Fly tying is an art which has become the focus of many anglers time. In fact, is fly tying an art as said previously or is it a craft? There has been widespread debate regarding this question and it all comes down to your viewpoint on whether anyone can tie flies or if it is a �gift�.

As with fly fishing, fly tying is a hobby which will consume a large amount of time. The more flies you tie, the greater ability you will have and this can only improve your tying. As time goes by, more patterns created by yourself will be developed and variations on existing patterns can be made. You will be able to put a different shade hackle on that wet fly to suit it to your local river or an underbody of lead to make it sink a bit faster.

Before starting there are some compulsory tools which need to be purchased in order to tie your first fly. Richard Walker, a great flytyer and fly fisherman did not use a vice for some of his flies but this is not recommended when learning to tie flies!

The vice is perhaps the most important piece of equipment needed when tying the fly. Just as with rods, there are a wide range of vices available to the flytyer. Some have 360 degree rotational functions and the width of the jaws can be increased or decreased to suit the fly being tied. Vices can be picked up for around �20 but if a flashy one is desired you can be set back 3 figures. At the end of the day, it is down to how often you are going to tie and how much you want to spend.

Scissors are important in flytying as well. The material needs to be cut to size before applying to the hook and the thread needs to be cut after finishing the fly. I recommend buying two pairs of scissors. One should have very fine points and be as sharp as possible, this set is used for cutting threads. The other pair does not have to be as sharp and should be used for cutting the materials and tinsels/wires. They will get blunt and so will need to be replaced regularly.

When the fly is finished, the thread needs to be tied of. This is done with a funny looking instrument called a whip finish tool. These are fairly cheap and come in different styles but all do the same job. Some people finish the fly off without this tool and do it with their fingers but it is harder and not worth the extra hassle as a beginner.

Assuming you want to put a hackle on to some of your flies, you will need a pair of hackle pliers. The hackle is placed in the jaws of the pliers and can be wound around the hook as desired. It makes placing the hackle more accurate than if you use your fingers to place them and you can now buy rotary hackle pliers which prevents the hackle from twisting as it is wound.

The bobbin holder is the instrument with which the thread is held. The spool of thread is placed between the two holders and the silk or thread is passed through the tube. Some people have told me that the ceramic bobbin holders are best as they very rarely break the thread. Over time, the thread will cause a small knick to form in the tube and will start to cut the thread. If this starts happening whilst tying flies, I would recommend throwing the bobbin holder away because there is nothing more frustrating than breaking your thread every time you sit down to tie a fly!

There are additional tools which you could buy. Some people buy boards which fit on the vice which come in white and green. This helps visibility when viewing the fly so that your eyes focus on the fly and not any rubbish behind it. Another optional piece of equipment is a magnifying glass. If your eyesight is poor or you are tying on size 24s this is a great help and places less strain on your eyes.

There are also some key materials for tying flies:

Thread comes in a variety of colours and strengths. The most common type of thread is Uni-thread which is widely available in most fly fishing shops. Black thread can be used for most flies and to start off tying, 6/0 is the best strength. The strength is shown as numbers on the side of the spool of thread. 6/0 is stronger than 8/0 which is stronger than 12/0. I would recommend using 6/0 whilst you are starting and move up to 8/0 if you require a smaller head etc.

Marabou- this is possibly one of the most widely used. It is used on almost every single lure and damsel patterns. It is from the turkey and is dyed a wide variety of colours. You can normally buy 12 feathers for �1 and you can tie over 15 flies with each feather. It pulsates in the water. Never cut marabou, always pinch it with your fingers and this will improve the look of the marabou.

Tinsel- this comes in both gold and silver usually. It is used a lot on wet flies and can also be used as a ribbing. The old types of tinsel used to be very sharp and hard to wind around the hook but the modern tinsel is much easier and has less sharp edges to it.

Hare's Ear - this is only one type of dubbing but is very popular. This is wound on to the thread and turned or 'dubbed' on to the hook. A classic example of a use for dubbing is the GRHE (Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear).

Chenille- this is also used in a lot of lures. It is a very cheap material and is also very useful. It is thread like and is attached to the hook and wound along the shank of the hook. Patterns such as Montanas and Cats Whiskers are tied using chenille. It comes in a lot of different colours and diameters. Yellow and black are probably the most popular colours.

Cock pheasant tail - these can either be found in the wild or bought (about 75p each). The fibres can either be knotted for legs in a daddy long legs pattern or several fibres can eb wound on to the hook for a pheasant tail nymph. The feathers are also tied as well so erhaps you could tie PTNs with different coloured thoraxes.

That should just about cover the basics. But remember that fly tying will become an obsession. Just like in fly fishing where you could always do with some 4lb line or some more floatant, there will always be more materials which you need and the more patterns you learn to tie, the more materials you will encounter.