If you peer around the frost on the window and over the snow bank in the front yard, spring is actually on the horizon. We are only a month away from open water fishing season, six weeks away for those of us in the County. Just the thought of finding open water without wrestling an ice auger gives me a feeling of contentment. I can’t wait to bottom walk a nymph or drift a wet fly through a pool on a nearby stream, or spend a few hours trolling streamers on a favorite lake. My first order of business, however, will be refurbishing and resupplying my fly boxes.

Although I tie flies off and on all winter, March is crunch time and spring fever invigorates my efforts at my fly-tying desk. You can only stand so much ice fishing and rabbit or varmint hunting, and a couple of quiet evening hours at the vise is very relaxing. Considering Maine’s long, cold winters, fly tying can even be considered therapeutic for many cabin fever victims.

Getting started

Being a fly fisherman and not tying your own flies is like going to a dance to listen to music; you’re missing half the fun. Fly tying is a wonderfully relaxing pastime, yet it can be very challenging and satisfying when constructing more difficult patterns, such as classic salmon flies. It’s always gratifying to catch fish on a fly you tied with your own hands, and truly exhilarating when you actually create a fly pattern that produces consistent action.

In the long run, tying your own flies will save you money, and your tackle box will always be well stocked with the most productive patterns in all sizes. No more going from shop to store seeking a certain fly; you can sit down and tie one in a few minutes. If another angler is having great luck with a special pattern, you can duplicate it. When trout are rising for a particular size and color insect and refusing all other artificial offerings, you can imitate it at the tying table and catch fish when others can’t. Whether you’re 5 or 85, you can learn to tie flies.

Beginners need a few specific tools, which I call hardware, and of course a selection of materials which I’ll refer to as software. There’s no point in going overboard spending money for top-of-the-line tying utensils and large quantities of materials to get started. Select a simple style to tie. It may be a wet fly, nymph, or streamer. Then purchase basic instruments, limited sizes and numbers of hooks, and specific feathers, fur, and tinsel for several rudimentary but effective patterns. If you really take to the new hobby, as you become more proficient and expand your expertise to more intricate patterns, inventory can be improved and expanded over time.

First and foremost, a neophyte tier needs to learn the basics. Fortunately throughout Maine, fly-tying classes are very prevalent, especially during the winter. Watch for ads in local newspapers and regional sporting publications or listen to community announcements on local radio stations. Call or check bulletin boards at local sporting goods stores, fly shops, and fish and game clubs, and check adult education classes at area schools. An eight- to 10-week hands-on course with all the hardware and materials provided is a perfect introduction to fly tying and to find out if it’s really for you.

The very best way to learn about tying flies is under the tutelage of a friend or family member with years of personal experience. Practice sessions can be scheduled around work, school, and family obligations, a full complement of tying supplies are already at hand, and you get one-on-one instruction from an acquaintance. If your location precludes group or personal lessons, don’t despair, words and pictures will guide your quest.

A truckload of excellent instructional books with step-by- step directions and photos are available. Some are general knowledge while others address specific styles of flies. Videos provide even more specific directions with excellent close-up and even slow motion pictures of hard-to-learn techniques. A wide selection of fly tying books and videos can be purchased at local fishing shops, bookstores, or online outlets, and some are even available at the local library.

Helpful hardware

Certain basic tools are a must to assure the fine points of fly tying are rewarding and relaxing, rather than irritating and frustrating. A sturdy vise is the first necessity. Pedestal vises are self-supporting on a weighted base, whereas C-clamp models are more compact and can be quickly attached to any extended surface and removed easily when finished. I’ve seen traveling anglers use pickup tailgates, boat thwarts, and camp or picnic tables to clamp a vise to for a spur of the moment fly-tying session.

Select a solid vise of good steel, chrome-coated or stainless, with adjustable height and large easy-to-use controls. Strong, tapered jaws that can adjust to hold a size 20 dry fly hook or a 3/0 salt water tarpon hook are an asset. Prices range from $10 to $500, depending on construction material and features, but $25 will purchase an adequate beginner’s model and you can trade up as need merits.

Start with two pair of scissors made of quality steel, and sharpen them weekly with a few strokes of small, fine file or stone kept at the bench. One small set of iris scissors with straight blades for precise, delicate work and a 4-inch pair of short, curved-blade scissors with enlarged finger holes make a good combo. Each should taper to fine blade points, be comfortable to hold and operate, and cut cleanly and smoothly.

