About |
Drew Chicone here. I'm a Fly Designer, Tying Instructor, and creator of SaltyFlyTying.com
My passion is developing and tying saltwater flies, and I help fly tiers of any skill level learn how to develop and improve their own fly patterns. Not only do they learn to tie better flies, but best of all they catch more fish.
A frustration of mine is trying to learn a new pattern or tying technique without clear illustrations or instructions. I subscribe to all kinds of fly tying magazines and have quite a few fly tying books, and I can’t tell you how many times I wish there was one more photo or I could have zoomed in on a picture. I think that most of us would appreciate more than 5 or 6 1-inch photos to thoroughly explain how to get from point A to point Z. That is one of the main reasons for the ultra close up shots and hi res photography, and excessive number of photos used to illuminate the ideas and techniques found in my eBooks and Blog.
My goal for this site is to create a vehicle for sharing ideas on saltwater pattern development as well as a clear, easy to follow educational resource for tyers of all skill levels. There is no shortage of "How To's" available out there, but they all seem to focus on learning to tie a particular fly for a particular fishing situation. I want to dive much deeper than "how to tie this pattern or that pattern." My focus is really directed toward developing new saltwater fly patterns, and learning how to correct or improve the flies that just don't seem to act right in the water.
The aim is to teach fly tiers how to effectively mimic the shape, size, color, and specific movements of saltwater prey items and learn which materials will best achieve these characteristics. Knowing how to select the right materials and learning proper tying techniques is key to creating productive saltwater flies.