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Welcome to
The Tying Bench!
The Tying Bench!
The Tying Bench is our exciting series of family-friendly weekly on-line fly tying workshops and clinics! Each week we look at tying a different pattern - from classic trout flies to big bass bugs...and everything in between!
There is no charge to be a part of The Tying Bench!
Learn more about this week's fly (and the materials you'll need to tie it) at right. You'll find Zoom login details at the bottom of the column.
And I hope you'll check out our diverse and ever-growing line of fly tying kits and tying and fishing guides too. I'm sure you'll find something that you'll enjoy!
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LOOKING AHEAD:
Special info on our "Make-and-Use-Your-Own-Dubbing" workshop on August 7:
On August 7, The Tying Bench will focus on making and using your own dubbing!
You asked for it, and here it is! In this special edition of The Tying Bench, you'll learn to make your own dubbing blends -- and then you'll put that dubbing to work creating your own unique Soft Hackle Emerger!
To make dubbing, of course, you'll need some raw materials. Here's a recommended list. The materials you use can vary a lot, as we'll discuss, but the ones that are starred (*) are fairly universal. You'll want to be sure you have those!
Please note that a Tie It & Try It materials-only kit is available for this special session of The Tying Bench. This kit includes the materials you'll need to create your own custom dubbing, plus hooks, beads, ribbing wire and soft-hackle feathers that you'll need to tie a fly using that dubbing! This kit is available from our webstore and also, in the north Atlanta area, from Alpharetta Outfitters.
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Join our mailing list to learn about upcoming sessions of The Tying Bench, to be notified of special offers, and more!
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Now Available!
Tie it & Try It
MOP FLY KIT!
For tyers who would like to explore the world of mop flies, we offer a complete Tie It & Try It Mop Fly Kit. This kit includes materials to tie 20 Mop Flies in a variety of styles and colors, plus a fully-illustrated 24-page guide that teaches you how to tie and fish the Mop Fly. This kit is the perfect way to discover how much fun this fly is to tie and to fish!
The Tie It & Try It Mop Fly Kit is available from many fly shops, from Amazon, and direct from our webstore here.
This week, July 31
10 a.m. Eastern on Zoom:
Tying the
HUDSON STREAMER
10 a.m. Eastern on Zoom:
Tying the
HUDSON STREAMER
The Hudson Streamer (that's what they are calling it!) is a flank-wing streamer that I developed some years ago. Initially, it was designed to be a fly for Delayed Harvest and other stocked trout. However, it's proven to be a great minnow imitation for trout from the southern Appalachians to New England and from Washington state to Alaska. And it turns out to be a great bass fly too!
But aren't flank wings hard to tie? Not at all! This week on The Tying Bench, you'll learn how to do it. And you'll really enjoy fishing with the result!
Here's a list of the materials that go into the original version, which we'll tie on Saturday:
HOOK: Size 8 or size 6 3XL nymph (woolly bugger) hook
BEAD: Brass-colored brass bead suitable for the hook you are using. Tungsten can be used for even more weight in the finished fly.
WEIGHTING WIRE: Medium or medium-fine lead-free wire
THREAD: 3/0 red thread. You want large thread as it is used to form the fly's "ribbing"
TAIL and BODY: Silver flash material -- Flashabou or Crystal Flash.
RIBBING: Your red tying thread
FLANK WINGS: A pair of Guinea Fowl feathers, one for each side of the fly. Grizzly hen feathers can also be used for a slightly different look in the finished fly.
HACKLE COLLAR: Grizzly hackle feather (Grizzly hen feather or a Woolly Bugger hackle feather) or another Guinea Fowl feather.
DUBBED COLLAR: Bright red dubbing. Given the choice, I prefer a sparkly blend.
We'll talk about some other variations too.
Please note that a Tie It & Try It (tm) kit is available for this fly. The kit includes materials to tie the original version of the fly and is available from Alpharetta Outfitters and other selected flyshops, as well as from Amazon or from our webstore at FlyKits.net.
Saturday, July 31
10 a.m. Eastern
MEETING ID: 871 1933 6405
Passcode: FlyTying31
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Summary instructions for this week's pattern:
To help you tie Saturday's pattern, here's a set of abbreviated instructions! You might want to copy them and print them out for use during our Saturday tying sessions.
Abbreviated Summary Instructions: Hudson Streamer
1. Put bead on hook (small hole first) and place hook in vise.
2. Wrap forward 2/3 of hook shank with lead-free weighting wire.
3. Start thread behind weighting wire, as discussed in the clinic, and wrap to bend.
4. Tie in a bundle of silver Flashabou or other flash at the bend, forming tail, with plenty of extra going forward.
5. Move thread forward to behind eye. Do not wrap over flash -- just move thread.
6. Wrap forward portion of flash to form body, as shown, and tie off behind bead.
7. Now trim away excess flash.
8. Create thread ribbing.
9. Tie in flank wings.
10. Tie in and wrap hackle collar feather.
11. Add dubbed collar.
12. Tie off behind bead.