Wet Flies
7:42 AM | Author: Mark

Hey everyone! I know it's been a reeeeaaaaaally long time since I've updated, but the real reason is that I really just haven't been doing a whole lot of fishing over the winter.

I have, however, been tying a good bit, and will possibly have patterns to share if they're proven effective in the coming months. I have some pics of other flies I've been tying, though.

One of my new year's resolutions for my fly fishing is to gain proficiency tying and fishing the classic wet flies. To that end, my selection of floss has tripled (from the essential red for royal coachmen/wulff/trude/etc, and olive & orange for soft-hackles), my tinsel variety has exploded, and I'm checking out websites for things like duck skins, goose shoulders, and silk floss.

Tying these wets interests me for two reasons: first, its a style that isn't very forgiving of imperfections in your technique. Uneven underbody or bad proportion will make an otherwise perfect fly look very bad. Secondly, it's an aspect of fly fishing steeped in history and tradition that, with the advent of more popular flies and tactics (nymphs, emergers, etc), has has taken a backseat in terms of popularity with fishermen.

While I'm a long way from proficient, you can see some of my efforts below. More reading and more practice will, I'm sure, improve my skills, but this is where I am for now:


Ibis & White, Size 10, on Tiemco 5263


Green & Black Wet Fly on Mustad 3399A, Size 12

Wet Fly tied on Mustad 36890, Size 8


Blae & Black, tied on Tiemco 5263, Size 10