Any advice for a novice tyer?

[shanksi]

Steve, I have used mothballs with no problems in many years - have I been lucky? What's the best mite-preventer please?

Balls wildhibroon cedar wood balls.   I've been using them and had no problems and a pleasant smell so SWMBO isn't nagging about the smell of mothballs.

Ian

[Malcolm]

Aw buggrit PA I'm going to have to go through my swap flies now and retie them.

[Guddler]

Thanks everybody for all the advice and the generous offers of tying materials. I got my "kit" yesterday and much as expected it was fairly humble. There are quite a few useful bits and materials but most of the feathers were disintegrating. I just had a go with what was there and followed Scotfly's Black and Peacock video substituting black yarn and dyed brown mallard feathers instead  :lol:

[attachimg=1]

Great big nymph hook in a size 10, hackles too long, don't care, chuffed to bits, canna wait till next season!

[Wildfisher]

Looks great Guddler - well done - that will most certainly  catch.

[Inchlaggan]

Nice.
There are only two types of fly that are worth anything-
a) pretty ones in the box
b) ones with a trout attached

[scotfly]

Great big nymph hook in a size 10, hackles too long,

You're wrong, the hackle is perfect; body looks to have a nice taper to it and you've managed a small, very neat head.

chuffed to bits,

So you should be.
Well done Guddler. I don't think I've ever seen a better "first ever fly!"

[Wildfisher]

Well done Guddler. I don't think I've ever seen a better "first ever fly!"

Coming from our resident maestro Dennis that's praise indeed Guddler.   

[Guddler]

Aw gee shucks - you've got me all embarassed now.  :oops: :oops: :oops:
It's certainly cheered up my weekend of nightshifts.  :lol:

All I did was follow the advice folk gave:

"Start with a Spider"
"Use a large hook"
"Experiment with what you've got"
"Practice your whip finish"
"Don't use too much thread or dubbing"
"Have a go"
and, of course, Scotfly's excellent video clips.

I'll be dreaming of bandies on my own flees all day tomorrow!

[River Chatter]

Well done on your first fly Guddler, especially since it usually doesn't work out very well your first time (ahem). The proportions look good to me too - I'm looking forward to seeing your others as you progress onto more complicated patterns. 

[Part-time]

Thats a great fly Guddler and I'm sure will catch you fish. As a novice tyer myself the thing I found most helpful was the same as Bandy Catchers advice; get the patterns for your favorite half dozen flies and then get the materials you need to tie them. I always found it frustrating not having all the materials for a pattern and, although variants can work, I found it better for my confidence to know I was using all the right materials. I also found tying in batches of three helped with getting a wee bit of consistency - and when the trout are boiling at you killer home tied fly you want to make sure you have a few spare