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HandoutHandout 1: Supply & Shopping List
Handout 1: Supply & Shopping List
fly tying for utah trout streams
before the first class, you need a basic kit. no worries at all if you don't have everything on the "budget" tier yet — bring what you've got and we'll fill gaps in class. don't buy the nice-to-have stuff until you've tied a few flies and know what you actually want more of.
the vise
this is the one place i'll tell you to spend real money, but not top-dollar money.
budget: a mid-range rotary vise, somewhere in the $60–120 range. this does everything a beginner needs and honestly most of what an expert needs too.
skip: the $300+ vises. i bought one early on before i knew what i was doing and it didn't tie a single better fly than the mid-range one would have. spending big up front is mostly a way of talking yourself into a hobby before you've committed to it. wait.
tools
- bobbin holder (get two if you can — you'll want one loaded with black thread, one with something else)
- scissors, fine-tipped. a cheap pair works. don't use your kitchen scissors, the thread wrecks the edge fast
- bodkin (a needle in a handle, basically — for picking out dubbing and applying head cement)
- hackle pliers
- whip finish tool
nice-to-have, not required: a whip finisher is on a lot of lists as essential. it's not. learn to tie the knot by hand first. understanding what the knot is actually doing matters more than owning the gadget for it. buy the tool later if you want it — you'll appreciate it more once you know why it works.
materials for week one (nymphs and a woolly bugger)
- hooks, size 12–16 nymph hooks and a few size 8–10 streamer hooks
- thread, 6/0 or 8/0, black and olive to start
- hare's ear dubbing (natural)
- pheasant tail fibers
- copper wire, small diameter, for ribbing
- chenille, olive and black
- marabou, black and olive
- bead heads, gold and copper, sized to your hooks
that's genuinely enough to tie a hare's ear nymph and a woolly bugger, which covers a lot of freestone water up the canyon on their own.
nice-to-have, further down the road
- a dubbing wax
- a hair stacker (for elk hair caddis wings, which i'll be honest, mine are never quite even either)
- a UV resin and light, if you want a shiny head finish
- exotic dubbings and synthetics — genuinely not needed yet. proportions matter more than material. a fly tied in the right shape with cheap thread will out-fish a beautiful fly tied wrong.
where to get this stuff
the fly shop in town will have everything and the staff are good about pointing beginners to the right hook size. it costs more than mail order, but you can actually see and feel the materials before you buy, which matters when you don't know what "good" hackle feels like yet.
for bulk basics — thread, hooks in quantity, cheap dubbing — a big online fly tying supplier will save you money once you know what you're buying. i wouldn't start there on your first purchase.
Costco and Macey's, not relevant here, sadly. wish i had a local tip beyond the fly shop but that's genuinely the one.
one note on hooks
buy a few sizes even if the pattern says one. i've never regretted having a range on hand, and i have regretted showing up to tie a size 14 with only size 10s in the box.
see you at the vise. bring patience — your first ones are going to be a little rough and that's completely normal.
HandoutFly Tying for Utah Trout Streams — Cheat Sheet
Fly Tying for Utah Trout Streams — Cheat Sheet
quick reference for the vise. print it, tack it up, get thread on it. this is the stuff you'll want to check mid-fly, not re-read the whole manual for.
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proportions (the part that actually matters)
- hook shank = your ruler. most proportions are measured against shank length, not inches. get used to eyeballing fractions of the shank.
- tail length ≈ shank length. for most nymphs and dries. too long and it wraps around the hook when it's wet, too short and it doesn't look like anything.
- body = roughly 2/3 of the shank, starting just behind the eye. leave room up front — more flies get ruined by a fat head than by a thin body.
- wing height on a dry ≈ shank length (measured from where it ties in). mine are usually a little uneven. no worries at all, it happens to everyone, keep going.
- hackle barbs ≈ 1.5x the hook gap. too long and the fly rides funny on the water.
technically, if your proportions are right, cheap thread and mediocre materials still fish fine. get the silhouette right first. worry about fancy dubbing later.
thread
- 6/0 for most trout patterns. 8/0 if you're doing small stuff, size 18 and under.
- keep tension consistent. loose wraps now mean a fly that unravels in the second riffle it swims through.
- don't overwrap the head. if you catch yourself adding "just one more wrap" for security, stop. that's how you end up with a fly that looks like a cat toy. ask me how I know.
whip finish
- learn it by hand before you buy the tool. the tool's fine later, but you want to understand what the knot's actually doing first.
