Week 1.8 of Fly Tying

Welcome back guys!

Sadly, this will be the last blog for my Fly Tying Genius Hour.  With that being said, I am going to use this blog as more of a conclusion.

Tying flies for this project taught me a lot more lessons than I had expected.  Throughout this process I learned the need for patience.  I have always been someone who enjoys to learn quickly.  If I find myself struggling, I tend to get frustrated.  I feel like I have learned to change that throughout this journey.  I have found getting frustrated will only complicate the task even more so there is no point.

Independence is also something I have always enjoyed.  For the most part, I like to figure things out on my own and work alone.  This genius hour taught me how important it can be to get help and knowledge from outside sources.  They can be very beneficial to whatever you're doing and your success in completing the task.

Overall, I have really enjoyed my project.  I am not exactly sure what my next one will be but I have looking forward to it!  Deuces.

Week 1.7 of Fly Tying

Welcome back my fellow classmates!  

I am not very satisfied with my Genius Hour project this week.  If I am being honest, I didn't get much done with it.  The week I had was jam packed with football, homework and church.  Although, I don't feel like this was the end of the world because my project is pretty much done.  I know this is no excuse to slack off and not work on it but I was truly busy.  

My physical actions may have not been there but believe it or not, I was there mentally.  Throughout the week my mind was on my project.  While I was doing my homework I found my thoughts wondering off to my project.  I would think about the flies I wanted to create and what I would need to make them.  I also began to question whether or not I would be able to complete the flies by myself or if I would need some guidance from my dad or the internet.  After some thought, I came to the conclusion that I would probably need some help here and there.

I may feel like this past week was a bust but I do believe mental reps can be just as beneficial as physical reps.  Being there is only one week left for this Genius Hour I intend to really get after it this week.  See you in a week! 

Week 1.6 of Fly Tying

Hello guys and gals.  Welcome back to the blog!

    This past week I ended up letting mother nature decide what my next step of this process would be.  If it were to warm up and melt the ice, I was going to test out my flies on the water.  If it remained cold, as it did, I planned on staying home and watching some more videos on different variations of flies. 

    So far I have really been keeping my focus on flies that will catch fish more so on the Western side of the state, such as trout.  Recently, I have been learning how to create flies for fish more native to our side of the state.  The main fish that would be targeted with these new flies would be Crappie.  As mentioned in my previous blog, I want to explore flies that will sink into the water rather than float on the surface.  These Crappie flies, which are more of a jig/fly cross, will sink to the bottom so you are able to reach the proper depth of the fish.  You start a lead headed jig for the base of the fly.  Then, much like what I have been doing, you can tie in basically whatever you want.  From the videos I watched, it seems like most people stick to the really bright and vibrant colors.  This includes colors like bright green, orange, yellow, and a lot of materials that sparkle.  I'm not really sure why the Crappie prefer this but it obviously works so I won't question it. 

    Since I have obtained, what I feel, is a very solid foundation for tying small trout flies, I think I will continue this new approach of finding new ones to tie.  This journey has been very fun and I think it is important for me to continue exploring in it.  If I really wanted to, I could probably stop now and be satisfied with what I have, but that is not something I want to do.  My hope by the end of this process is to have a wide range of knowledge for this profession that maybe one day I could share with others.  Stay tuned!   

Week 1.5 of Fly Tying

Hey guys, welcome back to another week of the blog!

    To be honest guys, this week did not really go as I had planned.  As most of you know, life happens and there isn't much a person can do to stop it.  In this case, mother nature happened to me and completely blew up my plans.  My goal for this week was to take my flies to the water and see how well they worked.  Unfortunately, as many of you have probably noticed, it has been below freezing this past week.  Oddly enough, when the temperature drops to 32℉ and remains there for a long period of time, the water freezes over and turns to ice.  This wouldn't be a problem if I was making jigs to bounce off the bottom, because I would still be able to go out and fish.  In my situation, the flies float, therefore, I am not able to get the fly down to where the fish are at.  I wouldn't say I'm the brightest person but I really don't think a floating fly would catch many fish out of an eight inch hole in the ice.  I guess it is possible to make flies that would sink down into the water but I haven't made it that far yet.  Maybe I should take that route in the coming weeks and try to fish with those.  I would definitely have to obtain some patience because it would still take a while for the fly to sink down to the correct depth. 

     All in all, I am happy with where I am at right now in the process.  This week obviously didn't go exactly how I planned it to but that's just life.  Adversity will come and there's nothing a person can do to avoid it.  The only thing you can control is how you react to it.  I hope I have inspired you in my message today.  Until next week!

Week 1.4 of Fly Tying

    Welcome back guys!  I know I took a week off but it feels good to be on again.  I have had a very productive couple of weeks and I am excited to show you some of my results! 
   
     My goal for this week was to have a strong understanding of how to tie flies on my own.  In my opinion, I have met that goal.  Managing my time to make room for this hobby hasn't been easy but I feel as if I have done a good job.  Throughout this several week process I have been able to tie different sizes of flies, simple flies, and even more difficult flies.  This journey has been very enjoyable and I'm really glad I chose it. 

