Fly Tying

Eric Hurst is part of House of Fly's small batch tyer program. Two of his flies, the Thrasher and Agent Scully, are giving up big rewards wherever they are thrown. They work East, West, and all places between. In this article Hurst describes each pattern and tells why they take fish.

House of Fly's West Great Falls shop manager, Ethan Crawford, offers his take on six of the best new fly tying products for 2026.

Bonefish aren't the pickest fish in the sea (except for when they are), but when you find something that works, why not roll with it?

The Flying V is a great match for blue-wing olive and March brown hatches on Montana's Missouri River and beyond. The pattern is easy to tie, easy to see on the water, and it takes fish on challenging flat surfaces stretches of rivers and streams. Triple bonus!!!

The 2” Montana Mini Intruder is perfect for flinging on two to four-weight trout spey rods. When you tie one, you can choose to run the hook either up or down on your wire. In the summer, I swing it fast and high through riffles and over buckets with the hook angled down. In cold water, I fish it slow and deep with the hook riding up, Clouser-style. This keeps bottom contact to a minimum and hook ups to the maximum.

Kelly Galloup's Sex Dungeon streamer is one of the most effective flies on Western rivers. The Mini and Micro Dungeon versions are especially effective on native cutthroat waters, but they'll take big fish just about anywhere. Just ask Galloup.

Sam Wike's Tailwater Charlie is a knock-em-dead pattern on Montana's Missouri River and matches sow bugs wherever they are found.

If you want to fill your fly boxes with traditional No-Hackles, you may be in for a surprise—those flies require patience to master, and even the typically mild-spoken east Idaho legend Mike Lawson calls them, “a real bitch” to learn to tie.

You can't have too many of these Party On Top Caddis in your fly box. Whether floating or slightly sunken, this fly excels on flat-surface waters and picky fish.

In this Episode of Project in the Wild, the Fly Project crew heads to the Missouri River to fish and celebrate a new year. Sam, Fred, Jay, Taylor and the rest of the gang do well swinging with double-hand rods.

New shop owner Sam Wike finds a treasure trove of classic saltwater flies and chases down the mystery and mayhem behind each.

Tying with CDC isn't easy, but the right tools can help you build consistently beautiful and durable patterns.