many sub-surface nymphs and the primary ingredient of the Hare’s Ear nymph. It’s a fine material to blend with other furs and synthetics to create your own dubbing blend.

Natural $5.95

Veniard Dyes

The best and most widely used dye in the fly materials industry, Veniard Dyes are designed specifically for feathers, furs, and other natural, absorbent materials. Instructions are included.

about on the bottom. They are not natural swimmers like other minnows and baitfish. This means that when they become disoriented, they have a tough time swimming and simply drift about in quick, turbulent currents. With this in mind, I created a sculpin pattern that is fished on a tight line or under an indicator.

The pattern is simple: Pine squirrel strips and EP body material; quick, easy, and effective. Pine squirrel strips make for an excellent imitator of smaller baitfish. It lacks the bulk and gaudiness of rabbit, keeping the profile slim without losing any action. I prefer pine squirrel over rabbit for smaller sculpin patterns for this exact reason. The majority of forage-sized sculpin are much smaller than expected, so keeping the profile minimal ensures for an accurate match to the natural.

– Zach Miller

Pine Squirrel Zonker Strips

Pine squirrel doesn’t absorb water like rabbit and is much easier to cast when wet. It’s a wonderful alternative to rabbit particularly for smaller leech and streamer patterns. Beautifully dyed, pre-cut in narrow strips, and soft-tanned so they’re very easy to palmer for bodies or use as undulating tails.

DUBBINGLOOPS , COMPOSITELOOPS , and the various types of wraps and chenille’s that have been becoming more and more popular lately. These synthetic materials are easy to work with, move realistically in the water, and are dyed to match natural, or bright and attractive colors. These synthetic materials are much more durable than natural materials so your fly will last longer.

MOP Chenille

Essential material for tying the productive MOP Fly. Each package contains 5 feet of 1/4 inch thick, fluffy, rich chenille yarn in all the colors you’ll need.

EP Tarantula Brush

Enrico Pulglisi’s one half inch Tarantula brushes use a blend of rubber legs, EP fibers, EP silky fibers and EP sparkle fibers. These brushes will add life to any baitfish or steelhead pattern.

Stonfo Thread Splitter

This new tool saves time and makes dubbing loops easy by splitting thread to insert dubbing material or feathers like CDC.

#22813 $34.95

Senyo’s Predator Wrap

This popular, synthetic material will add effective, extra life to your flies creating great looking collars or wings. Two wraps is about all you’ll need.

Jay Fair's

Translucent Swimming Hackle

This incredible material is turning the heads of fly tiers like never before.This brush-style material has a cloth core and fibers that have incredible movement. It is applied to the hook like chenille. Once put in the water, the material fibers come alive, unlike anything we have seen.You can trim the fibers material to any length, and to get the most movement fray it out with a piece of Velcro. Great for leeches, buggers, and streamers. The Micro version is ideal for nymphs and damsels.

EP Craft Fur Brushes

The latest and perhaps greatest from the fertile mind of Enrico Puglisi, these 3˝ wide brushes are great for palmering bodies on large streamers, jungle patterns and saltwater flies. Incorporated in the brushes are micro strands of UV Flash, which add incredible visibility in low-light and dark water situations.

Ezee Bug Yarn

This three-strand polyester yarn is very buggy, and moves realistically in the water. Makes great sculpins and other baitfish patterns. The three strands can be seperated to reduce bulk on smaller patterns.

Jay Fairs

Spider Flash

Perfect for wrapping bodies or pulling apart the individual fibers and using for flash in tails or ribbing. Eight different colors, four yards per package.

Create great looking leeches the easy way with this fine-fibered threaded yarn.

Vernille vs. Chenille A guide for the confused tier

CHENILLEANDVERNILLEAREN ’ T ASSIMILAR as their very similar names would suggest. Still, let’s begin with what they have in common. Each is a flexible core radiating short fibers of even length, so each looks something like soft tiny rope.

What separates these tying materials is that the fibers in chenille are close, fairly full, yes, but have some breathing room. There is something natural about this quality when chenille is wound on a hook, fanning the fibers and giving them the look of a rough haircut. The always-popular chenille-bodied Woolly Bugger, for example, just wouldn't be itself with a body of dubbing or yarn.

And it wouldn’t be itself with a body of Vernille either. Vernille is dense and plush, a sort of refined version of chenille. If you wind chenille on a hook to make a fly and then wind Vernille (also known as Utra-chenille) on another hook to make another fly that’s otherwise identical to the first, the difference is plain: a smooth, velvety effect versus a sort of looser fuzzy one.

(Note: some Vernille is less dense than most and takes on a bristly look. Not a problem–just use it as you’d use any Vernille and the fly will almost certainly come out fine.)

So, all this considered, here’s what really matters: (1 ) select between Vernille and chenille based on the effect you want in your fly, on what pleases you (2) if you have no preferences, use whichever material a fly’s pattern calls for, and (3) chenille and Vernille are similar enough to be interchangeable for some fly patterns, but really are different and the differences can matter. Here’s a key difference: durability.

