Matt O'Neal makes tying rewarding and enjoyable

Thom Glace, internationally acclaimed watercolorist artist–Atlantic salmon.

Rehoboth Beach August 2023.

By Skip Clement

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

He starts each segment with where the fly comes from—its history and the book and page/s he read from. Our coffee clutch of fly tiers greatly appreciates that intro information. Some of the fly fishing industry’s great fly tiers do not get how interesting that is for their vassal audience. We are sharing our tying book libraries based on Matt’s reviews.

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

It’s not even a mention (I think), but his selections are usually in the crappie, trout, or musky-size flies, which quickly become a little better, according to us, tied as tube flies. There are exceptions—a worm fly, for example, or an ant and a favorite at our collective bench, Prince Nymph, even in Iceland, where browns loved it and our ghillie scratched his head in disbelief.
NOTE: At 85, and in most continents, that fly caught more trout than I could ever count.

Matt O’Neal

The absence of saltwater flies

Saltwater flies are large, messy, and not as big an aesthetics problem. No nymphs, emergers, spinners, terrestrials, or #20s are needed in the salty stuff. Also, all the great tiers are freshwater-oriented because the species and tying audiences are more considerable. Almost every tying hack is from the hook-tied world.

That said, it does not mean Bill Curtis, George Sawley, Steve Huff, Diana Rudolf, Stu Apte, Chico Fernandez, Steve Kantner, and Sandy Moret are not or were not great saltwater fly tiers.

The problems of amateur tiers are also the same as tying tube flies. My co-tier clutch fellows and ladies say a better word for making a fly look good or bad is all about proportioning, which O’Neal stresses.

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.

Sure Strike Special [Joe Brooks – 1958]

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.

The Royal Wulff is one of the most famous and influential dry flies, which speaks of its enormous versatility and application in the fishing of many species worldwide. Its tube version improves the effectiveness of this great fly. The photo is a screenshot of Ruben Martin holding the tube Royal Wulff he just tied.