- 4-5 turns minimum on anything that's going to get slammed through fast water.
- a drop of head cement or clear nail polish on top. don't skip this on canyon patterns — that water is not gentle with your fly.
durability over looks (freestone water rule)
fast water doesn't give trout a long look at your fly. so it doesn't need to be pretty. it needs to survive getting bounced through three riffles and still hold together. that's the whole game on our local streams.
- reinforce with wire rib on nymphs if you're tying for rocky, fast stretches.
- whip finish twice if you're not confident in it. redundancy over elegance.
- a slightly scruffy fly with a durable head beats a gorgeous one that falls apart after one fish. actually — a scruffy fly usually just fishes better, period. buggy reads as alive. too neat reads as fake. that's a bit of an opinion of mine, not everyone agrees.
common size/pattern quick guide
pattern typical hook size notes elk hair caddis 14-18 cut hair close to the base or it flares wrong (learned this one the hard way) hare's ear nymph 12-16 ugliest ones in my box outfish the neat ones, no idea why, don't overthink it woolly bugger 8-12 forgiving pattern, good one to learn tension control on parachute adams 14-20 good all-around dry for freestone water when you're not sure what's hatching when something goes wrong
- hair flaring the wrong direction: you're probably cutting too far from the base. trim closer next time.
- fly looks lopsided: stop, unwrap back to the problem, don't try to fix it by adding more thread on top. more wraps rarely fixes crooked.
- thread keeps breaking: you're pulling harder than the thread rating allows. ease up, or size up your thread.
- head's getting fat: you waited too long to tie off. tie off sooner than feels right at first. it'll feel right eventually.
no worries at all if your first dozen look rough. mine did too. tie the next one.
WorksheetHandout 3: Proportion & Durability Checklist
Handout 3: Proportion & Durability Checklist
use this at your vise, not after. check things as you go, not at the end when the thread's already trimmed. i built this off my own notebook, so it's a little particular, no worries at all if you don't fill in every line the first time.
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before you start
- [ ] hook size and gauge matches what today's pattern calls for
- [ ] thread color chosen (matches body unless the pattern says otherwise)
- [ ] materials laid out where you can see them — you'll tune out if you're digging through a bag mid-tie
proportions (the part that actually matters)
fill in what you observe on your own fly. don't guess, measure against the hook.
- tail length: __________ (roughly a hook shank's worth, unless noted)
- body covers from bend to: __________
- thorax/wing case takes up about: __________ of the front third
- hackle or collar width: __________
circle one after you look at it from the side:
silhouette looks right / silhouette is off
if it's off, that's the thing to fix before anything else. a pretty fly with the wrong silhouette still fishes wrong. i say this every class and i'll keep saying it.
durability check (freestone water is unforgiving here)
- [ ] whip finish is snug, not loose — tug gently, thread shouldn't shift
- [ ] head cement or lacquer applied (thin coat — a blob just means you'll be picking at it later)
- [ ] no stray wraps that'll catch on a rock or a riffle and unravel
- [ ] materials tied in under enough thread tension that a hard hit won't strip them
check honestly: would this survive getting slammed through a riffle three times? yes / not yet
the "too clean" test
this is my own bias, so take it or leave it — flies tied too neat tend to underperform on fast water. buggy fishes better than tidy, especially nymphs.
- does your fly look a little scruffy, not overly groomed? y / n
- if you answered n, you're probably fine — some patterns want clean. just notice the choice, don't do it by accident.
fact for the notebook
(fill in whatever i give out this week — i do one fact a session, it's a habit at this point)
________________________________________________
before you leave your seat
- [ ] fly held up to a light or window — check the silhouette one more time from a distance, not right up close
- [ ] compared against last week's tie if you have it — better, worse, or about the same?
- [ ] one thing you'd do differently next time, written down while you still remember it:
________________________________________________
that last line matters more than people think. i still go back through my own notebook before i sit down to tie something i haven't done in a while. it's partly for remembering. mostly for remembering.
HandoutHandout 4: Troubleshooting Guide — When Your Fly Looks Wrong
Handout 4: Troubleshooting Guide — When Your Fly Looks Wrong
no worries at all. every one of these problems is normal, and most of them fixed themselves for me once i knew what was actually happening. here's the list of stuff that trips people up most, roughly in the order i see it in class.
1. bulky, football-shaped head
usually means too many thread wraps, or wraps that aren't tight enough so they're piling up instead of laying flat. thread tension does more work than people expect. tie it snug, and stop adding wraps once the material's secured — you don't need ten wraps where three will hold. i tied a whole dozen this way as a beginner. brittney found one in a drawer two years later and asked if it was a cat toy. it wasn't far off.
