This Wednesday (1/13/16) at 6:00 PM Headhunters will be hosting the first Fly Tying Night in America session of the season. Hopefully we’ll be welcoming back some familiar faces from last winter as well as some new tiers. If you’ve never attended before, it’s a pretty laid back affair but some cool flies get produced and some beers get crushed. You can see some flies from past tying sessions here and here. Mark and Max will be filling up their boxes for the upcoming guide season. Ben will no doubt be tying something top secret (that alone should be reason enough for you to come) and Dewey will probably be tying something he can swing. John is behind the camera these days, but he’s tied about everything at one time or another so he is full of useful advice for anyone that asks (so are Mark, Ben, and Dewey). Sara usually isn’t behind a vise, but she does attend to contribute her charm to the affair. If you click the links above, you’ll see that some of the regulars from last year like Jim, Jerry, and Terry are very skilled tyers as well.
I’m not sure what everyone will be tying this year, but Ben said he’s gonna be tying some sort of foam bug (his specialty) and I’ll probably be tying Zirdle Bugs for the shop.
If you’re a new tyer or someone who wants to learn a useful pattern, the Just Add Vise Kits that we sell in the shop are a great way to go. They contain quality materials and are designed for tying “go to” flies that almost every MO river guide has in his/her box. The selection of patterns is comprehensive to the point that I was seriously considering challenging myself to only fish flies from the JAV kits for the whole 2016 year.
For nymphs you have the Rainbow Czech Nymph, Purple Lightning Bug, Pink Lightning bug, Pink Firebead Ray Charles, Zebra Midge, Little Green Machine, Pearl Lightning Bug, Clouser Crayfish, Tungsten Dart, Grape Slushy and Zirdle Bug.
For dries you have the Rusty Parachute, Longhorn Beetle, Improved Unibomber, X-Caddis, UV Para Ant, Buzzball, and Half Chicken.
For streamers you have the Kreelex and Coyote Clouser.
What else do you really need? You could totally get through the year with nothing but the patterns listed above. I might do it some year, but not this one. I enjoy tying flies and experimenting with new patterns too much. If you’re the kind of guy or gal who feels the same way, I’ll see you this Wednesday night at 6:00.
Have you ever thought of streaming it live? It might be pretty cool for those of us 1000’s of miles away…just a thought
To be honest Bob, although the night itself is a lot of fun, a live stream would probably be pretty boring. We will do our best to take some photos and put them up on here.
Can’t wait to see what the crew comes up with. Hope there are videos to accompany the photos of the flies produced. On a side note note I am looking for a new vice. Any ideas or suggestions?
You see a lot of different vises around here. A lot of us tie on Renzetti or Regal vises. I’d recommend getting something that you can turn, preferably something that is “full rotary.”