Fly Tying

Fly Tying Materials: Where Feathers, Fur & Mild Obsession Become Flies

There is a dangerous moment in the life of many fly fishers.

You catch a trout on a fly.

Then you think:

“I could probably tie that.”

This innocent thought is how it begins.

A week later you own a vise.

A month later there are feathers in drawers that once held respectable household items.

Eventually your family discovers packets labeled UV Ice Dub, CDC, Marabou, Flashabou, 2.8mm Tungsten, Peacock Herl, and Chartreuse Something-or-Other scattered throughout the house.

Congratulations.

You've become a fly tyer.

Fly tying is one of the wonderfully creative branches of our sport. You can faithfully reproduce a proven pattern down to the last wrap of thread, modify it to better match your home water, or sit down at the vise and invent something so visually offensive that no self-respecting trout should eat it.

Then one does.

And suddenly you need to tie twelve more.

At Ascent Fly Fishing, you'll find the fly tying materials, hooks, beads, tools, and supplies needed for everything from tiny trout nymphs and dry flies to Euro patterns, streamers, terrestrials, and other creations born from equal parts biology, creativity, and poor impulse control.

What Fly Tying Materials Do I Need to Get Started?

One look at a fully stocked tying bench can make fly tying appear considerably more complicated than it needs to be.

You do not need 400 different materials to start tying flies.

Begin with the patterns you actually want to tie.

If you want to tie a Zebra Midge, buy the hook, thread, wire, and bead needed for a Zebra Midge.

If you want to tie Woolly Buggers, buy the appropriate hooks, marabou, chenille, hackle, wire, and beads.

Then expand from there.

A basic material collection will eventually include some combination of:

• Fly tying hooks
• Thread
• Beads or coneheads
• Dubbing
• Feathers
• Fur and hair
• Chenille, yarn, and wool
• Foam
• Wire, tinsel, and flash
• Synthetic fibers
• Resins and glues

You'll also need basic fly tying tools, particularly a vise, bobbin, scissors, bodkin, and whip finisher.

The important thing is to build your tying bench around flies you actually fish.

Otherwise you can very easily spend $300 acquiring seventeen colors of material you've never used because somebody tied one interesting fly with it on YouTube.

Ask me how I know.

Fly Tying Hooks: The Skeleton of the Fly

Every fly begins with the hook.

Hooks come in an impressive variety of sizes, lengths, wire diameters, bends, gaps, points, and eye configurations, and those differences affect both the profile of the fly and how it fishes.

Dry-fly hooks are generally lighter because you're trying to keep the fly floating.

Nymph hooks may use heavier wire.

Streamer hooks are usually longer and stronger.

Scud and emerger hooks often have curved shanks.

Jig hooks ride with the hook point up when paired with the appropriate slotted bead, making them particularly useful for Euro nymphing and tight-line techniques.

Start with the recipe for the pattern you're tying, but don't become imprisoned by it.

If the recipe calls for one manufacturer's size 16 nymph hook and you have another quality hook of similar proportions, the trout probably isn't going to file a formal complaint.

Tungsten vs. Brass Beads: Does It Matter?

Absolutely.

Tungsten is significantly denser than brass, which allows a tungsten bead to add more weight in a smaller package.

That makes tungsten particularly useful when tying:

• Euro nymphs
• Perdigons
• Jig nymphs
• Stonefly nymphs
• Deep-water patterns
• Flies designed to reach the bottom quickly

Ascent carries both tungsten slotted beads and tungsten cyclops-style beads, along with traditional brass bead heads and brass coneheads.

Slotted tungsten beads are especially useful with jig hooks because the slot allows the bead to pass around the angled portion of the hook near the eye.

Brass still has an important place at the vise.

Sometimes you don't want your fly dropping like a tiny aquatic anvil.

A lighter bead can help when fishing shallower water, slower currents, suspended insects, or situations where a more gradual sink is desirable.

Think of bead choice less as decoration and more as depth control.

Dubbing: Turning Fuzz Into Insects

Dubbing is one of the most versatile materials on a tying bench.

