Dry flies patterns tying instructions by Barry Ord Clarke such as Caddis dry flies, Midge flies, Grayling dry flies, Mayfly dry flies
With a little preparation and practice of the special techniques, my all deer hair mayfly, can be tied in just a few minutes with a single dubbing loop. Resulting in a extremely buoyant pattern with a super dense deer hair … Continue reading Deer hair mayfly dun
An extremely buoyant caddis pattern with a special CDC parachute hackle technique, that ticks all the boxes. Tied in a little larger sizes it doubles as a great stonefly and with legs makes an exceptional hopper! CDC para-weld caddis pattern … Continue reading CDC para-weld caddis
Tying thread, one CDC hackle and a pinch of dubbing, makes one of the most essential patterns in my fly box! A quick and easy CDC spent wing midge that can be fished just about all year round. CDC Spent … Continue reading CDC Spent wing midge
As the name suggests, the gravy train midge will give great rewards for little effort. A quick and simple all year round midge that works in most midge fishing situations. Give it a go, you won’t be disappointed! Gravy Train … Continue reading Gravy Train Midge
A little variant of the LaFontaine classic. An absolute must have pattern if you are fishing still water caddis fly hatches. Here I demonstrate a good technique for getting the Antron shuck in place. Deep sparkle pupa variant pattern recipe … Continue reading Deep sparkle pupa variant
Continuing the quick flies to tie,the PDQ (pretty damn quick) caddis will not only float all day long, but it also takes under 4 minutes to tie! This very simple technique, uses a single natural CDC hackle and a small … Continue reading PDQ Caddis
This Pale Morning Comparadun demonstrates a little different technique for the regular comparadun wing. This technique results in a slimmer abdomen and greater buoyancy. It’s also an extremely effective pattern for a Heptagenia sulphurea dun. PMD fly pattern recipe Hook: … Continue reading Pmd fly
Although it requires a little practice, this fur hackle technique produces a much softer presentation that floats extremely well. Here I use natural hare crosscut strip but any fur or hair can be adopted to this method. Fur hackle mayfly … Continue reading Fur hackle mayfly
A new series of videos for those that are new to fly tying, to accompany my new book, ‘fly tying for beginners’ out later this year. Here I am showing techniques that may look challenging, but are totally achievable with … Continue reading Fly tying for beginner’s – Elk hair caddis
A new series of videos for those that are new to fly tying, to accompany my new book, ‘fly tying for beginners’ out later this year. Here I am showing techniques that may look challenging, but are totally achievable with … Continue reading Fly tying for beginners – Hair wing Dun
A new series of patterns for those that are new to fly tying. Here I am showing techniques that may look challenging, but are totally achievable with a little patience and practice. I have slowed down the tying and explain … Continue reading Fly Tying for beginners – Flying ant
A lovely little CDC ant pattern, that is tied with only one CDC puff and a few turns of hackle. A quick and easy pattern for the most important terrestrial, no matter where you live, that will float all day … Continue reading Cdc ant fly pattern
Detached bodied daddy long legs a very simple detached body technique for a good daddy long legs that will float all day long. It can also be applied to all manner of extended bodies. Detached bodied daddy long legs pattern … Continue reading Detached bodied daddy long legs
A wonderful little pattern that, as the name suggests, is a composition of several better known patterns. This is a simple tie that will cover most dry fly situations when grayling fishing. Hook: Partridge_Sprite S2401 # 14 Tying thread: Sheer … Continue reading How to tie the Heinz – 57 grayling dry fly
One of the lesser known but still effective old grayling and trout patterns, with a couple of nice body techniques with peacock herl. Hook: Mustad R50U # 12 Tying thread: Sheer 14/0 Black Tail: Goose or duck quill slips dyed … Continue reading Bristow’s Bug dry fly
Being the most prolific terrestrial on just about every river and still water, this extremely simple but effective parachute ant will not only float high and dry, but tick all the boxes for ant feeding trout no matter where you … Continue reading Parachute ant fly
The smallest of the up-winged may flies. Although ideally matched on a # 20-26 hook it is possible to get away with a # 18. A couple of interesting techniques here for the tails and wing. Just change the colour … Continue reading Ceanis / Trico spinner dry fly
One of the great Canadian surface flies for salmon and steelhead. As you are probably aware I’m a sucker for deer hair patterns and this is one of my favorites for salmon and sea run browns. Green Machine pattern recipe … Continue reading Green machine salmon fly pattern
A quick but effective pattern for one of the last large bugs of the year. An easy tie with a couple of good techniques that can be used in other patterns. October Caddis fly pattern recipe Hook: Mustad R43 # … Continue reading October Caddis fly
Over the past few days I have been tying up an order of several dozen traditional dry’s with mallard slip wings. I have found this extremely therapeutic , almost Zen like! But tying slip wings can prove to be challenging … Continue reading Mallard slip wings dry fly