2. materials keep spinning around the hook
almost always a thread base problem. if you skip wrapping a solid thread base before tying in material, everything sits on smooth metal and rotates. wrap a base first, every time, even when it feels like an extra step you don't need.
3. elk hair caddis wing flares the wrong way, or won't flare at all
check where you're cutting the hair off the hide. cut too far from the base and you lose the flare entirely, or it goes wrong. i spent a whole evening and two manuals figuring this out and it bugged me for a week that the fix was that small. cut close to the base, and stack the hair first if it's uneven.
4. tails splitting or flaring instead of sitting straight back
you're probably tying them in with too much thread pressure in one spot. use a pinch wrap — hold the material in place with your fingers and let the thread settle, rather than cranking down and pulling everything sideways.
5. dubbing won't stay on the thread
not enough wax, or you're twisting it on too loosely. dubbing wants a tight thread and a light touch spinning it on. i'll be honest, i still have days where mine's uneven. it's a feel thing more than a rule thing.
6. whip finish keeps falling apart
this is almost always tension, not technique. if you're using a tool, make sure you're not letting go too early. actually — my real opinion here is learn to whip finish by hand before you lean on the tool. understanding what the knot is doing matters more than the gadget doing it for you.
7. proportions look "off" but you can't say why
measure against the hook. body length, tail length, wing length — they're all relative to hook shank length, not some fixed measurement. this is the single biggest beginner issue i see, more than material choice. get the proportions right and a cheap-thread fly will still fish fine. get them wrong and the fanciest materials won't save it.
8. fly looks too neat and you're worried it's wrong
it's probably fine. technically, most beginners tie too clean. a little scruffy holds up better and fishes better, especially nymphs, especially on fast water like we've got up the canyon. the trout aren't getting a long look at it. the perfect, by-the-book fly in my own box has never caught a single fish. i keep it around as a reminder.
9. fly falls apart after a few casts through riffles
durability problem, not looks problem. usually means not enough thread wraps securing material (different issue than problem #1 — here it's too few, not too many) or no head cement/finish to lock things down. fast freestone water is unforgiving this way. pretty doesn't matter if it disintegrates in the first riffle.
10. you tied it exactly right and it still doesn't catch anything
that one's not a tying problem. sometimes it's presentation, sometimes it's just a day the fish aren't interested, sometimes it's a fly that's technically perfect and still doesn't work — that happens more than the books admit. tie another one, go back out, don't overthink it.
if you're stuck on something not on this list, bring the fly in. it's a lot easier for me to look at the actual problem than to guess from a description.
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 1
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —okay but that's the part people don't believe, that the ugly one caught the fish.
NATHAN: it's true. i still have it. it's in my box right now, looks like it lost a fight with a vacuum cleaner.
JESS: for anyone just tuning in, this is episode one of Fly Tying for Utah Trout Streams, i'm jess, i produce the class podcasts here at Utah Community Learning, and this is nathan, who's teaching the class.
NATHAN: hi.
JESS: he's already telling stories and we haven't even done introductions.
NATHAN: no worries at all, i can back up.
JESS: no keep going, tell the ugly fly story properly.
NATHAN: okay so — i tied a batch of hare's ear nymphs the night before a trip up american fork canyon. it was late, i was tired, and one of them came out genuinely bad. like, lopsided, thread bulking up wrong at the head. i almost didn't put it in the box.
JESS: but you did.
NATHAN: i did, and the next morning that's the one that caught fish. not the clean ones. the ugly one. and that's kind of the whole lesson of tying for fast water, honestly. the trout up the canyon aren't getting a long look at your fly. water's moving, it's a little cloudy, they've got a second to decide. so a scruffy fly with the right silhouette beats a pretty one every time.
JESS: so looks don't matter at all?
NATHAN: they matter less than people think. proportions matter a lot. looks, less so. i'll die on that hill.
JESS: okay, so what are we actually covering this first session, for people deciding if they want to sign up.
NATHAN: first session's mostly getting people comfortable with the vise and the basic tools, no pressure to make anything good yet. i hand out actual materials right away — thread, hook, a little fur, some feather — and let people just touch everything before i explain anything, because people zone out during a lecture but they pay attention once there's something in their hands.
JESS: smart.
NATHAN: it's not my idea, i just noticed it works. and then we tie one simple pattern together, step by step, and i walk around while people try each step.