    The biggest struggle I came across this week was working on these more difficult flies.  Some of the materials I used were very dry, which made them super fragile.  When you are working with something as small as these flies, it's already hard enough to be gentle.  But then you add in these fragile materials, it can be really challenging.  I basically had to run my fingers down the material when trying to wrap the fly because if I pulled to hard, it would break.  This breakage did happen a couple of times and it was pretty frustrating.  Fortunately, I was able to continue wrapping the fly by running by string over the top of the broken piece.  I think for the future, I will look into purchasing some new, fresh material so it is easier to work with. 

    Weather permitting, I plan to test my luck and take these flies to the the water next week!  Fingers crossed!

    Here are a couple of flies I have tied so far:

Week 1.3 of Fly Tying

Welcome back fellow bloggers!  I have had a fairly difficult week and I am back to tell you why.

I have come to realize time management is a very tough thing when it comes to learning this new skill.  School and football practice have kind of set me back a little more than I would have liked.  My days have been pretty jam packed and I haven't been able to spend quite as much time tying as I would have liked.  Although, I have been able to explore my new challenge a little.

My goal for this week was to work on a more challenging fly.  My plan is to really start focusing on more complicated flies so I can reach the next level of this skill.  You might be asking yourself what I mean by a "more complicated fly," here's what I'm talking about.  In order to add more character to the fly you are tying and attract more fish, you need to add more things on the fly itself.  This could anything be from various colors, bird feathers (to act as wings on the fly), different types of mammal hair, etc.  These all may seem like very insignificant objects but they can make a huge difference in whether or not you catch fish.

While this may sound like a really simple thing to accomplish, it is actually pretty tough.  When you start to add these new materials to the fly, you begin to realize just how careful you need to be.  I have come to find this in my own series of events.  The materials being used are not only extremely small, but they are also very delicate.  For example, when adding "wings" to your fly, you literally have pull small pieces of feather off the stem of the feather to get adequate material.  These the tiny conjoined pieces of feathers need to also be symmetrical so they line up properly of the fly's back.  To do this, you must pull two full and identical feathers from the bird that are also on opposite sides of the bird. 

The skill I have been working on is adding these wings onto the fly.  After you have obtained the pieces you see fit, you will tie them on with the desired color of fly tying line.  I have had some trouble with this portion because the feathers are very fragile and seem to break easily.  My goal is to get this figured out before next week so I will be back on track.  Stay tuned!

Week 1.2 of Fly Tying

I am very happy to say I have met my goal for week two.  My goal for this week was to have at least 3 flies tied so I could compare them to my first, and I was able to accomplish this.  Yes, I am still only on the basics with my flies, but I really feel as if I am getting the hang of it.  I have been using my dad for a resource more than anything and he has helped me a lot with new techniques and other cool tricks in completing each fly.  The background knowledge and skills he has are a great tool for me when I need help or have questions.

One of the new techniques I will be working on this week is incorporating new materials.  The main thing I would like to focus on is adding things in like bird wings and rabbit fur.  If these materials are tied in correctly they can have a great effect on how the fly looks and acts when it is in the water.  For instance, depending on the type of feather or hair I use, the fly will either sink or float.  These top water flies are known as a "dry fly."  When I have been fly fishing in the past, my favorite flies to use are these dry flies.  I enjoy using them because it allows me to see the fly the whole time, which helps me to be more aware and prepared when the fish swallows it. 

Overall, this was a good week for me.  I feel as though I had a little trouble with my time management, which is something that will have to change this week.  If I am not able to spend quality time working on these more complicated flies, the result will more than likely show.  The goals I have set for this week are very important because they are the next step in becoming good at this hobby.  Once I have got these skills down I should be able to make almost any fly.         
 

Week 1.1 of Fly Tying

Well, I am really excited to say I think I have found a new hobby in fly tying!  My goal for the first week of this eight week journey was to first learn the basics, and second, tie at least one fly.  I am very pleased to say I have tied three of them.  My dad did a very good job of getting all his equipment out and setting it up for me.  At first, I wasn't sure if he was going to have enough materials and tools for me to try all of the things I would like learn.  I quickly learned I was very wrong, as he had way more things than I had expected.  This helped me realize I should never doubt the abilities of my dad.

The first step I took in learning the basics of this art was to do what any teenage kid would do, YouTube it.  I was able to find a few really good videos that gave me some key pointers when tying a fly.  I used one of the videos to help guide me through tying my first fly.  I was very pleased with how it turned out!  This fly I tied was known as the "Buzzer."  It is a fairly basic fly but it is a very successful option when fishing for big trout.  To put this fly into perspective, it is about the size of an ant.  The hook used to tie it is a size 12, (extremely small).  Many people say big trout will almost always go for a very small Buzzer because they don't realize there is a hook hidden inside.

My plan for next week is to get a few more flies tied and expand on the level of difficulty with each one.  My dad has a couple of really good fly tying books with some really cool flies in them.  The book shows step-by-step how to tie each one and that will help me significantly!  I can't wait to continue this process and get better!