Tying Tuesday: Easy Patterns, Plus One

This week’s Tying Tuesday features three super-simple patterns, and one that might cause you to tear your hair out at the vise (but the end result is worth it). We kick things off with a basic and versatile ant pattern from Kypes & Stripes Outdoors. It floats well, is visible on the water, and you can tie it in a wide range of sizes to catch everything from largemouth bass to small mountain brookies. Next up, Jeff from Outfitters North shows us how to create a cool streamer that you can strip or swing. Although there are quite a few materials, there are no special tying techniques involved, and it’s a pattern you can create in whatever colors you like.

It’s hard to believe the simplicity of Paul McFadden’s buggy mayfly nymph, which uses just two materials. Note how few wraps he uses, to keep things slender and reduce bulk. Once you’ve had fun with these easy patterns, it’s time to take on Tim Wade’s Ho Candy, a bullet-head attractor that requires some fussiness at the vise. It was a bold move for The Hungry Mayfly Co. to start their channel with this one, and the tier suffers through breaking his thread and losing control of his deer hair before he brings it all home. It’s great for inexperienced tiers to see that even the pros mess up sometimes.

If you’d like to see more of a particular kind of fly in our Tying Tuesdays, please let us know in the comments below. As we move into summer, we’ll include more warmwater and saltwater options.

LA Ant
Hook: Standard dry-fly hook, sizes 4-18.
Thread: Black, size to match the hook.
Rear Legs: Black Bug Legs or similar.
Underbody: Caddis Green Pseudo Peacock Dubbing or peacock herl.
Body: Black craft foam, 2mm.
Indicator: Chartreuse craft foam, 2mm.
Front Legs: Black Bug Legs or similar.
Note: Try various color combinations, such as purple-and-yellow, purple-and-pink, etc.

SE Streamer
Hook: 3X-long streamer hook (here a Daiichi 2461), size 1.
Head: Silver conehead, 5.5mm.
Thread: Black, 6/0 or 140-denier.
Tail/back: White rabbit strip.
Body: Pearl Ice Dub.
Collar: Olive marabou.
Flash #1: Dark Olive Pearl Polar Flash.
Flash #2: Pearl Polar Flash.
Throat: Red Ice Dub.
Head: Light olive Senyo’s Laser Dub.

Super Simple Mayfly Nymph
Hook: Czech nymph hook (here a Hanak H333BL), size 12.
Bead: Black tungsten bead, 2.8mm.
Thread: Tan, 8/0 or 70-denier.
Tail/abdomen/wing case: Pheasant tail fibers.
Thorax: Dark hare’s ear dubbing.
Adhesive: Head cement (optional).
Tools: Bobbin.

Ho Candy
Hook: Caddis/hopper hook (here an Umpqua 203), size 10.
Thread: Fluorescent orange, 8/0 or 70-denier.
Tail: Golden pheasant fibers.
Underbody: Yellow Ice Dub.
Underwing: White poly yarn.
Flash: Krystal Flash.
Head/wing: Deer hair, cleaned and stacked.
Collar: Tying thread.
Legs: Dark tan barred round-rubber legs.