How Do I Tie a Weedless Fly?

Weedless flies increase the amount of water accessible by your fly. Weedless flies are primarily for warm water fisheries where moss is a common issue for anglers but they are also useful in cold water fisheries with prolific weed beds. Building the weedless fly adds two simple fly-tying steps to your pattern and greatly increases the value of the fly. The weed-guard on weedless flies carves a path ahead of the hook point and prevents the weeds from snagging on the hook.

Things You'll Need

  • Fly tying vise
  • Hook
  • Gel spun thread
  • 20 pound monofilament
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Instructions

    • 1

      Clamp the hook in the vise and start the thread at the hook bend. Wrap the thread to the hook eye to create a base for the weed-guard.

    • 2

      Cut a 10-inch section of 20 pound monofilament line from a spool. Choose a stiff line variety to create a strong weed-guard.

    • 3

      Hold one end of the line at the hook eye. Position the line on top of the shank and wrap the thread to the hook bend, covering the line with each wrap.

    • 4

      Tie the tail and body of the fly with the materials used in your chosen recipe. Hair poppers, streamers and other large flies are common for weedless applications.

    • 5

      Pull the monofilament line beneath the hook to create a loop. Adjust the size of the loop to match the hook gap. Hold the free end of the line at the hook eye. Make 20 tight thread wraps to secure the weed-guard at the eye. You now have a weedless fly.