Tying your own flies is a huge leap in the pursuit of becoming a great fly fisher.  If you are just starting out, congratulations.  Now that you have decided to start tying flies, you may be asking, “what fly should I learn to tie first?”  The Zebra Midge is an outstanding answer for many reasons.

If I get out of the drift boat, you may not see me again until the evening hatch. Yeah --- it’s a problem.

It was in sunny Las Vegas Nevada, that I remember telling my wife, “I’d really like to get into tying my own flies.”  My wife, whose memory can be either a steel trap or --- let’s just say the opposite of a steel trap --- decided to use her powers for good and several months later at Christmas I had a fly tying kit.  Hooray!  Hugs and smooches exchanged, I sat down to tie my first fly on Christmas morning, 2013.  And while I tied a few flies between then and now, I can say that the fly tying kit may have “started” me into tying my own flies, but it was a weak and pathetic start.  A long road filled with terrible flies, that rarely were used, let alone caught fish.  I’ll tell you why.

It is one thing to not catch fish while nymphing. It is another to be hooking up all day and then come up short on a great spot.