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Flying Ties

flies_week1.jpgMy dad used to tie flies, and often, a slip of the tongue would produce the phrase "flying ties" instead of "tying flies." After a few such slips, it became "the way it was."

So, tonight, I went to the Bass Pro shop (mega-store) in Ft. Lauderdale to "fly some ties." Seen at right are the results.

The red and white thing at the top is a goofy little thing I threw together at the end of the class: white bucktail beneath some thick red feathers with some thin white feathers on top of that. I couldn't think of anything to do with the head, so i threw on some eyes and wrapped it with the thread. Whoopty doo.

The gold on red on white is a "high tie" fly. You create these by tying small clumps of bucktail from the back of the hook forward. Each clump forces the one in front of it to "raise up" a little bit, giving the fly a little bit of body. It resembles a small minnow when in the water.

The bottom two flies look very identical, but they've got slight differences. The bottom one has gold eyes and is white bucktail under some yellow flash and a black back. The other has silver eyes and white bucktail under some dark gold/black flash with a bright green back. These are simple clouser minnow patterns, I suppose.

flies_week1-2.jpg

Tying flies is a good way to relax. I'm quite sure these flies "suck" and that I'll improve, but for my first attempt in over a decade, I'm happy.

Two kids, about eight and ten, took the "class" with me and did surprisingly well. That was good to see, and I was glad to help when I could. I really don't feel 25, that's for damn sure.

2 Responses to "Flying Ties"

  1. Patriarchal slips o' th' tongue that reached family-wide distribution:

    "smellovision" for television

    "sparking lot" for parking lot

    "barking spot" for parking spot

    and (I'm sure this will pass onto grand^N children)

    "bus-ketty" for spaghetti

    en pace requiate Dennis

  2. Love you saltwater fly fishing blogs. Would maybe be interested in a link exchange with my sites. Saltwater Fly Fishing & Saltwater Fly Tying .

    Keep up the good blogging!