Fly Tying Tips
This is the second installment of Feathers – Tip’s, Trick’s & Common Mistakes, which can be downloaded FREE from www.saltyflytying.com
Fly Tying Tips & Tricks – Working with Feathers Read More »
This is the first installment of Feathers – Tip’s, Trick’s & Common Mistakes, which can be downloaded FREE from www.saltyflytying.com
Flatten Your Thread
Fly Tying Tips & Tricks – Fly Tying Thread Read More »
Hey there!
Drew Chicone here. Welcome to the Salty Fly Tying Blog!
Feathers – Fly Tying Tips, Tricks & Common Mistakes Read More »
The Five-Minute Finger Mullet Fly is a dubbing-brush pattern tied completely with synthetic materials. I created this pattern years ago in an effort to create a flashy yet realistic mullet imitation. The fly needed to be large, castable and at the same time exhibit the correct carrot-shaped profile to move water when stripped. This seems easy now, but at the time dubbing brushes were not popular yet. Very few materials on the market provided the qualities needed to accomplish the size, shape and translucency I was looking for.
Evenly dispersing flash throughout a fly is one of the hallmarks of a well-tied fly. It is relatively simple to tie in flash along with other synthetic materials to achieve a uniform and realistic look throughout the body of the fly. It is far more difficult to do when you are trying to create a cylindrical shape such as a finger mullet and finish the fly’s head with the same material. The fastest and easiest way to accomplish this, in my opinion, is with a dubbing brush. You can blend multiple colors of a material, as heavy or sparsely as you wish, and with a few quick wraps you are done. The same material you created the body of the fly with is now uniformly palmered around the hook and ready to be trimmed to its final shape.
5 Minute Finger Mullet Fly: Great for Snook, Tarpon, Baby Tarpon, Redfish, Seatrout Read More »
A dubbing brush is really just a customized pipe cleaner. Instead of a synthetic core like chenille, the two wires that make up the core sandwich a variety of different materials that can be palmered around the hook shank. By customizing your own brushes, you can match the other materials you are tying with exactly, as well as blend several colors, providing youwith more lifelike patterns
This is the thirteenth installment of Feather Brain by Drew Chicone. To read more about Creating and Tying with Dubbing Brushes, Visit my website Salty Fly Tying to order your signed copy of Feather Brain today! $24.95 + Shipping
Feather Brain: Creating & Tying with Dubbing Brushes Read More »
So much you learn about catching fish is about being versatile and being able to adapt your fly to match or mimic a specific prey item in a specific situation is paramount. A small modification is sometimes all you need to trigger a strike. I can’t think of a more versatile tool for fly tying or in-the-field alterations than permanent markers.
This is the twelfth installment of Feather Brain by Drew Chicone. To read more about using Markers to improve your patterns, Visit my website Salty Fly Tying to order your signed copy of Feather Brain today! $24.95 + Shipping
Feather Brain: Markers … Don’t Leave home with out them Read More »
Although there are a rainbow of colors available in almost every material, I often find myself searching for a specific shade or a slightly different hue in a certain material that just doesn’t exist on the shelves of my local fly shop or even online.Dying the materials at home is cheap and easy and allows me to continuously modify a material’s color, taking custom creations one step further.
This is the eleventh installment of Feather Brain by Drew Chicone. To read more about Dying Materials with Kool-Aid and other beverages, Visit my website Salty Fly Tying to order your signed copy of Feather Brain today! $24.95 + Shipping
Feather Brain: Dying Materials with Kool-Aid Read More »
If you have ever used 5 minute epoxy while tying flies, you know that that’s the shortest five minus of your life! I can’t tell you how many perfectly good flies have ended up in the bottom of trash can thanks to terrible smelling stuff . Thanks to the birth of UV adhesives, I am glad those days are over. The numerous types of UV-cured acrylics on the market today provide a faster, easier, and cleaner alternative to epoxy.
This is the tenth installment of Feather Brain by Drew Chicone. To read more about UV Curing Acrylics & Adhesives, Visit my website Salty Fly Tying to order your signed copy of Feather Brain today! $24.95 + Shipping
Feather Brain: UV Curing Acrylics & Adhesives Read More »
Fur, hair, and feathers are the original saltwater tying materials, however there are hundreds of different synthetic materials to choose from today. Both have their pro’s and con’s, but it is important to take in to consideration the size of the flies you are trying to create when you are putting together your shopping list. When it comes to synthetics, think about the profile you want to create. I like thicker more coarse materials for larger 4-6 inch baitfish flies, and thinner more pliable materials for 1-3 inch baitfish flies. The length of the material, and translucency also need to be considered when making your selection.
This is the ninth installment of Feather Brain by Drew Chicone. To read more about Selecting Materals, Visit my website Salty Fly Tying to order your signed copy of Feather Brain today! $24.95 + Shipping
Feather Brain: Selecting Materials Read More »
Although thread diameter seems like a minuscule thing, the size and shape of your thread can make a big difference in the way your flies look and fish. Heavier, stronger threads with multiple filaments or higher denier are common when creating larger, more durable saltwater flies, but is 210 denier necessary? As you tie more, and you become accustom to the amount of thread pressure you need to apply for a given material you will find that lighter threads will produce tidier looking flies with more uniform heads.
This is the eighth installment of Feather Brain by Drew Chicone. To read more about thread control, Visit my website Salty Fly Tying to order your signed copy of Feather Brain today! $24.95 + Shipping
Feather Brain: Thread Control Read More »
