Summer is not only the time I stock up on lures, it’s also the time when I can tie flies for the winter.
Fly fishing is almost alien here in the UAE. It’s not widely practiced but in my experience, it is one of the most productive forms of fishing.
For those that love light tackle, fly fishing is the pinnacle of light line fishing. You feel every tail beat of the fish and a strike from a fish telegraphed through the rod is almost like a lightning bolt up your spine.
In fly fishing, there are different types of people. There are those that tie their own flies, those that tie when the need arises and there are those that don’t bother with the tying and just buy them. I tie my own.
Fly tying like everything else in fishing is as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. The best flies are often the ones that are tied easy and can be tied to imitate anything that fish would find edible, flies can be tied to mimic just about anything out there, even those that don’t look like anything to us.
In freshwater fly fishing, insects and small fish are imitated; in saltwater fly fishing, we imitate crustaceans like prawns, crabs and fish. Others don’t look like anything but fish still gobble them up. 
To us humans, it may not look like anything, but fish see things differently. Take this fly for example. I would be tempted to test this out more in freshwater than in saltwater – Leng Chua tied it and decided to take it out for a test and was rewarded with a lot of fish!
The fish really didn’t mind and that day was one of the highest scoring flies.
Fly fishing forces you to think outside the box. If you aren’t open minded enough, fly fishing could be a very frustrating affair.
As mentioned above, flies come in many shapes, colors and sizes.
Patterns and instructions can be found all over the internet, and down the line, I will share steps on how I tie a specific fly, but for now, check out the pictures in this article.
Fly Fishing isn’t for everyone. The gear is very specialized and the learning curve is pretty long. If you get over the hurdles, it is one of the most rewarding forms of fishing you will ever get to experience.
Till the next tide,
Kit
Published in February 2012
