Realistic Fly Tying

I enjoy creating and tying realistic flies, most of which are not intended for fishing with, instead, simply enjoying the challenge of imitating insects and striving to make them look as alive as possible.



Realistic Fly Tying - Creating an Emerging Dragonfly







My goal was to create an adult dragonfly emerging from a semi-transparent nymph





The first step is creating a frame for the dragonfly nymph, using 35 lb mono fishing line





Tinted acrylic varnish was poured onto a mirror, allowed to dry, a strip was cut with a razor, and wrapped around to cover the frame





Legs are 20 lb mono covered with thread, while 8/0 thread was tied onto the tips to create claws





eyes are melted mono fishing line

Tying the Adult Dragonfly





Fine stiff wire is wrapped and covered with thread





fly tying foam tied onto the wire, segmented and coloring applied





painting wings





Eyes are green tinted dried varnish, tied and wrapped into fine organza mesh





coming to life





The nymph case was cut to allow for placing the adult abdomen inside





I wanted the fly to look like it was crying out while experiencing the pain of birth





Framed and ready to send to a friend, Chris Carlin in Alaska,

one of the worlds finest bamboo fly rod makers





I had fun creating this...

Few More Realistic Flies

Orange Caddis Fly - Published as a real insect, in the Atlas of Creation

Realistic Flies

Dragonfly with Prey

Ready for Action

Realistic Dragonfly

Life size Hex Mayfly

Real Dragonfly wants to eat my realistic fly

Real dragonfly wants to mate with my realistic dragonfly - More Photos

Tying a dragonfly abdomen

coming to life

predator and prey

Realistic Scorpion replica hunting a fake bee

Golden Stonefly nymph

Foam body Golden Stonefly adults, effective fishing flies

Realistic Dragonfly Replica

Realistic Grasshopper

One of my first realistic Mayflies

Colorful realistic dragonfly

Dragonfly Nymph, one of my first attempts at realistic fly tying

Hellgrammite

Dragonflies sharing a wasp lunch

Realistic Red Salamander

Green Garden spider

Tadpoles

I donated two realistic Hex Mayflies and photos to the 'Sierra Pacific Fly Fishers" club

Frames sold for $375 each, helping make the annual fund raiser a success





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