Have you ever wanted to learn to tie your own jigs and flies for fishing?
Starting Feb. 21, Nathan Bettencourt of Tri-Lakes Fly Fishing Club is teaming up with the Missouri Department of Conservation to offer FREE Beginner Fly Tying, a four-session course designed to provide everything you need to get a handle on the skill.
The sessions will be held Feb. 21, Feb. 23, March 7 and March 9, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Lost Valley Hatchery, 28232 Hatchery Way, Warsaw, MO 65355. It is open to adults and youth 12 years and older. Registration is limited to eight participants and is required.
Each participant will be provided with a fly-tying vise, scissors and other tools to use during the class, plus materials to make two flies per session. Instruction will include how to use the equipment and basic fly-tying skills, according to Kara Entrop, MDC education assistant. Fly tying involves placing a fish hook in a vise, attaching feathers, chenille or other material to the hook by wrapping thread around it, then finishing it with glue or clear fingernail polish.
The result is a fishing fly that resembles an insect or annelid (worm) as it looks in nature. “Fly” is a generic term for any insect or aquatic life replicated to attract fish. Flies can be cast with a fly rod or fished under a bobber or split shot.
Nathan is planning to start the course by teaching how to tie a wooly bugger, which is a general attractor pattern, and a crappie jig, Kara said. He will also teach how to make a San Juan Worm, an all-purpose fly made with orange chenille that mimics the appearance and movement of an aquatic worm, and can be fished year-round in nearly all bodies of water.
Participants will leave each session with the flies they tied, along with tidbits of entomology that will improve their fishing skills by increasing their knowledge of insect life that fish feed on and stages of insect life. By learning the basics, fly tyers can learn how to observe aquatic life in the waters they fish, and experiment with colors and materials to create custom fishing flies.
Basic fly-tying kits sell online for $35 to $50, and would make a nice gift for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, or for a parent or grandparent who gets into the hobby. Everharts in Clinton carries some fly-tying materials — chenille, bucktail and hackle (rooster feathers).
To register for Fishing Skills - Beginner Fly Tying, go to mdc.mo.gov and click on “events” on the black bar, upper right, then enter “Benton County” in the location space and hit “apply.” For questions or help with registration, call Kara Entrop, 660-438-4465, ext. 6402.
