Some folks buy a bunch of flies, because they don't like tying. Some simply enjoy the process of tying flies. They don't care how long it takes. This leaves us with the folks who tie their own and want to get them done fast.

Why would a person need to tie more than a few flies? Maybe you don't have the funds to buy them. You need extra for others fishing with you. Some flies wear out. Dry flies can become water logged and need to be swapped with one that's dry. There's a lot of ways to lose them. Snapped off during the cast. Broke off on the brush, trees, vegetation, and rocks. Broke off when you set to hard on a fish. Maybe you used to light of a tippet. You could fumble and drop one in the grass or water. The wind could have blown them out of your box. If you guide and teach fishing classes, like me, you need flies for all these reasons and for as many people that are fishing. Enough reasons. Getting on with the fly tying tips.

How to get them done quickly. There are many things I could tell you about, but here's the one that I believe to be the most important. Have all your tools and materials set out so you can get at them quickly. This means learning to tie with a pair of short scissors in your hand. Have other tools within easy reach. Figure out how many flies you want to tie and prepare all the materials ahead of time. Lay the materials across your work area in the order that they are going to go on the hook.

Now your ready to start tying. Clamp the hook in your vise, start the thread on the hook, and tie in the materials in the order you have set them out. Occasionally think about moving your hands faster. Wind that thread on fast when you don't need to be precise with it's placement. Don't make more thread wraps than necessary to hold the materials in place. Think about tying steps that you can eliminate. Finish off the fly with just a couple simple half hitches with your thread and a drop of head cement. That's all that's needed if done right.

Someday you might be in a hurry to get out fishing and find you are short on the necessary flies. Give these tips a try to crank out a few or a pile.