Matt O’Neal makes tying rewarding and enjoyable

Like many, I look forward to his Wednesday and Sunday tying ‘shows.’ His outgoing personality seems genuine, and his excellent tying skills make following along rewarding and enjoyable.

O’Neal also fishes several of his ties on video. That’s a first

The only negative of Savage is that there are no tube flies

The absence of saltwater flies

Making templates

Our tying group keeps discussing making sketches or charts related to hook sizes. Still, hook sizes fall into rejection territory by getting too big as a measure of a fly size, especially in clear water – fresh or salt.

It would be hard to count the fish-on yelps made using a smaller black carbon steel hook attached post-tying a fly (tube) and my buddy using a 2/0 versus my choice of smaller hooks, like #8 or #6. Additionally, the weight of the fly is almost always determined by the hook, so a lighter hook lends to a better cast. At least it’s easier if, for some reason, the latter is debatable.

This fly video by Matt shows a dry fly invented by Joe Brooks, who, according to Lefty Kreh, taught Lefty Kreh how to fly fish.

The Sure Strike Special (Joe Brooks – 1958 ) fly is said to have a tail drop issue. It cannot float at the level as dries do, and the hook weight could cause that negative. Our efforts have not determined the cause of the SSS fly tail dropping, but a good guess is that it does because the hook is too heavy. That issue could be remedied with a tube version of the SSS using a small, light wire hook. Of course, a wire strong enough to land the intended species or surprise dinner is a must. Carbon steel wire hooks are extremely strong but fall prey to rust quickly—an unresolvable issue for hook-tied flies for apparent reasons. A tube fly that has rust on the hook is replaced. The fly itself is not lost.

Anyway, thanks, Matt O’Neal from the old tiers clutch group