Fly Proportions

and most common mistakes

In order for a fly to be considered well tied, it must have the proper proportions. Most flies have fairly fixed proportions. Yet some other fly’s proportions are completely open to change upon the whim of the individual tyer. Some patterns intentionally break tradition. The chart below shows the standard proportions used on the 2 most commonly tied flies. As you can see from the illustrations, most parts of a fly are measured against a hook’s shank, some against it’s gape.

Standard Dry Fly Proportions
Standard Nymph proportions



The most common mistakes that fly tyers commit are

  1. Overdressing the fly
  2. Wrong hackle size.
  3. Poor durability.
  4. Poor materials

    Overdressing the fly. This is simply using way too much material to tie your fly. IT is usually a better practice to use less material than too much. Overdressing causes your fly to have a cluttered look, and will weight the fly down in the water, and cause a dry fly, intended to float, to sink. Overdressing will also cause your fly to look rather unappetizing to the fish you are trying to trick into eating it.

    Wrong Hackle size. Hackles come in specific size ranges for use on specific hook sizes. This makes it quite easy to find the right hackle for the size fly you are tying. If you buy hackles that are not labeled for the size fly, you will need to check them on a hackle gauge. This is nothing more than a piece of plastic with a post that you wind the hackle around, and depending on what number the hackle winds to, that’s what size it is. If you use the wrong hackle size on the fly then it will not ride properly on the surface film, drastically changing how it looks to the fish. Instead of looking like a potential meal, it may just look like a pile of junk that no fish would want to eat.

 

   Poor Durability.

 Lets face it. Who wants a fly that will only last a few casts     before it turns into just a hook with nothing attached? I have purchased flies that have unraveled completely just shortly after hitting the water. I will admit to also having tied some flies with approximately that same level of reliability. You want your flies to last as long as possible. Good quality materials, constant thread tension and a good head cement are all needed to ensure a durable fly. Ensure that you are tying your fly tight enough to keep all the materials securely fastened to the hook. Good quality threads, and good materials will not break under tension, and will outlast cheaper materials. You always want to finish your fly with several whip finish knots, and a dab of head cement, or Krazy Glue. A good Krazy glue substitute is "Zap-A-Gap".

Poor Materials. Poor materials = poor fly. When you tie a fly with cheap materials you will end up with a cheap fly. You should never skimp when it comes to materials. You will always get you money’s worth out of good materials, but you will rarely get even close to your money’s worth out of cheap materials. So even though you may be turned off by the fact of spending $60.00 on a hackle, you will be much happier with it than if you pay $20.00 for a hackle that falls apart or is too brittle to work with. Unless you only are buying them for tying bass bugs, don’t buy the Indian hackles from bass pro shops. They are terrible for regular flies.


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