Fly Tying Guides and Information - Colorado Women Flyfishers

Fly Tying Resources

Whether you are a fly-tying veteran, a beginning tyer, or just want to learn about the flies you are using to fish with, these references offer a wealth of information.

Online References:

Flyfishing.com discussion groups

A great link to a discussion group about flytying! Also includes a couple other discussion groups that are all very good resources. This is a free public forum.
Flyfishing.Com
This site has an extensive library of fly tying patterns. You can browse the patterns by category. They have also included a glossary for those of us who are just starting out tying. This site is a member site but the membership is free and for now this library is still free to the public.
The Fly Fishing Journal
This site includes a fantastic database of fly patterns and a "How To" section. Both of these databases are fully searchable. The "How To" section is a step by step guide that includes illustrations in full color.
Fly Fish America
What a list!!! This site has a fly tying section that contains a list of popular flies and "How To" instructions for tying them. The instructions are in plain English and very easy to step through.
The Fly Tier
Are you just getting started? This is the site for you! This site includes a section with step by step "lessons" that are geared towards beginners! This site is also a great source of suggested reading.
Dick Stewart's Hook Book
Everything you wanted to know about fly hooks, including very handy hook substitution charts for all those times when you don't have the specific hook named in a fly pattern recipe.
The Virtual Fly Shop's Fly Tier's Bench
This page is one of the best single resources for fly tiers on the web. It includes patterns, instructions, articles, a message board for tiers and MORE. This is really worth surfing.
The Virtual Fly Shop's Colorado Fly Box
A searchable database including recipes, photos, tying and fishing instructions for Colorado flies. Click on the "Colorado Flybox" link at the bottom of the page and you are ready to search ? It couldn't be easier.
Whitlock and Wooten
Wouldn't you love advice from a master tier every once in a while? Well how about two of 'em? That is exactly what you will get from this site. This page contains articles, patterns and even tips from these two master tiers. Click here to go directly to the tips section.

Offline Rederences:

40 Best Trout Flies by Robert H. Alley, Robert S. Alley. A grouping of 40 flies that will catch trout anywhere in the world

A.K's Fly Box by A.K. Best, John Gierach. Ever wonder what's in the flybox of a professional fly-tier? Take a look and find out how to tie them!

The Angler's Fly Identifier by Dr. Stephen J. Simpson, Dr. George C. McGavin. An excellent reference work. A great way to match the artificials to the naturals. This book is full of color photos of the natural insects as well as the fly patterns. The life cycle of the insects is discussed and the naturals are grouped into easy to understand categories.

The Book of Fly Patterns by Eric Leiser

Fly Patterns of Umpqua Feather Merchants: 1,100 of the World's Best Flies by Randall Kaufmann

Fly Patterns : An International Guide by Taff Price

Production Fly Tying by A. K. Best. A guide to tying better and faster. Is it for the professional tier? Maybe. But it is also for anyone who would like to tie a few more flies per session and build better flies in the process.

Trout Flies, Proven Patterns by Gary LaFontaine

Tying Dry Flies by Randall Kaufmann. An excellent fly tying manual that explains how to tie several flies step by step and then presents dozens more patterns and photographs.

Tying Nymphs by Randall Kaufmann. Another superb work by Kaufmann. Full of details, step by step instructions and photos.