A great pattern when the trout are selective. Only basic materials are needed for this ‘ must have’ pattern for the caddis specialist, that can be fished static or as a skater. An easy tie with a couple of interesting … Continue reading How to tie the Poly wing caddis
Purple Haze is extremely popular attractor started life as a parachute Adams with a purple body. There are many interpretations of the purple haze, this is just one of them. Why it works, we don’t know but the fish just … Continue reading Purple Haze fly parachute
This is my super quick hot glue ant, that with a little practice and preparation, takes less that 3 minutes to tie. With this technique you can tie flying ants in all black, red or as my personal favorite here … Continue reading Hot glue ant fly
A simple yet extremely effective pattern that is easy to tie, but commands a little technique. A Deer hair drake with a parachute hackle that will float all day long and fool the most selective trout. Hook: Mustad R43 #8 … Continue reading Deer hair drake pattern
Cul de Canard, Croupion de canard or CDC as it is more commonly known has become one of the most used materials in fly tying, but its not that long ago, that there where only a handful of fly tyers … Continue reading Historic CDC flies, F-fly, Moustique du Jura
The Lady Mc Connell midge is an interesting, but yet straightforward tie that applies only basic materials. An effective still water pattern that represents an newly hatched adult midge. Lady Mc Connell pattern recipe Hook: Mustad R30 # 16 Tying … Continue reading Lady Mc Connell midge fly
A very quick and easy but realistic little stonefly that can be fished as an egg layer or spent. Tied on sizes 14-18 its perfect for the late summer – autumn hatch of needle flies. Hook: Mustad R43 # 14 … Continue reading Fluttering stonefly
The most popular dry fly in the world with a spun deer hair body! Could it get any better? The full tutorial on tying the Adams irresistible. Adams irresistible pattern recipe Hook: Mustad R30 # 10 Tying thread: Dyneema or … Continue reading Adams irresistible fly
During late summer & autumn large numbers of crane flies begin to hatch and loose the battle against the elements and end their life on the water as trout food. This daddy long legs pattern has quick & easy detached … Continue reading Deer hair daddy long legs dry fly
Yellow mayfly This is one of those technique that has recently become extremely popular again, after being more or less shelved, for over four decades. The original Wally wing was created by Canadian tyer Wally Lutz in the early … Continue reading Yellow mayfly
A very quick and easy, effective dry fly pattern for plant eating carp. The Mustad C67S super strong, egg, caddis hook, is kept afloat beautifully with this combination of CDC and marabou. Grass Carp Salad fly pattern Hook: Mustad C67S # … Continue reading Grass Carp Salad dry fly
One of the true classic trout flies and without doubt the best known from the Wulff series, first tied by Lee Wulff in the early 1930’s. This version is a little unusual as its tied with a parachute hackle. Royal … Continue reading Parachute Royal Wulff
This is my portrait of the late great Norwegian fly tyer, Erling Sand at his tying bench in his fly shop. He spent many hours each day tying flies to order, and building up his shop stock, if you look … Continue reading Verre enn minken – Worse than a mink!
As a little project I’m going to tie up a set of old Norwegian dry fly patterns that have almost been forgotten, but I’m having problems with finding the original recipes. As with the featured image above of ‘The Kaktus’ … Continue reading Traditional Norwegian trout patterns
When the egg layers are active your waders can be a popular place to deposit the eggs! Its that time of year when an egg laying caddis is an essential addition to your fly box! Heres an easy pattern that … Continue reading Egg laying caddis
A great little caddis pattern that has a few nice techniques. The super buoyant combination of CDC and deer hair make this pattern almost un-sinkable. Hook: Mustad R43 # 12 Tying thread: Petitjean SS Olive Abdomen: Fluorescent Green CDC hackle … Continue reading Midsummer Caddis dry fly
An extremely quick and easy, yet effective pattern that can be mastered by tyers of all levels. This Ugly or scruffy mayfly dun includes a few interesting techniques for making dubbing and applying it. Don’t be fooled by it’s simplicity, … Continue reading Ugly Mayfly dun pattern
Yet another quick and simple, but effective pattern, that requires only basic skills and materials. Fish it not only as a generic Coleoptera but also as something thats just buggy! Hook: Mustad R30 # 12 Tying thread: Sheer 14/0 Claret … Continue reading Brown & Peacock Beetle dry fly
A truly effective pattern for when those hatches of small caddis are underway, or even just fished as a all round attractor. Simple and quick pattern that pushes all the buttons! X-Factor Caddis pattern recipe Hook: Mustad R30 # 12-18 … Continue reading X-Factor Caddis
Another winging technique that gives a realistic flat lying wing, ideal for midges and stoneflies. With this technique all you have to do is change the hook size and colour and you can cover most small stonefly hatches. There is … Continue reading Wonder wing stonefly
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