FLY TYING CLASS COMING UP BY JOHN BERRY

Yesterday I tied forty two flies. On the day before, I tied thirty and the day before that I tied forty flies. For a commercial fly tyer this is nothing. I am not a commercial tyer. I don’t sell them. I tie for my own use and for my clients. I think that I would starve to death if I tied flies for a living. I am way too slow and I usually only tie for a couple of hours at a time before I get tired. I enjoy tying and I fear that I would get burned out quickly. This is the time of year, when I do the most tying. There are many days when I can’t talk my wife, Lori, into braving the cold to catch a few trout. Fly tying is a feature of the sport that I can enjoy in inclement weather.


There are a lot of other reasons that I tie my own flies. I enjoy working with my hands. When I am not fishing or tying flies, I seem to always be working on some small project in my shop, either refinishing an old piece of furniture or cutting a trout out of copper. I also think that fly tying is a creative outlet. From time to time, I observe an insect on the water and go home to create a fly to imitate it. That is how I developed the green butt, my signature fly. I do have certain patterns tied by local tyers because they are too complex for me to tie. Berry’s law of fly tying is; you have to tie them faster than you can lose them.


You can tie a better fly than you can buy. You can use the best hooks available (I prefer Tiemco factory barbless hooks), the best materials and take the time to add extra features. By extra features, I mean an extra whip finish, glue on the thread base or a metal rib to add to a fly’s durability. Or you can tie the same nymph with several different sizes of tungsten beads so that the same fly can have multiple sink rates for varied water conditions. When you are tying a fly, it is a great time to pinch down the barb (so you don’t forget). I keep a pair of barb mashers handy when I am tying.


What I like the best about fly tying is teaching it. There is something special about introducing someone to the art. The excitement in their eyes, when they catch a fish on a fly that they tied themselves, is a reward, in itself. I have been teaching fly tying for over twenty five years and I really look forward to each class. As a result, I have scheduled a fly tying class at Arkansas State University Mountain Home on Thursday February 5, 12, 19 and 26 through the Department of Communication and Institutional Development. There is a nominal fee. The classes are scheduled from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on the ASU campus. Contact Sarah Sikes at (870) 508- 6105 to enroll.


You will need to furnish your own fly tying tools. You will need a fly tying vise, fly tying scissors, bobbin, hackle pliers and a spool of 6/0 fly tying thread. All can be purchased at reasonable cost at a local fly shop, Dally’s Ozark Angler, Twin Rivers Fly Shop or Wishes and Fishes. If you are not sure what to buy, just come to the class. I will bring extra tools to the first class. I have limited the size of the class so that my students get a lot of individual attention.


The course will concentrate on learning basic techniques that you will use to tie all flies and the course is designed for the complete novice, who has never tied a fly. We will learn to tie the basic flies that I use the most when fishing the White and Norfork Rivers. These are what I call guide flies that are designed and tied to specifically catch fish.


If this sounds like something that would be of interest to you, please call ASU and sign up. I will see you there.


John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.