Fly Fishing Hook Threader Tip
Do You Pre-Thread Your Flies
By Mike Cox, Ferndale WA
This tip started because I wasn’t used to my new glasses. If you have ever had a tough time threading a tiny hook eye out next to a stream, this is for you. An EASY tip to help you be more effective in the field. Using a cheap needle threader from any sewing shop.
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About five years ago I was getting ready for trout season. By this I mean that once again I had spent weeks worth of evenings tying flies, looking forward to getting out the streams when snow finally started to melt and the season opened.
I love fishing for brookies, rainbows, and cutthroats. They don’t have the bulk of the steelhead or salmon, but there’s something really special about alpine lakes and streams and the fishing to be done up there. Small fish call for nice light tackle, and nice small flies.
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So opening day finally arrived and I made a surprising discovery.
“How did it go?”, my wife asked when I got home.
“Not so good”, I grumbled.
“You know those nice new bifocals I got over the winter”, I said, “the ones that made it so easy for me to sit there and tie all those flies?”
“Well they made it darn tough to even see the fly hook eyes, let alone put the line through them, I’ve been fighting them all day…”
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She put up with my rant and said, “For sewing needles, they make needle threaders”, and she went out of the room. Smart woman.
So this tip started because I wasn’t used to my glasses, but now I use sewing needle threaders because they make things so much easier.
They are cheap, and are available in most drug stores and anyplace that sells sewing notions.
Each sewing threader offers you a big target for the small line and then transfers the fly to the line for you.
A fly box with a half dozen flies prethreaded.
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Just pull out the fly
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Push the play button to see the video.
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A variety of flies on threadrs.
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Gorilla Ant Fly on threader
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4# Line through the threader
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Threader and fly held by line
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Hold fly and line and pull threader, this threads the fly and removes the threader
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Gorilla Ant ready to tie to line.
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See video on this Fly Fishing Tip on YouTube
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See Video on making the Gorilla Ant fly on YouTube