Essentially, you're taking fibers and twisting them onto thread to create the body or thorax of a fly.

Sounds simple.

Until you own forty-seven colors.

Natural dubbings can create beautifully buggy, irregular bodies that resemble aquatic insects.

Synthetic dubbings can add flash, translucence, UV properties, color, and movement.

Fine dubbing works wonderfully for slim mayfly and midge bodies.

Coarser blends create shaggy stoneflies, caddis, scuds, and larger nymphs.

And flashy dubbing can turn a perfectly respectable fly into something that looks like it spent the night in Las Vegas.

Sometimes that's exactly what the fish want.

When choosing dubbing, think about the insect or prey you're trying to imitate.

Is the body smooth?

Shaggy?

Translucent?

Sparkly?

Tiny?

Chunky?

Match the material to the profile rather than assuming one dubbing can do everything.

Feathers: Hackle, Marabou & the Magic of Movement

Fly tying would be a dramatically less interesting hobby without feathers.

Hackle can form legs, collars, wings, and floating structures on dry flies.

Marabou provides perhaps some of the most seductive movement available in a fly-tying material.

Even sitting nearly still in the water, marabou breathes and pulses.

That is why you'll find it in Woolly Buggers, leeches, streamers, balanced leeches, and countless other patterns.

Other feathers provide wings, tails, cheeks, soft hackles, and intricate movement.

Different feathers behave differently in water.

Stiff fibers hold their shape.

Soft fibers collapse and move.

Some float beautifully.

Others absorb water.

The more flies you tie, the more you stop seeing a feather as simply a feather and begin seeing individual sections that could become tails, wings, legs, collars, and fish food.

Which makes walking through craft stores increasingly strange.

Fur & Hair: From Elk Hair Caddis to Bucktail Streamers

Natural hair has been used in flies for generations because it offers characteristics that can be difficult to duplicate.

Elk and deer hair are hollow and buoyant, making them excellent materials for dry flies, caddis patterns, terrestrials, and spun-hair bodies.

Bucktail provides long fibers with excellent movement and durability for streamers and saltwater patterns.

Rabbit fur can create tremendous motion in leeches and streamers.

Other natural furs provide everything from ultra-fine dubbing to long flowing fibers.

Natural materials are beautifully inconsistent.

And in fly tying, inconsistency can be an advantage.

Real insects aren't machined in factories.

They're buggy.

They're uneven.

They have legs sticking out where they shouldn't.

A little chaos often makes a fly look more alive.

Foam: Build Flies That Refuse to Sink

Foam has changed terrestrial and warmwater fly tying in wonderful ways.

It's inexpensive.

It's durable.

It's easy to work with.

And most importantly:

It floats.

Really well.

Foam is perfect for:

• Grasshoppers
• Beetles
• Ants
• Stoneflies
• Chubby-style attractors
• Poppers
• Bass bugs
• Hopper-dropper flies

It also allows tyers to create large, highly visible dry flies capable of supporting a weighted nymph underneath.

When summer arrives and grasshoppers begin launching themselves into the river with all the aerodynamic control of a lawn chair, foam deserves a prominent place on the bench.

Chenille, Yarn & Wool: Easy Bodies With Endless Uses

Chenille has probably appeared on more beginner fly-tying benches than nearly any other material.

For good reason.

Wrap it around a hook and suddenly you have a body.

No doctorate required.

Chenille, yarn, and wool can build bodies for Woolly Buggers, stoneflies, worms, eggs, streamers, terrestrials, and countless other patterns.

Different materials provide different textures, diameters, colors, and amounts of flash.

They're easy to use, forgiving, and capable of producing extremely effective flies.

This makes them excellent materials for beginning tyers.

Your first fly doesn't need to be a perfect size 24 mayfly emerger tied beneath a microscope.

Tie a Woolly Bugger.

Catch a fish.

Then become unreasonable.

Synthetic Fly Tying Materials: Sometimes Nature Needs Help

Traditional fly tying relied heavily on natural fur and feathers.

Modern synthetics have kicked the door wide open.