JESS: is there a tip you can just give away right now, for someone who isn't taking the class but's listening?
NATHAN: yeah, actually — if you're thinking about getting into this at all, don't buy the top-of-the-line vise. get a mid-range rotary. it does basically everything a beginner needs and most of what an expert needs too. spending a lot up front is a good way to talk yourself into a hobby before you've actually committed to it.
JESS: that feels like advice for more than fly tying.
NATHAN: (laughs) yeah, probably.
JESS: okay, one more thing before we let people go — you told me something off-mic that i want you to say again, about the caddis.
NATHAN: oh, the caddis thing. so, an elk hair caddis, the hair's supposed to flare a certain way off the hook, and mine kept flaring wrong for weeks. i went through two tying manuals trying to figure out why. and it turned out i was just cutting the hair too far from the base, that's it. that was the whole problem. it bugged me for a week that i hadn't caught it sooner, it's such a small thing.
JESS: so what's the lesson.
NATHAN: technically the lesson is check the basics before you assume it's something complicated. but also, i think it's fine to spend a week annoyed at a bug in a fly. that's kind of the appeal of this hobby for me. it tells you plainly whether you got it right.
JESS: alright. next session, what are we doing.
NATHAN: next time we're doing the woolly bugger, start to finish, and i'll talk a little about proportions and why they matter more than what materials you use. and i'll tell the story about my nephew jordan, who sat down and tied a decent one in ten minutes on his first try, which took me significantly longer than that.
JESS: how much longer.
NATHAN: i'm not saying.
JESS: fair enough. that's episode one, thanks for listening, sign-ups for the class are on the community ed site.
NATHAN: see you at the vise.
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 2
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —okay but did the head actually stay on this time, or is this another junk drawer situation.
NATHAN: no, this one held. that story's never going away, is it.
JESS: never. brittney found a fly toy in the junk drawer two years later and asked if it was for the cat, and I will bring it up in every episode.
NATHAN: fair. that was, what, dozen number four or five. i genuinely thought more thread wraps meant more secure. it does not. it just means a bigger head and a fly that looks like it's wearing a helmet.
JESS: so for people listening who didn't make it to session one — quick recap, what did you all actually do last time.
NATHAN: we did the vise, thread control, and one full fly start to finish. woolly bugger. it's forgiving, it teaches you thread tension, and it catches fish, which matters to me. i don't love teaching a pattern that's just a technical exercise.
JESS: and this week?
NATHAN: this week's the hare's ear nymph. slightly more moving parts — you're dealing with dubbing, a wingcase, ribbing — but same idea, we go slow, everyone ties their own, nobody's fly has to look like mine.
JESS: which is good, because last week a couple people's flies did not look like yours.
NATHAN: no worries at all, though. genuinely. that's not me being nice, i mean it — a slightly rough nymph fishes fine. actually i'll go further, i think a little rough is better.
JESS: contrarian nathan returns.
NATHAN: (laughs) i'll tell a quick story on this. i've got a fly in my box right now that's technically perfect. proportions dead on, everything by the book, i tied it slow and careful and it looks like something out of a catalog.
JESS: and?
NATHAN: never caught a fish. not once. it's been in my box for years, i keep it on purpose, it's basically a reminder to myself that the manual isn't the stream. meanwhile i've got an ugly hare's ear i tied the night before a trip up the canyon, ratty, uneven thread, and it out-fishes everything else i own.
JESS: so the lesson is —
NATHAN: the lesson is fast water doesn't give a trout a long look at your fly. it's tumbling through a riffle, the fish has half a second. it doesn't need to be pretty. it needs to hold together and have the right silhouette. that's the whole game on the freestone streams up here.
JESS: okay, give me the one thing. somebody's listening to this in their car, they're never coming to class, what's the actual usable tip.
NATHAN: when you're tying — or honestly even just buying flies at a shop — check the proportions before you check the materials. hook gap, body length, where the wing or the hackle sits relative to the hook eye. that matters more than whether the dubbing's some fancy synthetic blend. i've actually gotten into this exact argument at a fly shop, correcting a guy about dubbing, and driving home i thought, why did i even say that. proportions are the thing. get those right and a cheap fly still fishes.
JESS: noted. proportions over pretty.
NATHAN: that's basically the whole class in four words.
JESS: don't put that on a shirt, we don't have budget.
NATHAN: no worries at all.
JESS: what's session three.
