How to Make Fishing Flies at Home

Tying fishing flies at home is both a source of fishing lures as well as an interesting and relaxing hobby enjoyed by many people. Fishing flies are either dry, wet or nymphs which are tied to imitate insects, insect larvae or small fish. With a few specialized fly-tying tools and materials, it is possible to create realistic flies to entice fish.

Things You'll Need

  • Fly tying vise
  • Fly hooks
  • Fly tying thread bobbin
  • Fly tying thread
  • Materials including animal hairs, feathers and yarn
  • Small scissors
Show More

Instructions

  1. How to Make Fishing Flies at Home

    • 1

      Mount the fly-tying vise to a sturdy table or bench, using the clamp on the bottom of the vise. Make sure the work area is well lit because the materials being used are quite small.

    • 2

      Place a hook in the jaws of the vise. The bend of the hook should be in the jaws with the shank, or the long part of the hook, on top and the barb and point on the bottom.

    • 3

      Determine the type of fly being tied. Flies may be dry or wet and the manner in which they are tied will differ. Dry flies typically consist of more animal hairs while wet flies, such as streamers, feature feathers to imitate bait fish.

    • 4

      Tie a body of yarn onto the shank of the hook by wrapping the yarn with thread held by the thread bobbin. The body may be wrapped with loops close or further apart to allow fibers of the yarn to show through.

    • 5

      Tie animal hairs or feathers to the hook using the thread. Dry flies will have hairs that stand straight out from the body of the fly to help with flotation. Wet flies typically have the hairs or feathers swept back at an angle to help the fly submerge.