Realistic Fly Tying

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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 Hexaginia Mayflies Realistic red-eared turtle realistic housefly's

Hexagenia Mayflies

Baby Red-eared Turtle

Houseflies

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realistic Cased Caddis fly realistic midge realistic stonefly

Cased Caddis Larva

Midge

Fat Juicy Stonefly

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realistic Camel Spider Artistic fly tying - Seahorse Free style salmon fly

Camel Spider

Seahorse

Feather Wing Salmon Fly

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realistic hex mayfly on my bamboo fly rod

Mayflies, real and realistic

 

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Realistic Fly Tying - Creating an Emerging Dragonfly

Framed artistic realistic emerging dragonfly

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

 

starting the fly, thread and mono

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

 

tying a mono frame onto a hook

 

tying dragonfly nymph abdomen with acrylic

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

 

tying on legs

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

 

top view dragonfly nymph

eyes are melted mono fishing line

 

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Tying the Adult Dragonfly

Fine stiff brass wire

Fine stiff wire is wrapped and covered with thread

 

artistic blue and black dragonfly abdomen

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

 

scribing the viens takes about 40 minutes

painting wings

 

realistic eyes made from dried acrylic varnsih

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

 

menacing scary looking adult dragonfly

coming to life

 

completed emerging dragonfly

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

 

another picture of a realistic artistic emerging dragonfly

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

 

another picture of a realistic artistic emerging dragonfly

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

one of the worlds finest bamboo fly rod makers

 

close up view of the framed flies.

I had fun creating this...

 

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Few More Realistic Flies

Orange October Caddis fly replica published in the Atlas of Creation

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

Step By Step Tutorial - Making this Caddisfly

 

Realistic Houseflies created and tyed to be used as props in a movie production

Realistic Flies

 

realistic dragonfly with prey

Dragonfly with Prey

 

collection of realistic flies, houseflies, mayflies and dragonfly

Ready for Action

 

realistic yellow and brown dragonfly

Realistic Dragonfly

 

Realistic Hexagenia Mayfly

Life size Hex Mayfly

 

macro photography of an orange dragonfly

Real Dragonfly wants to eat my realistic fly

 

living dragonfly interacting with a realistic replica

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

 

tying a realistic dragonfly

Tying a dragonfly abdomen

 

realistic fly tying dragonfly body

coming to life

 

dragonfly art - realistic dragonfly with prey

predator and prey

 

Another realistic scorpion, hunting a realistic bee

Realistic Scorpion replica hunting a fake bee

 

amazingly super realistic golden stonefly nymph

Golden Stonefly nymph

 

realistic adult golden stoneflies

Foam body Golden Stonefly adults, effective fishing flies

 

Realistic Emerald Angel Dragonfly created for my friend Bud Guidry

Realistic Dragonfly Replica

 

Realistic Grasshopper for fly fishing and natural history museum

Realistic Grasshopper

 

realistic fly tying Hexagenia Mayfly

One of my first realistic Mayflies

 

Blue and yellow realistic dragonfly replica

Colorful realistic dragonfly

 

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

 

Realistic Hellgrammite fishing fly

Hellgrammite

 

Pair of dragonfly replicas about to share a fake wasp for lunch

Dragonflies sharing a wasp lunch

 

Realistic fake red salamander replica

Realistic Red Salamander

 

Realistic Green Garden Spider

Green Garden spider

 

Pair of realistic tadpoles

Tadpoles

 

donation to Sierra Pacif Fly Fishermen

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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