Tony's
Tying
Gallery

Foam Body Cutters:
Hopper/Caddis/Ant Body
Beavertail Body
Chernobyl Round Body
Chernobyl Tapered Body
Damsel/Dragonfly Body
Bonefish/Permit Crab
Beetle Body
STP Frog™ Body
Capt. Joe Blados' Crease
     Fly Popper Cutter
Mayfly Foam Body Cutters NEW
Stonefly Foam Body Cutters NEW
Tomsu's Supreme Hopper™
     Foam Body Cutters NEW

Other Cutters:
Hopper Legs
Czech Nymph/Scud Shellbacks
Universal Bug Bodies
Universal Bug Wings
Gary Krebs' Popper Jigs™ NEW
Tomsu's Supreme Hopper™
     Tying Set NEW
Floating Minnow Head Cutters BACK AGAIN

Tying Materials
River Wing® & River Foam®
     Wing Materials
Foam: 2mm, 1mm and 0.5mm NEW
Frog Foam® Material

Other Products
Replacement Cutting Pads
and Tool Caddies

Buy Locally: In the US, Canada,
Australia, and Europe

River Road Creations®, Inc.
3989 Stevi River Road
Stevensville, MT 59870
(406) 777-1046
tony@riverroadcreations.com 

 ®

 Made in
Montana

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Chernobyl Ant

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Cutter Set

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Chernobyl Ant & Tying Instructions

Tomsu Skwala & Tying Instructions

Wing Sheet Caddis & Tying Instructions

STP Frog®Fly Tying Instructions

Tying a Crawfish or Shrimp Pattern
 

Chernobyl Ant  tying instructions

MATERIALS

• Hook - 3XL Dry Fly Hook (Sizes 2 - 12)
• Thread - Tan 3/0
• Body - 2mm Tan, Black
• Optional Indicator - 2mm Orange Foam
• Legs - Black Round Rubber

STEP 1

• Cut out two bodies using appropriate size foam body cutter using tan foam and black foam and clip the bodies from the foam sheets.
• Using a single-edged razor blade, cut a small lengthwise slit in the lower body (tan) section, about one-half the depth of the foam

STEP 2

• Place a hook in the vise, attach tan thread near the hook eye
• Wind the thread evenly to a point just above the hook barb
• Trim off the tag end of the thread

STEP 3

• Place bodies over the bend of the hook, slit side down for the tan body, so it fits neatly over the hook shank
• Make 4 turns over the end of the body about 1/4 of the way from the end (tip of tail should extend slightly beyond the bend of the hook)

STEP 4

• Attach rubber leg material to each side of the body extending legs straight down from the body
• Leave excess leg material for now; do not trim legs until the fly is complete.

STEP 5

• Lift up the over body (black foam)
• Complete the under body by pulling the legs toward the rear of the fly and wrap the thread forward in small, segmented turns to a point one hook eye's length behind the hook eye
• Make three turns of thread to secure under body

STEP 6

• Pull the top section of the over body down over the under body
• Wrap thread 3 turns around both pieces of foam about 1/4 of the body length from the front
• Attach a small piece of orange foam to the head as an indicator, if desired

STEP 7

• Attach another pair of legs in the same fashion as above to the front of the fly

STEP 8

• Pull legs towards the rear
• Lift up the head and wind thread toward the hook eye
• Whip-finish and trim the thread
• So the head is an even length, trim both pieces of foam at the same time
• Trim ends of the orange indicator evenly

STEP 9

• Pull each pair of legs straight down from the body; avoid stretching legs
• Trim all four legs at once, roughly hook-shank length
• Repeat for the remaining pair of legs (Note: longer legs result in better action on the water and are better than short, stiff legs)
• Apply head cement to finishing knot
• Make minor adjustments to leg length, if necessary, to ensure legs are all the same length.

