News & Events
CJTU Fly Tying School 2024!
Open for Enrollment
Part 1: Saturday, February 10, 2024
Part 2: Saturday February 17, 2024
10:00 to 3:00 PM
Beginners Fly Tying Class
This is our entry-level class for the person just getting started in fly tying or who has very little experience. We will cover the basic tools, techniques and materials necessary to tie a variety of basic flies, concentrating on patterns that work well on local rivers and streams.
Learn to do things “right from the start” from our excellent instructors who are some of the best in the East. Techniques are taught in a sequence that continually builds competence. Our instructors watch you and make sure you are doing things right. Further, we will provide a quality vice, tools, hooks and all materials or you can bring your own. Finally, we provide a manual with summarized tying descriptions for each pattern plus a reference to a web video we believe is the best for that pattern.
Intermediate Class
This class is for the intermediate tier who has acquired the basic skills in handling tools and materials either by previously taking a beginners course and/or tying flies regularly for a year or two.
While our Beginners Classes are the same from year to year, our Intermediate Class constantly evolves. New patterns, techniques and materials introduced by tiers through-out the world are monitored, and the best ones that mesh with the skill set of the intermediate tier are selected. Thus the class remains interesting to past attendees and also to those who have never taken it before. Students must bring their own vise and tools, some materials will be provided.
The cost for all classes is $50.00. To register or ask questions contact us at cjtutying@cjtu.org. Please register early so CJTU can plan ahead to make your course a success.
Fly tying classes will be held in the American Legion Hall, 137 New Market Road, Dunellen, NJ 08812
This course is open to members and nonmembers. We welcome anyone who has an interest in the sport of Fly Fishing or Fly Tying.
Our courses are taught in a relaxed atmosphere of camaraderie. We feel that with the patient, guiding help of our instructors, everyone will finish the course with a good working knowledge of how to tie flies.
Please remember to bring a light for your vise, lighting conditions in the building might not be as bright as you may like.
The Fly Fishing Show
January 26 - 28
New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center
97 Sunfield Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837-3810
As we do every year, we will have our booth set up at the Fly Fishing Show. We will be needing volunteers to help man the booth for the 3 day period.
Fly of the Month
Flower Petal Perdiworm
Tied by Bill Ninke
Ten years ago, seeing someone using euro nymphing techniques and accompanying flies on the stream was unusual. Now it is quite common. This evolution has been driven by results from International Angling Competitions. Most fishing time in these Competitions is spent nymphing due to time of occurrence of the events and accompanying river conditions. Members of the Spanish Team wanted nymphs that quickly reached and stayed on the bottom layer of a stream after being cast. Trout hold there under the usual event conditions so more time spent where the trout are meant more chances of an “eat” and more caught fish per unit time, the competition goal. To achieve the fast sinking and deep holding, they created Perdi nymphs. These have oversized tungsten beads up front on small hooks and little else to impede fast sinking. Perdi is Spanish for pellet.
To me the many Perdi nymphs now described in articles and videos use many material and color variations but look pretty much the same in silhouette. Once in a while a new design stands out as significantly different and this month’s pattern is one of these. The original concept come from ”Cheece” Clark, co-owner with Curtis Fry of two brick and mortar fly shops, an extensive on-line shop, a blog, and a youtube channel. He wanted to merge the effectiveness of worm flies with the Perdi concept. He did this by using a large slotted tungsten bead up front on a size 12, 90 degree jig hook with a bunch of Flexifloss fibers as a tail, the fibers representing a cluster of worms. You can find his original presentation in his blog entry at https://www.flyfishfood.com/blogs/euro-nymph-tutorials/the-perdiworm which also contains a link to his original video. The long shank hook he used required a thread body and rib to complete the pattern.
I tied and fished his original design. And it caught fish. But I didn’t like the way the flexifloss fibers clung together. So I tried different tying techiques to get the fibers to radiate out separately with even spacing. The solution to my quest finally came when I switched to medium rubber leg fibers that come in strips with the fibers attached. I separated out a three leg strip, cut off two short sections, and tied one of these sections on each side of the hook with really tight turns on both once they were attached. Only then did I further separate the legs. Voila! I had the evenly spaced separated wavy legs I wanted, just like the petals on a daisy.
I then went for further simplifications. Short shank 60 degree jig hooks are now available. And a large slotted bead leaves little tying length along the shank of such a hook. The tie in of the legs is very short so by using only a size 14 hook I needed only a little taper of thread behind the bead to complete the fly. No need for long thread body and rib that “Cheece” used. Besides the hook, bead and thread, it now became a one material fly. Recently I found silicone legs in attached strips on a Chinese web site. I bought some and now prefer them to the rubber legs since they are more translucent. They come in solid colors and also with markings.(Yeah, we should be supporting our local shops but they don’t yet carry these legs). But if you are foreign source offended, rubber legs work just fine. Silli legs come in strips too so I suspect you can also use these although I haven’t yet tried. I recommend fishing this Perdiworm as a single or as the tail fly with another Perdi nymph as the dropper. Bass and bluegills like this pattern too.
Rubber, sili and silicone legs, threads and beads all come in a wide variety of colors so you have many coloring options. I’m partial to fluorescent threads and metallic finished beads that match the legs color. But that’s not a rule. I’ve done best with red, pink, and purple tone flies and the photo shows red ones with both the solid and marked silicone legs. So tie up a few combinations of your own choosing and stash them in your fly box. When you open the box the sight of all the waving legs will provoke a smile and make you eager to pick one of the flies to fish.
Click here for the recipe!
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