Synthetic materials can provide:

Flash.

UV reflectance.

Translucence.

Length.

Durability.

Water shedding.

Colors not found anywhere in nature outside perhaps a poison dart frog.

Crystal Flash and similar materials can add a subtle lateral shimmer to a baitfish or enough sparkle to make a nymph visible from the International Space Station.

The key word is usually balance.

A few strands of flash can suggest the scales of a minnow.

Half the package can suggest that Elton John designed your streamer.

Although there are days when that works too.

UV Resin & Fly Tying Glue

Resins and adhesives serve two important purposes:

They make flies more durable.

And they allow us to stick things together that have absolutely no interest in remaining together.

UV resin has become especially popular because it can be placed precisely and cured almost instantly with a UV light.

It works beautifully for:

• Perdigon bodies
• Wing cases
• Backs on scuds and nymphs
• Baitfish heads
• Eyes
• Coating thread wraps
• Building glossy bodies

Ascent also carries a UV bench light for curing UV resins.

Use resin intentionally.

A little can create a beautiful, durable finish.

Too much can transform an elegant mayfly into a jellybean with a hook in it.

What Materials Do I Need for Euro Nymphs?

Euro nymphing has driven an entire category of modern fly design.

The flies are generally built to sink quickly, maintain a slim profile, and remain durable after bouncing along river bottoms and hopefully spending some time inside trout mouths.

Common Euro nymph materials include:

• Jig hooks
• Slotted tungsten beads
• Fine tying thread
• Wire
• Tinsel
• Flash
• Dubbing
• Quills
• Synthetic tails
• Hotspot materials
• UV resin

Patterns such as Perdigons, Duracells, Frenchies, Walt's Worm variations, jigged Pheasant Tails, and jigged stoneflies can all be produced by combining relatively simple materials in slightly different ways.

If you're tying specifically for Euro nymphing, make Hooks and Cones & Beads two of your first stops.

Gravity is doing a lot of the work.

Give it something useful to work with.

What Materials Do I Need to Tie Dry Flies?

Dry flies introduce an entirely different set of priorities.

Now you're concerned with buoyancy, silhouette, footprint, and visibility.

Common dry-fly materials include:

• Lightweight dry-fly hooks
• Fine thread
• Dry-fly hackle
• CDC
• Elk or deer hair
• Fine dubbing
• Synthetic wing material
• Poly yarn
• Foam
• Tail fibers

A small mayfly may require sparse dubbing and delicate hackle.

A grasshopper may involve enough foam, rubber legs, and hair to qualify as recreational architecture.

Both are dry flies.

That's one of the great things about this sport.

What Materials Do I Need to Tie Streamers?

Streamer tying is where many tyers truly begin losing control.

Tiny bags of dubbing become entire bucktails.

Hackle capes multiply.

Six-inch strips of rabbit fur appear.

The flies keep getting larger.

Streamers commonly incorporate:

• Long-shank or specialized streamer hooks
• Marabou
• Bucktail
• Rabbit strips
• Flash
• Chenille
• Synthetic fibers
• Coneheads and beads
• Weighted eyes
• Articulation hardware
• UV resin

The goal is generally some combination of profile, movement, flash, and depth.

Big predatory fish often eat big prey.

So once you've filled your trout box with respectable size 16 nymphs, feel free to tie something that appears capable of eating them.

Do Fly Tying Materials Really Make a Difference?

Yes.

But don't confuse expensive with effective.

Good fly tying materials should perform the job required of them.

A quality hook needs to penetrate and hold fish.

A tungsten bead should provide weight.

Dry-fly hackle should have the stiffness and proportions needed to support the fly.

Marabou should move.

Hair should stack, flare, or flow appropriately.

Thread should secure the materials without breaking every third wrap and causing you to invent new vocabulary.

Beyond that, fish don't care what the package cost.

I've seen gorgeous flies ignored while something resembling lint wrapped around a hook gets absolutely destroyed.

Presentation and behavior still matter.

Why Tie Your Own Flies?

You don't have to tie flies to be a fly fisher.

