I frankly don't know how many fly tying patterns exist. Catalogs speak of several thousands depending on what, where and when you fish.

This is why I like Dave Hughes' fly tying book Essential Trout Flies so much: because it simplify.

Dave Hughes uses only 31 basic fly tying patterns which he then divides in 3 groups: dry flies, nymphs and wet flies. These are for fishing trouts, but because most of fly fishing is done for trouts and graylings which live in the same rivers, I think this can suffice. The day you will be fishing for Salmons in Alaska, well you will enter another dimension and this page will have lost any meaning....

So here are the 31 elementary fly tying patterns in Hughes' book:

While in my anglican club in Milan, I also learned how to make another some useful "Italian" fly tying patters among wich the "La casalinga" by Antonio Rinaldin: a very effective dry. "When nothing works, use this one" he told us.

(coming soon)

From my fly tying patterns back to the main page