Currently, such an exotic kind of fishing as fly fishing is becoming increasingly popular. And knitting flies is becoming an increasingly relevant activity among enthusiastic anglers. This is due not so much to the high cost of such devices, but rather to the desire to make a catchy and beautiful bait with your own hands. At first glance, it may seem that knitting flies is a very difficult task, scrupulous and requiring special skills. But this is not so! In any case, to tie a regular, capable of provoking a hungry fish for bite, a fly will be able to any beginner who wants to.
Of course, there are quite complex and painstaking knitting recipes, for example, classic and realistic salmon flies. Their manufacture is a very laborious process and requires a ton of different materials. In fairness, it is worth noting, however, that often this has absolutely no practical basis. Knitting flies is best done based on their specific purpose - fishing. Therefore, there is no need to be very smart. Even the simplest model, which the child will make, will do.
For the manufacture of flies, special devices are used: a machine tool, a reel seat, a knotter, a tool holder and tweezers. As for the materials, there are a great many of them, here are just examples of the most frequently used:
- copper wire of various diameters;
- natural fur;
- goat or lamb hair;
- feathers of birds;
- woolen, kapron threads;
- lurex;
- large beads and small beads;
- dubbing.
Flies, depending on the materials used in the bait, are divided into dry and wet. Dry baits, as a rule, fit with a thick body and fluffy plumage. In order to achieve maximum buoyancy, knitting flies is carried out on the basis of materials such as foam and cork. They allow the bait to remain on the surface of the water without sinking into it. Most often, such flies mimic adult insects, spiders and hairy caterpillars. Wet flies have a thin body and a minimum of villi, fluff or plumage. They work, unlike dry ones, under water. They usually imitate drowned insects, larvae, caterpillars, as well as nymphs, small fish and crustaceans.
As mentioned above, fly fishing is a straightforward process. The question remains, with what degree of realism and accuracy should the fly be made to imitate a natural insect or fish? Opinions diverge sharply. But in practice it is proved that the similarity is only superficial, mainly in the shape of the body and wings. This means that for successful fishing, only the shape, color and size of the hook are important. But as often happens, each rule has its own exceptions. Knitting flies for different bodies of water varies. On rivers with a pronounced course, the fish grabs the bait with lightning speed, not particularly looking at it. Therefore, here the outward resemblance of an artificial fly to a living prototype is unprincipled. Another thing is in quiet standing reservoirs, where the fish has enough time to carefully look at the fly, therefore, its maximum resemblance to the original is desirable.