Not even remotely.

But tying does offer something special.

It teaches you how flies are constructed.

It makes you look more carefully at insects and baitfish.

It encourages experimentation.

And catching a fish on something you created adds another layer to the experience.

There is an undeniable satisfaction in looking into your box, choosing a fly you tied the night before, attaching it to your leader, making the cast, and watching it disappear into a fish's mouth.

You made that.

The trout approved.

For at least a few seconds, you feel like a genius.

Enjoy it.

The next trout will restore the natural order.

Why Buy Fly Tying Materials From Ascent Fly Fishing?

Fly tying shelves can become overwhelming quickly.

You don't need every color.

You don't need every material.

And you definitely don't need somebody convincing you that your flies are doomed unless you purchase seventeen things that weren't in the recipe.

Our approach at Ascent Fly Fishing is much simpler:

What are you trying to tie?

If you're building your first tying bench, we can help identify the tools and materials you actually need.

If you're tying Euro nymphs, we can help match jig hooks with the right tungsten beads.

If you're building streamers, we can point you toward materials that provide the profile and movement you're looking for.

And if you've created a fly that combines pink dubbing, rubber legs, purple flash, two beads, and enough UV resin to survive a nuclear event, we'd like to see it.

Especially if the fish eat it.

Fly tying is supposed to be creative.

Experiment.

Modify patterns.

Make mistakes.

Learn why they were mistakes.

Then occasionally create something so good that your friends begin stealing it from your fly box.

Fly Tying Materials FAQs

What fly tying materials should a beginner buy?

Start with the materials required for two or three simple patterns you actually plan to fish. Woolly Buggers, Zebra Midges, simple Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ears, and basic foam terrestrials are good starting points because they teach foundational techniques without requiring an enormous material collection.

What basic tools do I need to tie flies?

A beginner generally needs a fly tying vise, bobbin, scissors, bodkin, and whip finisher. Hackle pliers and other specialized tools can be added as your tying expands.

Are tungsten beads better than brass beads?

Not always, but tungsten is much denser and sinks faster than brass. Tungsten beads are especially useful for Euro nymphs and deep-water patterns, while brass may be preferable when you want less weight or a slower sink rate.

What size tungsten bead should I use?

Bead size depends on hook size, hook style, desired sink rate, and water conditions. Always make sure the bead fits the hook and provides the weight appropriate for how you plan to fish the fly.

What is dubbing used for in fly tying?

Dubbing is commonly twisted or applied to tying thread to form fly bodies and thoraxes. Fine dubbing works well for slim insects, while coarse or flashy blends can create buggy nymphs, scuds, stoneflies, and attractor patterns.

What is marabou used for?

Marabou is valued for its exceptional movement in water and is commonly used in Woolly Buggers, leeches, streamers, and other patterns designed to imitate swimming or undulating prey.

What is fly tying foam used for?

Foam is primarily used in buoyant patterns such as grasshoppers, beetles, ants, stoneflies, poppers, and other terrestrial or surface flies.

Do I need UV resin for fly tying?

No, but UV resin is extremely useful for creating durable bodies, wing cases, heads, backs, and coatings. It has become particularly popular in Euro nymphs, Perdigons, and modern streamer patterns.

Is it cheaper to tie your own flies?

Sometimes.

If you sit down and calculate the cost of materials for one specific pattern, tying can save money over time.

If you calculate the cost of the vise, tools, feathers, hooks, beads, dubbing, lighting, storage cabinets, seven kinds of scissors, and the 212 packets of material you've accumulated over fifteen years...

We should probably change the subject.

What is the best fly tying material?

There isn't one.

The best material is the one that creates the shape, movement, color, buoyancy, weight, or durability your fly requires.

Fly tying isn't about collecting materials.

It's about combining them with purpose.

Take a hook.

Add a little thread.

A feather.

Some fur.

A bead.

Maybe some flash.

Shape it into something that suggests life.

Then carry it down to the river and ask a fish what it thinks.

That's a pretty remarkable thing to be able to create at a desk.

Tight Lines, Friend!