What is effective tying?

There’s no better feeling than fooling a fish with a fly, except when you fool a fish with a fly that you tied. Actually, that’s a lie. Fighting the fish you fooled with a fly you tied on a bamboo fly rod you built is the best feeling.

I built one fly rod and because I don’t throw half a dozen of them into the trees every time I fish we’re going to be talking about fly tying instead of rod building.

There’s an important distinction to be made here though, fooling the fish with the fly you tied is the best thing, not tying the fly that fools the fish. Tying flies is a means to an end so we’re (you and I) going to talk here about tying effectively.

The Effective Fly Box is a collection of simple flies that catch trout anywhere, any time. Effective patterns that don’t include pain in the ass materials. Effective tying that doesn’t require difficult techniques. A selection of flies that don’t involve a ton of investment in materials or tools. Fly tying that doesn’t take time away fly fishing.

Minimizing all of the bad stuff, hopefully, leads to bliss tying sessions. Mercifully short stints at the vise focused on the quality and consistency of what you’re tying. Tying that can take place at the kitchen table of a rental cabin half an hour before you head out to fish those flies.