My Dad, who is in his seventies, called the other day to tell me about some new trout fishing flies he tied following step-by-step directions in a YouTube video. The thought of my Dad surfing YouTube looking for fly tying videos made me chuckle but I thought it was pretty cool and definitely a sign of the times.
How Times Have Changed
My first fly was a Black Ghost that I tied following step-by-step instructions in How to Tie Freshwater Flies by Kenneth E. Bay (Winchester Press, 1974) complete with black and white illustrations. Yes, black and white illustrations.
Gone are those days. On-line How-To videos are revolutionizing the way we learn how to tie fly fishing flies and enable us to easily share new patterns and the latest innovations in fly tying materials and design.
There are a number of sites that feature a Fly-of-the-Month video and one of my favorites is Trout Predator Online (TPO). TPO specializes in highly effective patterns ranging from Euro-style nymphs that are all the rage to some very basic patterns that are great for beginners. All fully illustrated (in color!) with audio instruction providing little tips and helpful hints that you just can’t get from a book. What a great resource!
Where to Find Fly Tying Videos
We’ve added a New Fly Tying page to the Fly Fishing Reporter website to make it a little easier to find the best fly tying videos available on the net and learn how to tie the hottest fly fishing flies. We’ll be adding to the collection regularly so check back often or sign-up for our monthly email newsletter where we summarize new patterns added to the site each month.
Enjoy!
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