NATHAN: elk hair caddis. it's a dry fly, which means we get into wing flare, which — full disclosure — is a thing i still fight with. mine are usually a little off. took me a whole evening once, two manuals, just to figure out i was cutting the hair too far from the base. small mistake, bugged me for a week that i didn't catch it sooner.
JESS: so people should come ready to be mildly frustrated.
NATHAN: come ready to be mildly frustrated and bring the bobbin threader if you've got one, we'll need it. and honestly bring questions from tonight if your hare's ear didn't come together, i'd rather answer that live than have people going home stuck.
JESS: love it. alright, that's episode two —
NATHAN: —see you at the vise.
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 3
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —okay but you can't just leave it there, you were about to say the barb thing and then you stopped yourself.
NATHAN: no, i mean, i'll finish it. it's not a big story. someone in my ward found out i tied flies and asked if i could make a few for her son's scout thing.
JESS: sure.
NATHAN: so i made a dozen. and then i spent like ten minutes explaining hook barb safety to a woman who just wanted some flies for her kid.
JESS: over-explained.
NATHAN: badly over-explained. she was very polite about it. i should've just handed her the box and said good luck, have fun, tight lines. instead i gave a little safety lecture nobody asked for.
JESS: this is a pattern with you.
NATHAN: it's a pattern with me. i know it's a pattern with me.
JESS: okay, well, speaking of — safety's actually a real thing tonight, right, we're doing hooks.
NATHAN: we're doing hooks. and hair. elk hair caddis is the fly, and hook safety is not optional, it's not a lecture, it's just true — the barb's there for a reason and also it means if you jab yourself it's staying jabbed. so we go slow, we keep the point covered when it's not in the vise, no worries at all if you nick a finger, it happens, but let's just be smart about it.
JESS: good. non-negotiable, moving on.
NATHAN: moving on. so elk hair caddis. this is the fly i want people to leave tonight actually understanding, not just having tied one.
JESS: what's the actual thing people mess up.
NATHAN: flaring. the hair's supposed to flare out from the tie-in point, that's what gives the fly its shape and its floatation, and mine used to flare wrong constantly. i spent an entire evening on this once. two manuals, real frustration, and the answer turned out to be — i was cutting the hair too far from the base.
JESS: that's it?
NATHAN: that's it. small thing. bugged me for like a week that i hadn't caught it sooner, because once somebody actually showed me, it was obvious. you want to cut close to the hide so you're not losing the taper of the hair. that taper's doing the work.
JESS: okay, so that's the tip, right, that's the thing someone could use tonight without ever coming to a class.
NATHAN: yeah, honestly — cut your hair close to the base, right up near the skin, not partway up the clump. that one fix will do more for your caddis than any expensive material will.
JESS: love it. free tip, no vise required.
NATHAN: no vise required. and i'll say the other thing, the fly's not supposed to look perfect. i've got one in my box that's technically flawless, proportions dead on, and it has never caught a single fish.
JESS: you keep bringing that fly up.
NATHAN: it's a good reminder. buggy beats neat, especially out on the fast water. the trout aren't studying it, they get a half second look in the current, so it needs to hold together and look alive, not look tidy.
JESS: dry fly wings though — you always say this is your weak spot.
NATHAN: still is. mine are usually a little off, a little uneven, i just live with it. i tie way more nymphs anyway, so i've made peace with it.
JESS: okay, last thing — next session.
NATHAN: next session we're doing pheasant tail nymphs, and we're actually going to whip finish by hand, no tool.
JESS: people are gonna want the tool.
NATHAN: they can get the tool eventually. learn the knot first, understand what it's doing, then buy the gadget if you want it. same thing i say about the vise.
JESS: the mid-range vise.
NATHAN: the mid-range vise, forever and always. bring your notebook, i've got a fact for you next time too.
JESS: he always does. alright, that's it for tonight, thanks everybody.
Videos worth your time
Hand-picked by your instructor, with notes on what to watch for.
- Adams — How to Tie Step by Step | Beginner Friendly Fly Tying TutorialVentures Fly Co.
Watch how the instructor builds even thread wraps for the Adams, a classic dry fly that works great on Utah freestone streams.
- Fish Cannot Resist This Fly! - NO-SEE-UM Fly Tying TutorialFly Fish Food
Pay attention to the wing and hackle proportions on this No-See-Um, a small dry fly pattern popular with Utah anglers.
- FLY TYING MASTER CLASS FOR BEGINNERS: 12 TOP TROUT FLIES - PART ONESport Fishing on the Fly
Follow along as twelve beginner-friendly trout patterns are tied step by step, good practice before tying flies for local Utah waters.
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