Chenille holds up just fine when it’s wrapped around a hook shank, holds up even in short unwound stretches if it’s under tension, as when it’s bound at both ends for a wing case. But if you try to make an extended fly body of chenille, the material just hanging loosely behind the hook, you can cement the tip of the chenille to try and prevent its core from unraveling and its fibers coming out, but that’s a battle you’ll soon lose.

Vernille? Vernille is plain tough; it’s fibers seem welded to its core. One way I make the eyes on my Furry Dragon nymph is with a cut-short section of black Vernille bound crossways on the hook’s shank–such eyes have never failed me in all the considerable years I’ve made and fished them in the fly (though I confess: I do cement the ends for insurance). Vernille forms the body of the Fox’s Poopah series of caddis-pupa-imitating patterns and the material, extending off the hook’s bend and burnt on its end to rounded or tapered, holds up no problem.

Both Vernille and chenille really suit woven-bodied flies. One of Darrel Martin’s patterns, the Woven Dragonfly Nymph, uses Vernille. The long-popular Bitch Creek nymph uses chenille. The effects of the two materials in these flies are different and each is rich to the human eye. And, apparently, appeal to the eyes of trout–trout take both patterns with great enthusiasm.

All Vernille ( all that I’ve seen ) is one solid color throughout. Most chenille is one color too, but variegated chenille offers two colors in short alternating bands and sometimes that's just right for imitating insects of mixed colors, such as the yellow-brown, darkly marked nymphs of some of the genera of the huge Golden Stonefly. Sometimes that's just right for serving your imagination.

Ice Dub Chenille has fine, brilliant strands of Mylar in it, to sparkle and flash, which may kick-start your trout or smallmouth bass or favorite saltwater fish or, again, your imagination.

There are materials called chenille that stretch the meaning of the word (Cactus Chenille for example). Useful materials for making flies, yes; and, yes, they resemble chenille; but are they really chenille? Uh...probably not.

Chenille (true chenille) and Vernille each have a place in nearly all tiers’ tying. And now you understand the nature of each and how to choose between the two.

About the author:

– Skip Morris

Skip Morris is the author of twenty books on fly-fishing topics, among them Survival Guide for Beginning Fly Anglers and Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple. The Fly Shop® carries several of Skip’s titles.

Both chenille and Vernille weave beautifully in a fly. Below is the

Above is chenille, a fluffier, sparser version of the dense-fibered Vernille used in the San Juan Vernille Worm below.

Bitch Creek Nymph.

A Woolly Bugger, tied as a Woolly Bugger is always tied: with chenille –chenille is what makes it woolly.

Chenille variations: Ice Dub Chenille, Cactus Chenille, and Speckled Crystal Chenille. See previous and opposite page for more options.

Polar Flash Reflector Chenille

Very similar to Polar Chenille, only half of the fibers are a non-translucent, reflective material similar to Flashabou. Makes it incredibly easy to build fishylooking bodies on streamers, intruders, saltwater flies, and larger freshwater nymphs.

Black . . . #21967 Hot Pink . .#21973 Rust . . . . #21979

Blood Red . 21968 Olive . . . . . 21974 Silver . . . . 21980

Blue . . . . . 21969 Olive Brown 21975 Tan . . . . . . 21981

Brown . . . . 21970 Purple . . . . 21976 Yellow . . . . 21982

Chartreuse .21971 Red . . . . . . 21977

Hot Orange 21972 Root Beer . . 21978

Per package $4.95

Ice Dub Chenille

A mixing of Chenille, and the flashy Ice Dubbing. Both are one of the most commonly used body materials.

Black . . . . #8421 Brown . . . #8422 Chartreuse . #8423

Light Olive . 8424 Olive . . . . . 8425 Orange . . . . 8426

Peacock . . . 8427 Pearl White .8432 Purple . . . . 8428

Red . . . . . . 8429 Shrimp Pink .8430 Tan . . . . . . 8431

Per package $4.50

Holographic

Mylar Chenille

An excellent replacement or substitute for any pattern calling for mylar chenille. Translucent, iridescent colors add sparkle to steelhead, salmon, and Alaska streamers.

Silver . . .# 9278

Charteuse.# 9277 Blue . . . .# 9285

Red . . . . . . 9297 Black . . . . 9276 Gold . . . . . 9280

2.5 yard package $3.50

Variegated Chenille

Alternating color combinations add a mottled effect to flies.

Long, flashy, supple fibers woven into a solid, yarn-like material.This bushy material will add life, motion, and a new dimension to your flies.

Baitfish

Chenille

Similar to, but more flashy than polar chenille with flashy fibers running just under 3 long. Can be used as a spey hackle substitute or for baitfish bodies. There is no end to the possibilities. Generous, one yard package.

