Artificial fly - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure

Fishing lure

A fishing lure is an object attached to the end of a fishing line which is designed to resemble and move like the prey of a fish. The purpose of the lure is to use movement, vibration, and colour to catch the fish's attention so it bites the hook...

, usually used in the sport of fly fishing

Fly fishing

Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...

(although they may also be used in other forms of angling). In general, artificial flies are the bait
Fishing bait
Fishing bait is any substance used to attract and catch fish, e.g. on the end of a fishing hook, or inside a fish trap. Traditionally, nightcrawlers, insects, and smaller bait fish have been used for this purpose...

which fly fishers present to their target species of fish while fly fishing. Artificial flies are constructed by fly tying

Fly tying

Fly tying is the process of producing an artificial fly to be used by anglers to catch fish via means of fly fishing. Probably the most concise description of fly tying is the one by Helen Shaw, a preeminent American professional fly tyer in Fly-Tying....

, in which fur

Fur

Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...

s, feather

Feather

Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...

s, thread

Yarn

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...

or any of very many other materials are tied onto a fish hook

Fish hook

A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fishermen to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...

. Artificial flies may be constructed to represent all manner of potential freshwater

Freshwater

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...

and saltwater

Seawater

Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...

fish prey to include aquatic

Aquatic insects

Aquatic insects live some portion of their life cycle in the water. They feed in the same ways as other insects. Some diving insects, such as predatory diving beetles, can hunt for food underwater where land-living insects cannot compete.-Breathing:...

and terrestrial

Terrestrial animal

Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...

insects, crustaceans, worm

Worm

The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...

s, baitfish

Bait fish

Bait fish are small fish caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. Examples of marine bait fish are anchovies, halfbeaks such as ballyhoo, and...

, vegetation

Vegetation

Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...

, flesh

Flesh

In vertebrate animals, flesh is the colloquial for biological tissue which consists of skeletal muscles and fat as opposed to bones, viscera and integuments. Flesh may be used as food, in which case it is called meat....

, spawn

Spawn (biology)

Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...

, small reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds, etc. Effective artificial fly patterns are said to be killing flies because of their ability to put fish in the creel

Creel (basket)

Creel is a type of small wicker basket mainly used by anglers to hold fish or other prey. A creel is designed to function as an evaporative cooler when lined with moss and dipped into the creek in order to keep the catch chilled...

for the fly fisher. There are thousands of artificial fly patterns, many of them with descriptive and often idiosyncratic names.

Construction

Fly tying

is a common practice in fly fishing, considered by many anglers an important part of the fly fishing experience. Many fly fishers tie their own flies, either following patterns in books, natural insect examples, or using their own imagination. The technique involves attaching small pieces of feather

Feather

s, animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

fur

Fur

, and other materials on a hook

Fish hook

in order to make it attractive to fish. This is made by wrapping thread tightly around the hook and tying on the desired materials. A fly is sized according to the width of the hook gap; large or longer flies are tied on larger, thicker, and longer hooks.

Types

Generally, fly patterns are considered either "imitations" or "attractors". Imitations seek to deceive fish through the life-like imitation of insects on which the fish may feed. Imitators do not always have to be precisely realistic in appearance; they may derive their lifelike qualities when their fur or feathers are immersed in water and allowed to move in the current. Attractors, which are often brightly colored, seek to draw a strike by arousing an aggression response in the fish. Famous attractors are the Stimulator, Royal Wulff, and Green Weenie flies.

History

The first literary reference to flies and fishing with flies was in Ælian’s Natural History probably written about 200 A.D. That work discussed a Macedonian fly. The Treatyse on Fysshynge with an Angle was published (1496) within The Boke of St. Albans attributed to Dame Juliana Berners

Juliana Berners

Juliana Berners , English writer on heraldry, hawking and hunting, is said to have been prioress of Sopwell nunnery near St Albans...

. The book contains, along with instructions on rod, line and hook making, dressings for different flies to use at different times of the year. Probably the first use of the term Artificial fly came in Izaac Walton's The Compleat Angler (1653),

Oh my good Master, this morning walk has been spent to my great
pleasure and wonder: but I pray, when shall I have your direction how
to make Artificial flyes, like to those that the Trout loves best?

The 1652 4th. edition of John Dennys

John Dennys

John Dennys poet and fisherman was the pioneer of Angling poetry in England. His only work "The Secrets of Angling" was the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing, first published in 1613 in London...

