Lesson 1: THE FIRST FLY: RED TAG

The Hooks

When tying flies every type of fly need its own type of hook. There are wetfly, dryfly, streamer, nymph, salmonfly etc hooks. The sizes of the hooks are marked with numbers: Size 0 does not exist, Number 1 is the largest and the size is smaller the bigger the number is. Large hooks are marked with 0/-sizes. 0/1 is the smallest of them and the bigger the number after / is the larger the hook is.

The length of the shank is told by the multiples compared with the size of the gap. If the expression is 3x, it means that the length of the shank is three time the wide of the gap. If the wire of the hook differs from normal, it is expressed for instance: light = thin wire for dryflies or heavy = thick wire for sinking type of flies. The eye of the can be upwards, straight of downwards. There are a lot of special hooks like swimming nymph, curved nymph, grub etc. The choose the right hook is anyway easy, because the type of the hook needed is told in the tying recipe of the fly.

How to fasten the hook in the vise

Adjust first the jaws so that they lightly hold the hook. Fasten the hook in the vise with fastlock-handle. Handle should go into the fastening position easily, no force is allowed. The hook shank must be horisontal. When You fasten the hook like in the picture with point visible, it makes easier to ty the right relationships for the fly. You learn fast to be careful with the sharp, thread-cutting point.

RED TAG

The Tying Recipe:
Hook: Wetfly number 8-16
Tail: Red woolyarn
Body: Peacock herl 3-4 pcs
Hackle: Brown cock feather
Head: Black

This recipe is over 150 years old, but still in 3rd millennium Red Tag is a fly to catch fishes. Specially it pleases graylings, but You can catcch with Red Tag all the salmonides, even perches love it. There is tens of variations of Red Tag. When it is tyed in the long shank streamerhook and the body is palmerhackled, the fly is excellent for the seatrouts of the Baltic Sea. In Lapland the Red Tag is a must: You need at least some flies in sizes 10-14. This secures tasty fish meals, when hiking and fishing in the wilderness.

THE TYING:

The beginning:

Make the start knot and secure it with the the half hitch.

The Priming:

Make the priming on the hookshank with side-by-side turns of the thread.Varnish the priming lightly.

The Tail:

Turn the thread to the front of the hook. Leave about 2 mm free room in the front. It is needed for the hackle and the head. Take about 1,5 inches red woolyarn. Take the yarn between the left hand thumb and forefinger and put it on the shank. Take the thread between the fingers and form a loose loop.

When You pull the spigot downwards and at the same time let the thread slide between Your fingers the wool will fasten in the right place. Make some safety turn and a half hitch.

Hold the woolyarn in Your left hand. This prevents the yarn to turn with the thread, when the thread travels with tight turns to the back of the shank. When the wool is fastened on the shank make a half hitch. Cut the woolyarn in front and in the back. The right length of Red Taag tail is about 2 mm. Take a clean needle and make the tail look puffy. Travel with turns the tthread to the front. Look the picture: there is still free room for the hackle and the head.

The Body:

Take 3-4 peacock herls tips forward in Your left hand. Fasten the herls like You fastened the tail. Make a half hitch.

Lift the spigot and the thread upwards. Turn the herls around the thread. This forms a kind of herlthread. This way there is no loose loop of herls at the end of the body.

Take the herlthread in Your right hand. Turn this rope with side-by-side turns directed out of yourself and form the body of the fly. Remember in the frontpart those important 2 mms.

When the body is ready, open the rest of the herlthread as thread and herls again. Hold the herls tight in Your right hand. Turn the spigot and the thread two or three times over the herls exactly in front of the body so that the thread tightens the herls. Tie some safety turns and a half hitch.

Cut the extra herls. Now the tail and the body are ready.

The Hackle

Choose out of a brown cock cape about the rigt size of the hacklefeather. Look at the picture, how to measure the right size. When the point of fastening is decided, strip the extra web away.

Fasten the feather exactly in front of the body. The shiny, convex side of the feather should show forward, and the webs should start just in front of the body.

Fasten the hackle with turning the thread forward. Make a half hitch. Turn the bold shaft backwards and return with the thread to the front of the body. This way the shaft will be under two layers of thread, so it will not slip away when the hackle is tyed. Cut the extra shaft.

Take the tip of the shaft between the jaws of the haclepliers. Look at the picture: The shaft is exactly between the jaws.

Take the thread forward near the eye of the hook. Turn the hackle 2-3 turns. Make the first turn exacly in front of the body and the next ones side-by-side towards the eye. Take the hackle pliers in the right hand. With the left hand make 2-3 fastening turns with the thread so that the thread fastens the hackle in its place. This is one of the basics of fly-tying. Only practice makes You to learn correct tying.

Hold the hackle with left hand the way the picture shows: fingers press the webs backwards.

Form with the thread a nice small head for the fly. The head gives a part of the swimm to the fly andthis effects on how the fly catches fishes. When the webs show a little bit backwards the fly is ready to be finished. Make 4-6 half hitches. Varnish the head and let it dry.

WHIP FINISH KNOT

Hold the thread going to the hook tight. Form a loose loop out of the loose end of the thread. Set spigot hanging free on the vise.

Turn the tight thread on the loose with 6-8 turns forward.

Take the loose loop on scissors or needle, tighten it and pull the spigot. The loose thread slips under the turn. Cut the thread. In the pictures the knot is tied on a quite long area. When a fly is finished, the knot must be tied exactly in the head area. Practise!

You have tyed Your first fly: Red Tag

Next: Leech