Black . . . . #8845 Blue . . . . . #8856 Red . . . . . #8855

Chartreuse . . 8846

Fl. Hot Pink . 8848 Purple . . . . 8854

Fuchsia . . . . 8847 Gray Ghost . 8849 Olive . . . . . 8851

Peacock . . . 8852 Pearl . . . . . 8853 Hot Orange .8850

Per package $5.95

Also called ultra chenille, can be used for San Juan worms, caddis pupa and crab legs, among other things. Size extra fine is appropriate for midges and small San Juan worms, the standard sizing is perfect for caddis pupa and regular ol’ San Juan worms and the large works well for bass worm imitations as well as larger caddis pupa, such as the October caddis.

Micro Polar Chenille

The smallest chenille has a myriad of uses. The shorter chenille fibers make it ideal for building precise bodies and accurately proportioned, small nymphs and scuds.

Filler Flash

Chenille

The colors on this new yarn pop! A bit longer fibers than Crystal Chenille, but shorter than Polar Chenille. This body material is swell for mid-size buggers, steelhead, and saltwater streamer patterns.

Black . . . #21159 Gray . . . . #21160 Olive . . .# 21162

Hot Pink . . 21161 Orange . . . 21163 Pearl . . . . 21164

Purple . . . . 21165 Yellow . . . . 21166 Brown . . . 21167

Chartreuse 21168

Per package $5.95

Speckled Crystal Chenille

The glimpse of flash blended into rayon chenille will add life and spice up a traditional Wooly Bugger or steelhead flies that requires chenille.

The most popular crystal chenille ever made. Originally available only in large sizes, the addition of micro and medium made the material much more versatile.

EggPatterns

THEORIGINAL Glo Bugs Yarn® was introduced by The Bug Shop (only a few miles south of The Fly Shop’s Redding location) in the late 1960’s. The family-owned operation had already been tying Glo Bugs for nearly a decade and couldn’t keep up with demand from local steelhead fishermen.

These simple egg patterns are made from high loft yarns that, when tied to a hook with strong thread under extreme pressure, expand to create an egg-shaped ball. When wet, the ball becomes translucent and simulates a salmon, steelhead, or trout egg well enough to fool most egg-eating fish.

Unfertilized salmon eggs quickly decompose, become slightly buoyant, and turn an opaque whitish-pink. Silt collected on the outer skin of the egg can give it a grayish cast. Allowed to drift long enough, it will be attacked by fungus and algae and become greenish. Trout and steelhead may become selective to these different egg nuances – hence all the yarn color options.

Veiled Eggs simulate freshly fertilized eggs with milt trailing off of them, or slime/fungus-covered dead eggs in the latter stages of decomposition.

The Amazing Glo Bug Dispenser

A great, new tool for tying Glo Bugs quickly and efficiently. With this system you can literally tie a bug in 30 seconds or less. Load up your favorite yarn ( McFly Foam or Egg Yarn are recommended due to their stretchy fibers ) into one of the tubes using the provided threader and you are ready to start tying.

#30290 Comes with a threader and 3 tubes $11.95

Original Glo Bugs Yarn ®

The folks who first tied Glo Bugs® live about 7 miles from The Fly Shop®, here in Redding. It’s an effective, simple-to-tie fly that literally started the single-egg revolution in western angling. The original Glo Bugs Yarn remains the favorite material for a lot of tiers. There is 15 feet of yarn in each package and the yarn is approximately 8mm or 5/16 diameter. The Fly Shop advises using very good scissors!

McFly Foam Egg Yarn

In the mid-1990’s a new material, McFly Foam Yarn hit the market and tying nice, round eggs has been easier ever since. The yarn is easier to cut than other similar products achieving a round egg is also much easier, and the finished egg imitation is more realistic, attractive, and has proven to just catch more fish.

An advantage to tying egg imitations with McFly Foam Egg Yarn is that more of the material sits high on the hook shank without impeding the hook gap. The material allows you to use a little smaller hook while keeping the egg the focal point hiding the hook.

McFly Foam Yarn is available in wide range of colors and tiers can mix them or incorporate dots for custom combinations. The dye used on McFly Foam Yarn hold its color for an eternity and won’t fade in the water or in your fly box.

The Fly Shop’s TFS 105 hook is terrific for these flies and modestly priced at $11.00 per hundred pack. You go through a lot of egg patterns, particularly because we are fishing them behind salmon on or near the bottom.

Otter’s Soft Clusters

Rubberized roe clusters, used with egg type patterns. To keep in place tie a thread base and apply Zap-AGap before sliding onto the hook.

There are half a dozen great YouTube videos on tying eggs perfectly using McFly Foam Yarn, and most professional, commercial tiers have shifted to using this brand of egg yarn material. Even though its easier to cut, still make sure to use good scissors.

Egg Veil

Perfect material for creating the impression of a skein over the top of any egg pattern or Egg Sucking Leech. It’s the final step in building an authentic roe fly.

#9223 Per package $2.95

Order

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800-669-3474 www.theflyshop.com

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