's The Secrets of Angling , first published in 1613, contains the first known illustration of an artificial fly.

By the early 19th century, the term artificial fly was being routinely used in angling literature much like this representative quote from Thomas Best's A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling
A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling
A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling- Confirmed by Actual Experiences and Minute Observations to Which is Added the Compleat Fly-Fisher is a fly fishing book written by Thomas Best, first published in London in 1787.-Synopsis:...

(1807) to refer to all types of flies used by fly fishers.

The art of artificial fly-fishing, certainly has the pre-eminence over the other various methods that are used to take fishes in the art of angling

Although the term fly was a reference to an imitation of some flying insect, by the mid-19th century the term fly was being applied to a far greater range of imitation.

The term fly is applied by sea fishermen to a certain arrangement of feathers, wax, etc., which I am about to describe the manufacture of, and which may be used with considerable success in mackerel, basse, and pollack fishing. I am not disposed to think, however, that such baits are ever mistaken by the fish which they are intended to capture for flies; but the number used, the way in which they are mounted, viz., several on one trace, and the method of their progress through the water, rather leads me to the belief that they are mistaken for a number of small fry, and treated accordingly.

Imitation

A major concept in the sport of fly fishing is that the fly imitates some form of fish prey when presented to the fish by the angler. As aquatic insects such as Mayflies, Caddisflies and Stoneflies were the primary prey being imitated during the early developmental years of fly fishing, there were always differing schools of thought on how closely a fly needed to imitate the fish's prey.

In the mid to late 19th century, those schools of thought, at least for trout fishing were: the formalists (imitation matters) and the colourists (color matters most). Today, some flies are called attractor patterns because in theory, they do not resemble any specific prey, but instead attract strikes from fish. For instance, Charles Jardine, in his 2008 book "Flies, Ties and Techniques," speaks of imitators and attractors, categorizing the Royal Wulff as an attractor and the Elk Hair Caddis as an imitator, whereas "... in sea trout and steelhead fishing there is a combination of imitation and attraction involved in fly construction". Paul Schullery in American Fly Fishing - A History (1996) explains however that although much has been written about the imitation theories of fly design, all successful fly patterns must imitate something to the fish, and even a perfect imitation attracts strikes from fish. The huge range of fly patterns documented today for all sorts of target species-trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

, salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

, bass

Bass (fish)

Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate...

and panfish

Panfish

A panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an edible game fish that usually doesn't outgrow the size of a frying pan. The term is also commonly used by anglers to refer to any small catch that will fit in a pan, but is large enough to be legal. However its definition and usage varies with...

, pike

Esox

Esox is a genus of freshwater fish, the only living genus in the family Esocidae — the esocids which were endemic to North America, Europe and Eurasia during the Paleogene through present.The type species is E. lucius, the northern pike...

, saltwater, tropical exotics, etc. are not easily categorized as merely imitative, attractors or something else.

Contemporary fly types and illustrative examples

The categorization of artificial flies has evolved considerably in the last 200 years as writers, fly tiers and fishing equipment retailers expound and promote new ideas and techniques. Additionally, as the popularity of fly fishing expanded globally to new and exotic target species, new flies and genera of flies came into being. There are many subtypes in some of these categories especially as they apply to trout

Trout

flies. As well, any given pattern of artificial fly might well fit into multiple categories depending on its intended use. The following categorization with illustrative examples is derived from the following major artificial fly merchants offerings.

Orvis
Orvis
Orvis is a family-owned retail and mail-order business specializing in high-end fly fishing, hunting and sporting goods. Founded in Manchester, Vermont in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis to sell fishing tackle, the company has changed hands only twice and has had only five CEOs in its 150-year history...

- An American Fly Fishing Retailer in business since 1856
Farlows of London - A British Fly Fishing Retailer in business since 1840
Umpqua Feather Merchants - An American artificial fly manufacturer and wholesaler in business since 1972

Dry flies

Dry flies are designed to be buoyant

Buoyancy

In physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...

, or to float on the surface of the water. Dry flies typically represent the adult form of an aquatic or terrestrial insect. Dry flies are generally considered freshwater flies.

Wet flies

Wet flies are designed to sink below the surface of the water. Wet flies have been tied in a wide variety of patterns to represent larva, nymphs, pupa, drowned insects, baitfish and other underwater prey. Wet flies are generally considered freshwater flies.

