Saltwater Fly Tying Instructions

Both saltwater fish and their environment conspire to wreck flies. As a result, tying flies for saltwater fishing requires special consideration of materials and techniques. Regardless of the size of the fly, a little care and planning will produce saltwater flies that can stand up to both the fish and their environment.

  1. Tying the Fly

    • Select a stainless steel hook size that matches the pattern's requirements. Lay down a thread base from the hook's eye to the bend of the hook in close wraps. The thread base will keep the body material from twisting off the hook shank and unwrapping.

      Tie in a length of braided Mylar tubing and wrap the tubing forward, making a body. Tie it off at the hook eye.

      Measure white artificial hair and tie it in over the hook shank as the fly's belly. It should extend beyond the bend of the hook. Over the white hair, tie in a bunch of colored artificial hair to represent the fly's back.

      Apply a small amount of adhesive to the white and colored hair, starting at the hook eye and running back a quarter of the length of the hook shank. Stroke the hair backward to form a long, thin, fish-shaped body. Work the adhesive into the hair near the hook eye. This adhesive will keep the hair formed in a fish body shape and still allow the rest of the hair to move as the fly is retrieved. Form a head of thread, and the fly is complete.

    Selecting Materials

    • Stainless steel hooks are made by many manufacturers and come in many sizes and gauges. Popular manufacturers include Gamakatsu, Owner and Mustad. In general, the larger the game fish, the larger and heavier the hook you'll use. For example, marlin weigh several hundred pounds and require the largest, heaviest wire hooks, while weakfish weigh a couple of pounds and require a smaller hook made from lighter wire. Each needs to be stainless steel to withstand saltwater.

      Thread also must stand up to fish, many of which have teeth. Several thread material choices are available. Among them, 210 denier thread, monofilament thread and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene are all good choices because they have high strength-to-diameter ratios. Also, being man-made, they will not rot in saltwater.

      Braided Mylar tubing is a popular choice because of its ability to stand up to fish teeth and because it does not corrode in saltwater. Mylar tubing is available in several colors and holographic finishes, giving anglers a variety of choices.

      There are many choices for artificial hair, too. These vary by color, length and coarseness. Choose finer hair for smaller flies and courser hair for larger flies. Popular choices include Krystal Flash, H2O Slinky Fiber, Mega Mush and Enrico Puglisi.

      Adhesives most often used for saltwater application include the brand names FlexCoat, E-Poxy and Zap Gel. These adhesives were developed for other manufacturing purposes, but have been adapted by fly-tyers for keeping wing materials in place.