Fishing with hand-tied flies

A rainbow trout from Lake Taneycomo that fell for a homemade fly.

Ken White

There are few pleasures in the sport of fishing that can match that of taking a trout, bass or bluegill or other fish on a fly of your own creation. On cold winter evenings, like the ones we have been experiencing this year, with a wind rattling the windows, you can sit at a bench reliving past fishing experiences and put together the ingredients for future ones.

Bob Martin started fishing more than 50 years ago by using a cane pole and worms for bait. After seeing another angler using a fly rod and catching bass, a new way of fishing opened for him. Since then he learned to tie flies and caught from bluegill to trout on his creations.

Martin said, “Once I got the hang of tying flies, I started tying respectable flies for a fraction of what I would have to pay for them in a store. It’s not just the savings that got me hooked, it is a lot of fun. You get satisfaction out of catching a fish on a hook you have struck into a vise and dolled up with feathers, tinsel and fur.”

Several years ago, Fred Harper and Mike Freeman got hooked on tying flies after attending the Kansas City Sportshow in January. Harper said, “We watched people catching trout in the trout pool and started talking to several members of the Missouri Trout Fisherman’s Association. They told us how easy it was to get started fly tying and how much fun it was so we decided to pursue it. We picked up a vise, hackle, pliers, scissors, bobbin, dubbing needle and other things we needed to start, There is no mysticism in fly tying. We are proof that anyone with a yearn to learn can become a reasonably accomplished fly-tier.”

On a visit to an Orvis store, I talked to the manager who had tied flies for more than 30 years. He told me that fly tying was going on in Macedonia more than 2,000 years ago. A wasp-like insect was imitated by dressing a hook with purplish yarn and floated on the Astraeus River. Ever since then anglers have been using artificial flies.

While waiting for the trout opener on March 1 in the trout parks, many anglers are enjoying tying one on by tying their own flies thus making the time go faster. Although trout fishing on Lake Taneycomo and some other streams in Missouri are open year round, there is something special about opening day at the parks and catching a trout on a fly the angler has made.

Many anglers not only fish for trout on a fly they have made, but also catch a wide variety of other species including bass, crappie and bluegill. Some veteran fly tyers collection of materials is endless. They have hunter friends that save all kinds of fur and feathers from pheasants, quail, ducks and turkey as well as fur from deer, rabbit, squirrel and even skunk. Once your hunting friends find out that you save fur and feathers for your hobby, you soon may have enough material to open your own supply house.

There is an art to catching fish on flies just as there is in using natural baits, but when you hook a fighting fish on a lure you have made from scratch, it makes it special.

Another way to take advantage of winter weather for the angler is to get your fishing gear ready for the upcoming season. There is more than an ounce of truth in the saying “A fisherman is no better than his tackle.” Of course, that has also been said about quarterbacks,

Seriously, though it pays in more ways than one to keep your gear in good working order. For one thing, proper maintenance can add a good many years to the working life of rods, reels and tackle on which hard-earned money has been spent. Many anglers have discovered that unoiled reels can “freeze up,” neglected rods can snap and rusty hooks can give out just when that lunker comes along.

Good fishing isn’t that far away and to help the time go by faster and to be ready, anglers by having their rods, reels, lines and tackle ready. Not only does the care and repair of your fishing gear make sense, it also helps bring real fishing seem closer.