Nymph flies

Nymphs are designed to resemble the immature form of aquatic insects and small crustaceans. Nymph flies are generally considered freshwater flies.

Emerger flies

Emergers are designed to resemble the not quite mature hatching aquatic insect as it leaving the water to become an adult insect. Emerger flies are generally considered freshwater trout flies.

Streamer flies

Streamers are designed to resemble some form of baitfish or other large aquatic prey. Streamer flies may be patterned after both freshwater and saltwater prey species. Streamer flies are a very large and diverse category of flies as streamers are effective for almost any type of gamefish.

Terrestrial flies

Terrestrials are designed to resemble non-aquatic insects, crustaceans and worms that could fall prey to feeding fish after being blown or falling onto the water.,

Bass and panfish flies, bugs and poppers

Bass

Black bass

Micropterus , is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is M. dolomieu, the smallmouth bass...

and panfish

Panfish

flies, bugs and poppers are generally designed to resemble both surface and sub-surface insect, crustacean, baitfish prey consumed by warm-water species such as Largemouth bass

Largemouth bass

The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...

or bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

. This genus of flies generally includes patterns that resemble small mammals, birds, amphibians or reptiles that may fall prey to fish, or in the case of panfish flies, small aquatic insects or crustaceans.

Pike and musky flies

Pike and musky flies are generally designed to resemble both surface and sub-surface crustacean, baitfish prey consumed by species of the genus Esox

Esox

such as Northern Pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

or Muskellunge

Muskellunge

A muskellunge , also known as a muskelunge, muscallonge, milliganong, or maskinonge , is a large, relatively uncommon freshwater fish of North America. Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae...

. This genus of flies are larger than bass flies and generally includes patterns that resemble baitfish and small mammals, birds, amphibians or reptiles that may fall prey to fish.

Carp flies

Carp flies are designed to resemble various vegetative sources of food that carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

feed on such as berries, seeds and flowers that may fall into the water.

Salmon flies

Salmon flies are a traditional class of flies tied specifically to fly fish for Atlantic Salmon

Atlantic salmon

The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....

. Some salmon flies may be classified as lures while others may be classified as dry flies, such as the bomber. Salmon flies are also tied in classic and contemporary patterns.

Steelhead and Pacific salmon flies

Steelhead and Pacific salmon flies are designed for catching anadromous

Fish migration

Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousands of kilometres...

steelhead trout and pacific salmon in western North American and Great Lakes rivers.

Egg flies

Egg flies are all designed to resemble the spawn of other fish that may be encountered in a river and consumed by the target species.

Flesh flies

Flesh Fly (fly fishing)

Flesh Fly is a popular fly pattern used by rainbow trout anglers in Western Alaska. This particular fly fishing pattern is designed to mimic a chunk of rotten salmon flesh washing down stream. The pattern is usually tied using white or off white rabbit hair....

are designed to resemble the rotting flesh of pacific salmon encountered in a river and consumed by the target species.

Saltwater flies

Saltwater flies are a class of flies designed to represent a wide variety of inshore, offshore and estuarial

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

saltwater baitfish, crustacean and other saltwater prey. Saltwater flies generally are found in both sub-surface and surface patterns.

Bonefish flies

Bonefish flies are a special class of saltwater flies used to catch Bonefish

Bonefish

The bonefish is the type species of the Albulidae family, or bonefishes in order Albuliformes. It is amphidromous, living in inshore tropical waters, moving onto shallow mudflats to feed with the incoming tide, and retreating to deeper water as the tide ebbs...

in shallow water. Bonefish flies generally resemble small crabs, shrimp or other crustaceans.

Tarpon flies

Tarpon flies are a special class of saltwater flies used to catch Tarpon

Atlantic tarpon

The Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus, inhabits coastal waters, estuaries, lagoons, and rivers. Tarpons feed almost exclusively on schooling fish and occasionally crabs. Tarpons are capable of filling their swim bladder with air, like a primitive lung. This gives Tarpons a predatory advantage...

in both inshore and offshore waters. Tarpon flies generally represent small baitfish commonly preyed upon by tarpon.

Striped bass flies

Striped bass flies are a special class of freshwater-saltwater fly used to catch Striped Bass

Striped bass

The striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...

in freshwater, inshore and offshore waters. Striped bass flies generally represent small baitfish commonly preyed upon by striped bass.