Beginner’s Fly Tying: Yellow Palmer Dry Fly

Yellow Palmer Dry Fly

Our next PVFF Beginner’s Fly Tying session will be held July 16th, starting at 7:00pm at Trinity United Methodist Church. The fly pattern chosen for that evening is the Yellow Palmer Dry Fly. Since it’s the middle of summer, there’s an abundance of ‘bugs’ hatching throughout the day. So we need to have some dry flies in our fly box to coax our prey to the surface.

In scanning the internet for a dry fly pattern suitable for our July Beginner’s class, I came upon the Yellow Palmer Dry Fly (YPDF). This pattern is appealing for our class to learn, since the dubbing and hackling techniques used in tying the YPDF are applicable to many other dry fly patterns, such as the Griffith’s Gnat, Delaware Adams, Kaufman’s Stimulator, and Troth’s Elk Hair Caddis. With minor tweaking of the colors of the YPDF abdomen and wing this pattern can be used throughout the season whenever the fish are feeding on the surface.

When you are unsure of what fly to use, remember this. Just as the colors of our clothing gets lighter as we proceed from spring to summer into fall, so do the colors of the natural insects that we try to imitate.

As always, we welcome those who have never tied an artificial fly to join our Beginner Fly Tying classes. Equipment and materials are provided to both newcomers* and PVFF club members.

* Our PVFF fly tying instruction has been broadened to provide monthly instruction for those who might never have tied a fly (i.e., true beginners), as well as for those who have some experience in fly tying and wish to expand their skills. If you are planning on attending and do not already have your own basic equipment for fly tying, please contact us prior to the session so that he can ensure a tying vise and tools will be available for your use.

By Don Fine