Using Hook & Thread to Tie Flies: Basic Fly Tying Instructions

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Robert Brown for Expert Village.com. I will be using a larger hook than a fly would typically be tied on for demonstration purposes and in this clip I am going to be demonstrating both how to place a hook in a fly vice and how to start your thread on a fly. Now when you put a hook in the vice, this particular hook is a streamer hook and that is what I am going to use for a lot of the demonstrations here because it is big enough for you to see. This one has a barb. If you have barbed hooks, barbs don’t do anything for fly fishing and if you keep the tension correct you don’t need a barb to keep the fish on. So what you can do is actually take your vice and put the barb in the vice and just crush it right down so that you don’t have a barb anymore. Barb-less hooks are becoming more and more required by regulation in a lot of areas. When you place a hook in the vice, you want to place it just so the vice is barely holding it and won’t obstruct any of your work. You don’t want to take the hook and put it in like that because you can’t work on it. You need to be able to get all the way to the back of the shank. So, what you do is barely get the hook in the jaw which is where a really nice vice helps out a lot because a good vice will hold a hook better than a cheap vice. One of the most common beginner mistakes is improper use of a bobbin. There is a proper way to hold a bobbin and if you are not holding it right, you are going to be fighting with it from the beginning. The proper method to hold a bobbin is to place it in your hands and if you are just beginning doing it with scissors is harder. Place it in your hands. You are going to be gripping it with your thumb and index finger right up near the neck and if you need to tension the thread you will be using your pinkie and this other finger between the heels of your hand so that you can actually apply tension to the thread. When you need more tension and release the tension when you don’t need it. To start the thread on the hook place it in front of the hook eye and just bring it around three or four times and your thread is starting. Every fly you tie you are going to want to go ahead and wind all the way to the back. "