Fly Drawing

Back of the envelope fly design

Every once in a while I’ll walk into the shop and as Sean and I talk, suddenly we are talking about fly design, or he will already have an idea of a fly. If that was you, would you rush right home and start tying the fly? What I'm talking about is a new fly, not a color modification of an existing pattern.

It's a lot better if you sketch out what you want the fly to look like (there's that envelope) and decide on materials. Don't worry, you don’t have to be a world class artist, just be able to give yourself an idea of what the final product may look like. This doesn't need to take a long time and you may change your mind on the materials before you even put the hook in the vise.

After you get that first one tied, look at it and decide if you want to make changes to the look of the fly materials, or material placement take a day or two if you want, that sometimes permits your mind to let go of preconceptions. If it passes muster I like to tie 3 of them. Two to fish with and one to remember what the heck you did! Of course you always have that envelope to refer to.

- Bob Newman

• 50 plus year award winning fly tyer and commercial tyer