Gear ReviewWhy Your Flies Cost Twice What They Used To
Trout flies held near $2 for twenty-five years. Now they're $3–$4.50 and climbing. Here's the actual reason — tariffs on hand-tied imports — and what it changes at the counter.
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fly tying
19 posts tagged "fly tying".
Gear Review
Gear ReviewFly Tying Materials That Earn Space on My Bench
The materials I actually tie with — Semperfli thread, MFC beads, Hanak and Fulling Mill hooks, UTC wire, Fulling Mill CDC. What earns shelf space on my bench, and what gets cut.
Field NotesWhy I Tie the Blowtorch Myself Instead of Buying It
Why I tie my own Blowtorches instead of buying them. The economic case is backwards — the real reason is what tying my favorite fly changed about how I fish the South Platte.
Gear ReviewGetting Started in Fly Tying: A Realistic Beginner's Guide
How to actually start tying flies — the beginner bench (vise, bobbin, scissors, whip finisher), the first patterns that catch fish, and the learning curve.
Field NotesThe Whip Finish, Three Ways — Tool, Hand, and Two-Finger
How to finish a fly properly: the whip finish with the Matarelli tool, by hand, and as a field repair — when to use each, and why the head matters most.
Gear ReviewA Long Time at the Vise — What's Actually on My Bench
A personal tour of my fly tying bench — the Renzetti, the Renomed scissors, the full Stonfo lineup, and why each piece ended up there.
Fly GuideSan Juan Worm — The Pattern That Isn't Pretty But Catches South Platte Fish
The San Juan Worm is the unglamorous workhorse of South Platte tailwater nymphing. Red, pink, purple — when and why it earns the point spot on Deckers.
Fly GuideThe Zebra Midge Torch — My South Platte Midge
The standard Zebra Midge catches fish. My version — black tungsten bead, orange tag, tied on a Fulling Mill jig hook — catches more. Here's the Torch.
Fly GuideThe Duracell Jig: Red Wire, Silver Bead, and Why It Runs the South Platte in Winter
Craig McDonald's Scottish jig nymph — red wire rib, UV brown body, silver bead. Named after the battery. Why it dominates Deckers and Cheesman all winter.
Fly GuideThe Frenchie: Lance Egan's Competition Jig That Never Left the Guide Box
Lance Egan's UV pink hotspot Pheasant Tail jig: competition-bred, guide-proven. Why it works year-round on Deckers and Cheesman when standard PTs fade.
Fly GuideMayer's Mini Leech Jig: The Small Dead-Drift Leech That Out-Catches Streamers
Landon Mayer's pine squirrel mini leech on a jig hook. Dead-drift, jig-style — why this small pattern out-fishes swung streamers on South Platte tailwaters.
Fly GuideOlsen's Blowtorch: My Favorite Fly and the Variations I Tie
My favorite fly. Devin Olsen's competition jig with a hot-tag and opalescent rib. Why I tie the Blowtorch in orange and green, and how to fish it tight-line.
Fly GuideThe Perdigon: Why the Fastest-Sinking Nymph on the South Platte Works
Spanish competition nymph with a UV resin body that sinks 40% faster than traditional patterns. The anchor fly that gets your rig to depth before the current.
Fly GuideThe RS2: Rim Chung's South Platte Emerger That Defined a Tailwater
Rim Chung tied the RS2 in the 1970s for the South Platte. Fifty years later it's still the most-fished emerger on Deckers, the Dream Stream, and Cheesman.
Fly GuideWalt's Worm: The Pennsylvania Nymph That Belongs in Every South Platte Box
Walt Young's 1984 Pennsylvania limestone nymph — buggy hare's ear body, cigar profile — imitates scuds, cased caddis, and crane fly larvae all at once.
Fly GuideThe Wooly Bugger: The Most Copied Fly in History and Why It Still Works
Russell Blessing's 1967 Pennsylvania pattern is the most-tied fly in fly fishing. Why the Wooly Bugger still earns its place for fall browns and high water.
Fly GuideBarr's Emerger: The PMD Pattern Every South Platte Angler Needs
John Barr's classic emerger imitates mayflies stuck mid-hatch. Recipe, rigging, and when to fish the PMD and BWO versions on Deckers and the Dream Stream.
Fly GuideMercury Midge: Pat Dorsey's South Platte Staple
Recipe, tying notes, and how to fish Pat Dorsey's Mercury Midge — one of the most consistent midge patterns on pressured tailwaters.
Field NotesTying Your Own South Platte Flies — The 8 Patterns Worth Learning
The eight South Platte nymph and dry fly patterns that produce more fish than anything else — how to tie them and why they work on technical tailwater trout.