Stumble across some nice snippets of fly tying tips and thought it would be cool to have a collection from our sifus here too. So let me start with a CopynPaste.
When tying we are sometimes stump by what proportions to use for the materials and or hook size to use, so here is some guidelines (but remember you are the artist so you decide what’s best <wink, wink>:
Nymphs
Tail: ½ hook shank length
Abdomen: 2/3 hook shank length
Rib: 4-10 turns depending on length of hook and thickness of rib
Thorax: 1/3 hook shank
Legs or hackle throat: same length as thorax
Head: When tying, reserve bare shank for head about the same width as eye
Wet flies
Tail: ½ shank length
Body: From just above hook barb, or end of straight part of shank to one hook eye width behind eye (reserved for head)
Rib: 4-5 turns
Wing: if any, extend just past bend, width 3/4 hook gape
Hackle collar or throat: extending to hook point
Head: width of hook eye
Dry Flies
Wing: 2x hook gap, or 1x shank length, tied in at 1/3 point of hook shank
Tail: 1x shank length
Body: Directly above hook barb to base of wing, covering 2/3 of hook shank
Rib: 4-10 turns
Hackle: 1 ½ X hook gap, wound behind and in front of wing to cover up remaining front 1/3 of shank (after reserving space for head)
Head: space reserved for head equal to width of eye
Good tying.
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