Bobbins are metal or plastic contrivances for holding various-sized spools of thread or floss as it’s being wound onto a hook. Newer models are of lightweight spring steel, for easy, quick spool changes and lined with nonabrasive Teflon to prevent thread abrasion and breakage. Start with two bobbins so more than one size, type, or color of thread or floss can be loaded and ready to use.

A bobbin threader is a helpful tool with a needle on one end and a fine wire loop on the other for pulling thread through the bobbin nozzle. The needle can be used to clean hook eyes, tease body fur and dubbing, apply head cement, and several other applications during the tying process. A tool called a bodkin is a long needle in a pencil-length wooden handle for precise control, and it’s used for the same chores as the threader needle.

Hackle pliers are small, spring-tension gripping tools for manipulating small hackles. Fingers work well for adjusting and applying many feathers and hackles, but not smaller, fine tipped ones on very small flies. Have one set with round jaws and another with elongated, fine jaws, each with non-slip jaw surfaces. The larger set can also be used to set and maneuver wing feathers, large hackles, tinsel, and coarse body windings.

Tweezers are used to pick up, position and hold small feathers and to adjust material during the tying process. Of the two sets needed, one should have flat, curved jaws while the other should be fine pointed, and each should be about 4 inches long for ease of handling. A whip finisher is a slick tool to finish and tie off fly heads, and although this can be done by hand, a small and a large whip will quickly and simply tie off the head on all size flies.

A boxed set of all hardware, vise included, can be purchased for as little as $20 from Cabela’s fly fishing catalog. High quality tools with more pieces and extra sizes in a storage and carrying case run from $50 to $100. Buy piecemeal if you prefer from the local sporting goods outlet or fly shop, or check a mail order catalog for anything not readily available in town. Don’t go overboard – start with the basics.

Suitable software

When it comes to selecting hooks, feathers, floss, fur, thread, and a dozen other materials essential to building a fly, start small. Settle on one style of fly: wet, streamer, tandem streamer, nymph, dry, or bass bug for example, and then choose no more than half a dozen dependable but simple-to-tie patterns. Make a list of the exact components needed to construct each pattern and purchase moderate quantities of each product. As you’re tying ability expands, so will fly styles and patterns, but the expenditure will be over months and years, not a breathtaking bulk buy with much material that will never be used.

Select up to four hook sizes to begin with, and buy packages of 10 to 25 hooks. For most flies a couple of spools of 6/0, pre-waxed black thread will do fine, but a few patterns do require red or yellow and it won’t break you to add a spool of each. Body materials comprise a wide selection of shapes, sizes, colors, and composure that almost compel you to buy a variety. Stay strong and stick to the necessities for your chosen flies. Select wool, floss, or chenille, the most popular soft body materials, in exact colors needed, on small spools or cards.

Tinsel is a metallic material for bodies and ribbing, and comes in gold, silver, copper, pearlesence, and holographic finishes. There are dozens of shapes and sizes in each color, but generally only small spools of thin and medium flat and small and medium oval in gold and silver are needed to start. Hackle feathers come in expensive full and half necks of various qualities and a myriad of colors, but many of the feathers are the wrong size. Select packages of 10 to 25 feathers in the exact color and size needed for the wings, throats, tails, and hackles of your selected fly patterns.

Furs and feathers are the worst of all to resist. Deer hair, bear hair, calf’s tail, bucktail, squirrel tail, seal fur, fox hair, and on and on are displayed in multiple colors. Duck feathers, golden pheasant, lady Amherst, goose shoulders, ostrich hurl, peacock, turkey, and dozens more beckon to be bought. Stick to the necessities for your special patterns, and add on over time.

All-inclusive fly tying kits are available from $30 basic units to $175 premium outfits with tremendous amounts of tools, materials, a book and video. As good as these beginner’s packages sound, a lot of the material just isn’t useful for our regional patterns due to size, shape, or color. It’s more efficient, and price effective, to purchase exactly what you need for the flies you plan to tie as a learning novice.

Fly tying can turn from a hobby into an obsession. There’s nothing wrong with this sort of enthusiasm for a pastime, but stay within certain buying limitations. Ask for materials for birthdays and Christmas gifts. Fly tying is a diverse hobby that can be very fulfilling and satisfying, but start slowly and work your way along bit by bit when selecting equipment and material. But do start, you won’t be sorry, and fishing season will be here soon.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com