Fly Tying Group
(first posted November 30, 2007; last updated August 20, 2010)

Who Are We?

The FFF Fly Tying Group was started by the FFF leadership at the 2007 Conclave in Livingston. It is a group of, by, and for fly tiers. The goals of the group are to develop fly tying at the local, regional, council, national, and international levels. For more information on how the Group was started and the members of the 2007 Board of Governors, see the article in the Autumn Flyfisher, a copy of which is available here. Also, browse around this site and you will find a number of items of interest. The minutes of our founding meeting, our first Board meeting, and all subsequent Board meetings and conference calls are posted here. The proposed by-laws are here. The next Board meeting will be Wednesday, August 25, 8:00 am to 11:30 am, followed by the BBQ at noon. Location will be in the program, but will be a room in the Conference hotel.

Certification of Fly Tiers

This topic is usually the first on everyone's minds. You will notice from our minutes that we all are very much against certification of tiers, which would destroy the individuality that makes tying so interesting and enjoyable. No, this Group is NOT certification in disguise, and our minutes prove it. Casting may be able to be enhanced by certification, but in our opinion, tying cannot be improved by certification. We feel that certification would go a long way toward destroying tying. Our position regarding certification is clearly delineated here.

How to Join

You can support the Fly Tying Group by joining (see Membership, below), becoming active in our programs (see Projects, below), or making a donation to the Dick Nelson Fly Tying Teaching Memorial Fund. Join us for our annual BBQ at Conclave, called the Tiers' & Liars' BBQ.

Board of Governors

The 2009 Board of Governors is listed here. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as we do not "govern" anything, we are just tiers who have volunteered our time to serve the interests of tiers all over the US and internationally, too. The name was chosen by the FFF leadership so that our name is similar to the Board of Governors of the Casting Group. If you are interested in volunteering, please check out our Project Page as well as the FFF website's Forum, where we will be posting information throughout the year.

Membership

Membership is open to any FFF member who in interested in fly tying. There are no other criteria for membership! So if you have fly tying in your blood, please join by clicking here (the link is not yet active). The cost is $20 year, in addition to your FFF membership. To join the group, click here.

Projects of the Fly Tying Group

The Fly Tying Group is involved in many projects. 2010 is only the fourth year of our existence and project development is still in its early stages. Click here for a listing of current projects that you might want to join.

How To Be a Great Demonstration Fly Tier

Workshops were held at the Conclaves in 2006, 2007, and 2008 that were specifically targeted to the demonstration tiers that year, but were open to all interested tiers. The workshops were coordinated by David Nelson and featured the Buszek Award Winners Wayne Luallen, Judy Lehmberg, Chris Helm, and Dick Nelson, among others. Click here for a concensus statement on demonstration tying. We will be having another workshop at the 2010 Fly Fishing Fair (formerly called the Conclave) in West Yellowstone. If you are interested in tying at the Conclave, check out this article.

Fly Tying Instructors' Resource

The Fly Tying Group is developing The Fly Tying Instructors' Resource, a website for instructors who are planning a fly tying course. There are many resources available to you, from thoughts on how to organize a class, to handouts on hooks, to technique handouts written by Buszek Award winning tiers. There will be a workshop at the 2010 Fly Fishing Fair in West Yellowstone. We are also developing some webpages based on the work of the winners of the Dick Nelson Fly Tying Teaching Award.

Fly Tying Patterns

This section of the website features photographs and step-by-step instructions for a variety of fly patterns.

Fly Fishing Fair 2010: West Yellowstone

The Fly Fishing Fair (formerly called the Conclave) will have many activities for Fly Tying Group members in Loveland. The high point will probably be the Tiers' & Liars' BBQ on Wednesday, open to all demonstration tiers and all Fly Tying Group members. There will be two workshops, one on Wednesday morning for all demonstration tiers, on how to be a better demo tier. It will be a roundtable discussion with Buszek Award winners, Fly Tying Group Board members, and senior demonstration tiers. All are welcome to come and share their view of what it takes to be a great demo tier. The second workshop is referred to just above, the Fly Tying Class Organizers' Workshop. We will have a tying area in the demo tying area devoted to teaching beginning tying. Anyone who would like to volunteer for this should contact Gene Kaczmarek. Demonstration tiers can find more information here.