ABC of Fly Tying CD-ROM
Peter Watson views Steve Chatterton’s instructional fly-tying CD.
Like a lot of people, I dabbled briefly in fly-tying early in my fly fishing journey. It just seemed to go along with the whole fly fishing ‘thing’. However, without knowing any other fly fishers, and with a lack of outside help (no FlyLife Forum in those days) the vice was soon packed away and forgotten.
It was not until several years ago, after joining a club, that the tying bug hit me again. Having access to tying notes for flies and techniques, or someone to ask for advice, is invaluable to a beginner, and something I was missing in my earlier fly-tying attempts.
Recently I’ve had the opportunity to look through a new fly-tying course put together on CD by Snowy Mountains guide Steve Chatterton. Titled the ‘abc of Fly Tying – Trout Flies’, the course comprises 5 modules each containing a theory section, followed by a selection of flies to be tied.
Each of the techniques required for these flies is explained in detail with excellent accompanying photographs: the next best thing to having someone tying in front of you. Once you feel confident with the techniques, you can move on to the next and slightly more advanced module, building up your confidence and abilities as you work through the CD.
Finishing the course will give you the knowledge and ability to follow almost any trout-fly recipe and even to tinker with known patterns to suit your own conditions. If you have problems with any of the techniques, or need to come back to a particular method later on, everything is listed alphabetically in the skills database, giving you convenient access to all the techniques covered throughout the course.
There is an amazing amount of information on the CD. Just looking at the ‘using deer hair’ link gives you detailed instructions and photos for spun and trimmed deer hair bodies and heads, deer hair for parachute posts, divided upright deer hair wings, Stimulator style wings, deer hair tails, Shaving Brush style wings, caddis style wings and deer hair bullet heads for grasshoppers. The same for eyes—10 different techniques from mono eyes to foam Booby style eyes. It’s an incredible resource of well described and photographed techniques.
This is a great CD for anyone thinking about tying flies for the first time, and for those with a grasp of the basics but needing some help to move on. And even the experienced tier will undoubtedly pick up a few tips throughout the course.
Priced at $50, Steve Chatterton’s CD is available through his website. www.fishonfly.com.au