Here I would like to familiarize you with the different deer used in fly tying, the location of the hair on the animal, sex, age, colour, length and applications. Antelope This deer like Antelope or Pronghorn antelope as it also … Continue reading The ultimate guide to deer hair part 3
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 How to tie the Ugly May dry fly
If you are a subscriber to The Feather Bender, you may have noticed a new look to the site over the last few days. It’ been a long time coming, but its here now! As a little celebration I will be drawing one lucky subscriber to win a signed copy of my latest book and a small box of flies tied by me. If you all ready subscribe, all you have to do is like this post and share it to one of the social media tags to the left. If you are not a subscriber, scroll down the column … Continue reading The Feather Bender’s Tying Techniques giveaway
Five different but simple dubbing techniques using the same hair, to give five very different effects. All these techniques can be used with many types of hair & fur and adapted for dry, nymph, wet and streamer patterns. If these simple skills are learned and practiced they will not only improve your tying but also make your time spent at the vice, much more enjoyable, and will result in neater and quicker flies. These short tutorials will hopefully help all those who are new to our craft, fly tying clubs & workshops, to get the new beginner off to a … Continue reading Dubbing techniques with fur & hair
Another tutorial on wings. This time the realistic origami wings that when coated with UV resin look like the real thing. Although not really for fishing but a nice technique if you are going to tie up some super realistic mayfly patterns. Buy MUSTAD signature hooks on AMAZON:Buy VENIARD product on AMAZON:Fly tying tools and materials shop TRIDENT:Buy SIMMS fishing products:EPIC water filters Very useful thing when fishing:Trouts fly fishing Premier Fly Shop & Outfitter:Polarized fishing sunglasses RHEOS 55$:TheRiversEdge flyfishing shop – Bozeman Montana:Buy STANLEY products. Free Shipping on all orders!Buy BEST fly tying VISE Continue reading How to tie origami super realistic mayfly wings
A foam extended body mayfly with a parachute hackle that will float all day long and then some. Don’t be fooled by this simple pattern that is not as challenging to tie as it looks, it just takes a little … Continue reading How to tie foam body mayfly technique
Sticky post
This Wally wing mayfly is a semi-realistic spinner, that is fun to tie for those of you that enjoy this type of pattern. Not only a good looking fly but also a great fishing fly! Don’t be fooled by the … Continue reading Tying a mayfly spinner-Wally wing
Heres a little tutorial showing how to use Marc Petitjean’s Magic Tool. Everything from a single CDC hackle to mixing deer hair and CDC for special techniques. If you enjoy watching the videos please subscribe to my YouTube channel . … Continue reading Marc Petitjean Magic tool tutorial
This simple technique shows you how to chemically strip peacock eye tops using just a few household items. One of the jobs that was essential for earlier fly tyers when stripped quills where not available. Always good to know! Continue reading Stripping peacock quills
Like a hares mask, the deer mask offers an abundance of material for the fly tyer. In this tutorial I show how to skin and prep a European roe deer mask. If you don’t hunt yourself, you may know a … Continue reading How to skin Deer mask for fly tying
A couple of simple techniques that make for perfect split mayfly tails every time. If you enjoy watching the videos please subscribe to my YouTube channel below. Your help and support in keeping the channel going is greatly appreciated. Thanks… https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYb8DCVlYijoCYgvx_v2EuQ Continue reading Mayfly tailing techniques
Another dry fly hackle tutorial this time the paraloop technique. Although I don’t use this hackle much its a great choice for emerger patterns. Please subscribe to my You Tube channel to receive the videos as they are published. Continue reading Tying a paraloop hackle tutorial
Dry fly hackle tutorial # 2 parachute perfect. Not the traditional technique for tying a parachute hackle but a very precise one I have used with great success and avoids having to whip-finish at the hook eye. Continue reading Parachute perfect!
Dry fly hackle technique #1. After having many questions regarding my hackling techniques here is my way of tying a perfect 90 degree traditional style dry fly collar hackle that will produce a perfect hackle every time. Continue reading Dry Fly hackle technique # 1
This is an old but still good and quick method for tying the knots in pheasant tail fibres for crane fly and hopper legs. Its like riding a bike once learnt never forgotten! Please remember to subscribe to the feather benders You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYb8DCVlYijoCYgvx_v2EuQ Continue reading Daddy’s legs
This is a priceless little trick for improving the grip of most hackle pliers substantially! Continue reading Improving your hackle pliers!
I thought some of you would like to see this. Just the other weekend my wife was tidying her wardrobe, something that I try at all costs not to get involved with, but this time was a little different! Stacked away in a drawer of an old but not forgotten jewellery box, she came across a little piece of fly tying history. Way back in the mid 90’s Torill Kolbu visited and stayed with us a couple of days while we worked on some photography for some articles. As a thank you to my wife Torill tied her a pair … Continue reading A little piece of fly tying history, safe and sound!
One thread to bind them all ! The shear amount of spools of thread that I alone have accumulated over the years is mind boggling! I have silk, Nylon, Polyester, Kevlar, Dacron… this list goes on! The tyer always looks … Continue reading Dyneema tying thread video
Magic head flat-wing An extremely easy yet effective pattern for Bass and salt water sea trout. The modern flat-wing stile of salt water streamer was developed by the American fly tyer and artist Kenny Abrames. He recommends at these streamers are fished on the drift or with a extremely slow retrieve or a combination of both! When fished in this manner the flat-wing creates the illusion of volume with a rippling swimming movement even if they are so slightly dressed. Its important that have constant contact with your stripping hand and the fly line and let the current and wind … Continue reading How to tie Magic Head Flat wing streamer
Hackle traditionally arouses the greatest passion amongst fly tyers. Cock (rooster) capes of particularly good or rare colour and those with sufficiently short barb length to enable small dry flies to be tied have always been prized. In the 60s and 70s it was a common complaint that good dry fly capes where scarce – to the extent that many of the “traditional” natural colours were virtually unobtainable. Dyeing and other methods such as blending two hackles were used to replicate difficult colours specified in old patterns. Things have improved dramatically since then, due to the efforts of specialist breeders … Continue reading Dry or Die
The new book ‘Flies for Salt water sea trout’ contains over 50 patterns step by step. Currently only available in Norwegian will be out in March 2015 you can order it at post@vegaforlag.no Continue reading Fluebinderens bibel II Sjøørretfluer
Being no stranger to stripping and tying with quills, I was eager to try these new hand stripped peacock herl from Polish quills. At first sight I must say I was a little disappointed with the short length of the quills, they are approximately 6 cm in length, from end to end and have a usable area of about 5 cm. But I gave them a go and was pleasantly surprised that you could actually get quite a good length of body out of each quill. No doubt the shortness of the quill is reflected in where the herl is … Continue reading Playing with Polish Quills
Now that the blog has become established and I have just reached 50,000 visitors and over 3000 followers I thought it only correct to take you on a little tour of the tying room. This is where it all the tying and photography happens. It may look like its a bit chaotic but everything I use on a regular basis is close at hand. Trying to keep order in the hook department is always testing, without order, everything falls apart, I can spend more time looking for hooks that actually tying the pattern it was intended for! But I have … Continue reading The feather benders tying room