I wanted to highlight James Waine here on FrankenFly because I have noticed he ties a variety of really nice flies. I like the bugginess and fishy aspects of all of his flies. James wrote a brief introduction to introduce himself and below we posted 10 of his flies with recipes. Be sure to follow James on Instagram @j.w_flyfishing.
My name is James Waine and I was first introduced to fishing by my grandfather at around 10 years old. It was a few years before I really became obsessed but by my early twenties I started fishing more and more frequently.
Over the last few years I have dedicated a lot of time to honing my fishing skills and learning more about fish behavior and how to understand my quarry. Tied into this, is fly tying – its when I started tying my own flies that I really noticed an improvement in my fishing success…
Tying your own flies forces you to understand more about entomology and from there, you learn about the materials used in tying, you learn about different triggers, you learn about movement of flies, about drifts, sink rates, presentation and the list goes on.
I started with tried and tested patterns and quickly learned that I needed to make adaptations to suit the fish in my river. Slight tweaks to traditional patterns soon became completely different patterns.
Above all, my patterns are designed to catch fish, based on my experiences and knowledge. I place a key emphasis on usability; will this fly float like I want it to? Will this hackle provide sufficient motion/vibration etc.
CDC Humpy
Thread – UTC olive 70D
Body/wing – olive cdc
Thorax dubbing – field mouse
Foam Daddy
Thread – UTC tan 70D
Body – olive foam
Body – @vicunadubbing tan (loosely dubbed)
Legs – knotted pheasant tail
Hackle – brown cock
Partridge & Peacock
Thread – @semperfli_flytying nano silk, black
Body – peacock herl
Hackle – English partridge (grey)
Orange HotSpot Nymph
Bead – 3.0mm slotted tungsten
Thread – @semperfli_flytying nano silk black 30D
Body – pheasant tail fibres
Thorax – @vicunadubbing UV blend in hot orange
Rib – fine silver
Brown-olive Shuttlecock
Thread – UTC tan 70D
Body – @vicunadubbing standard tan
Rib – @hedronflashabou micro flash
Collar – brown olive seals fur
Wing – white CDC
Olive Dun Emerger
Thread – UTC olive 70D
Body – @vicunadubbing fine olive dun
Wing – deer hair dyed cow dung yellow
Ant Brown DHE
Thread – UTC rusty brown 70D
Body – ant brown seals fur
Wing – natural deer hair
Tup’s Indispensable
Thread – UTC yellow olive 70D
Tail – @whitingfarms grizzly cock fibres (softer hackles from the edge of the cape)
Body – @vicunadubbing fine pale yellow
Thorax – blend of @vicunadubbing scarlet & tan
Hackle – @whitingfarms grizzly cock
Moose Mane Spider
Thread – @semperfli_flytying nano silk olive 30D
Body – @naturesspiritflytying moose mane dyed pale yellow
Thorax – @vicunadubbing UV blend summer duck
Hackle – light ginger/brown
Liberace Hulk
Bead – @troutlineshop 3.5mm tungsten
Thread – UTC olive 70D
Under-body – UTC opal mirage
Body – UTC clear vinyl nymph rib
Hackle – English partridge dyed olive
Thorax – blend of natural hare’s ear and fl. chartreuse seals fur