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Go to:
Chernobyl Round Foam Body Cutter

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Tomsu Skwala

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Cutter Set

Go to:
Stonefly Wing Cutter

Tomsu Skwala tying instructions

MATERIALS

• Hook - 3XL Dry Fly hook (Sizes 6-10)
• Thread - Olive 8/0
• Body - Montana Fly Company Frog's Hair Dubbing - Yellow
• Egg Sac - Montana Fly Company Frog's Hair Dubbing - Black
• Tail - Olive Biots
• Rib - Montana Fly Company Crystal Web - Yellow
• Over Body - Doug Brewer's Natural Dubbing
• Wing - River Foam®material from River Road Creations
• Legs - Round Rubber - Brown or Black

STEP 1

• Cut Wing material using appropriate size stonefly wing cutters. Extend cuts about 1/2 inch beyond normal with scissors and clip from sheet
• Place hook in vise
• Attach thread to hook and bend of hook and wind thread to a point about 1/3 of the way down the bend
• Apply a small amount of black dubbing to thread and form egg sac on the upper part of the hook bend

STEP 2

• Tie in biots and cover butts completely with thread

STEP 3

• Tie in Rib and return thread to front of egg sac

STEP 4

• Tie in Natural Dubbing over body in front of egg sac, with excess pointing toward rear of hook

STEP 5

• Apply yellow dubbing to thread and dub a generous under body (Skwala have robust bodies!)
• Remove excess dubbing; be sure to leave plenty of head room (about 1/4 of the front of the hook shank)

STEP 6

• Fold over body over the yellow under body and secure with several thread wraps

STEP 7

• Wind rib around body in open spirals, secure with three thread wraps

STEP 8

• Place wing over body, making sure the wing extends beyond the butt end of the body
• Tie down at end of dubbed body
• DO NOT TRIM EXCESS WING MATERIAL, it will be used to form a shellback over the thorax - just temporarily fold it back over the wing so it will be out of the way until needed

STEP 9

• Tie in two 3" lengths of round rubber leg material on each side of rear end of the thorax area. DO NOT TRIM. Wind thread over leg material to just behind the eye of the hook

STEP 10

• Apply Natural Dubbing to thread and dub a generous thorax

STEP 11

• Pull remaining portion of wing material over thorax and tie down behind the hook eye

STEP 12

• Trim excess wing material. Whip finish and trim thread

STEP 13

• Trim legs to length. Remember - to ensure adequate leg action - longer is better than too short

STEP 14

• After fly is completed, the section of wing material covering the thorax can be coated with epoxy to provide a durable, shiny shellback

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Wing Sheet Caddis

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Cutter Set

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Go to:
Caddis Wing Cutters

Wing Sheet Caddis tying instructions

MATERIALS

• Hook - Standard length Dry Fly hook (Sizes 8-18)
• Thread - Tan 8/0
• Body - Dubbing -  tan or brown
• Hackle - Stripped brown hackle stem
• Wing - River Wing®material from River Road Creations

STEP 1

• Cut Wing material using appropriate size Caddis wing cutters and clip from sheet
• Place hook in vise
• Attach thread to hook
• Wind thread to a point just above the hook barb
• Tie in small hackle, shiny side facing the rear

STEP 2

• Apply dubbing to thread
• Take 2 turns of dubbing behind hackle stem
• Dub a thin body, tapering from rear to front
• Remove excess dubbing; be sure to leave plenty of head room

STEP 3

• Wind hackle forward in open spirals
• Tie hackle off at end of body
• Trim excess hackle

STEP 4

• If stripped hackle-stem antennae are desired, add now; antennae should be at least the length of the body

STEP 5

• Fold wing material in half, lengthwise, forming a tent-shaped wing

STEP 6

• Place folded wing over body, making sure the wing extends beyond the butt end of the body
• Tie down at head
• Trim excess wing material from head, being careful not to cut antennae

STEP 7

• Attach hackle over tie-in point and wind 2-3 turns
• Wind thread forward 2-3 turns
• Tie off hackle and trim excess
• Lift antennae and make 2 turns underneath
• Whip-finish and trim thread
• Arrange antennae as desired; antennae can be curled using the end of thumbnail
• Apply head cement
• Trim hackle on bottom, if desired, to produce a flush-floating fly

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