“Fly Tying 101” Starting the thread

We all have to being somewhere, and all of your flies will more than likely begin, with thread.

Secure the hook in the vise before beginning.

The first thing you want to do is make sure your hook is secured in your vise before tying on your thread. Once your hook is secured in the vise and your bobbin is loaded with thread, you can begin.

Positioning your hands

First, hold your bobbin in your tying hand, and hold the end of the thread in the other.

T0 position your hands, hold the bobbin in your tying hand, then grasp the end of the thread in your ‘non tying’ hand.

Move your ‘non tying’ hand holding the thread, in front of you , slightly angled towards the hook point.

Begin the thread a little ways behind the eye

Hold onto that thread and bring your bobbin over the hook shank and then back under. That’s your first wrap! Do it again, and after two or three wraps your hook should look like above. You can now snip off that piece of thread you were holding, and take a wrap or two to cover the waste ends.

Keep in mind this is practice, and different patterns will have you start and stop your thread at different points.

This step is complete! Continue with your pattern from here.