Flies with good proportions—wings and tails of proper length, hackle fibers neither overlong nor stubby, a body of suitable length to balance the look of the fly, and much more—not only look handsome, they convince trout, hook them solidly, and, best of all, bring them to net. A fly with bad proportions? A fly like that won’t look like the bug it’s supposed to suggest and therefore won’t fool trout, it won’t sit on the water in the right posture (which also won’t fool trout), won’t hook trout solidly, and consequently too many of the trout it does hook never see the net.
Skip Morris is offering – free to all – a 3-page pdf of the proper proportions for 9 common types of flies from one of his popular books.
While you are there, look around and read his blog and fly-tying articles.
Skip Morris offered the Trout-Fly Proportion Chart as a complimentary service to our members. New Mexico Trout does not endorse products or services. New Mexico Trout received no benefit from providing the chart to our members. The chart is provided as a courtesy only for your personal use and assistance in your fly-tying efforts.