3 Tips for Tying Streamers: Expert Advice from Jordan of The Fly Dungeon
From : theflydungeon
Meet Jordan, a passionate fly fisherman and streamer tying expert from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Growing up near legendary waters like the Letort and the Susquehanna River, Jordan’s journey into the world of fly fishing began at an early age. What started as a hobby evolved into a full-blown obsession with tying streamers, especially after a life-changing encounter with a professor who introduced him to the magic of streamer fishing. Today, Jordan runs The Fly Dungeon, a growing business where he crafts and sells streamers, helping anglers across the country land trophy fish. In this interview, Jordan shares his experiences, tips for beginners, and the future of his fly tying business
Jordan, what are your top 3 tips for beginners looking to get started with tying streamers?
Practice the areas that need improvement. This seems obvious, but I see so many people asking for help on deer hair heads. Get a bare hook, tie on some dumbbell eyes, and just tie deer hair heads if that is where your skill is lacking. I would sit down at night and tie a dungeon head, cut it off, and repeat on the shame bare hook. Why spend the time to tie the whole fly only to have the head be subpar and ruin the effort put into the whole fly.
Tie in bulk and lay out your material ahead of time. Tie 6-12 of the same pattern at one time. Lay out all the material for each fly and tie in an assembly line fashion. When I started production tying I realized this is a major benefit to keeping flies consistent and regulating the quality of the material being used in the fly.
Be picky with your material selection. I try to buy the best marabou I can, but I still cull out 30-50% of a package because it is not up to my standard to make it into a fly. You may be able to save a rough looking piece of marabout for wrapping a collar, but don’t let that piece be used for an over wing. Being picky with material quality is the easiest way to improve the look of your streamers.
About Jordan:
Jordan, how did you first get into fly fishing, and what inspired you to start tying streamers?
I grew up in Carlisle Pennsylvania with access to some of the famous creeks in that area. The Letort was one of those creeks that you always heard the lore of 20” plus wild browns sipping hoppers from the crystal clear water. Names like Charles Fox, Ed Shank, and Vincent Marinaro were common to hear when you would ask any old timer for advice along the bank of the Letort. With so many fly fishing greats coming out of that area it felt like throwing dry flies was just what you had to do to catch the large, spooky wild browns.
I was fortunate enough to have another great fishery in that area, the Susquehanna River, which has some of the best smallmouth fishing on the east coast. I switched from the 5 weights and Letort hoppers to throwing bait casters from jet boats chasing smallmouth from Williamsport to Harrisburg. I ran into one of my college professors on the river throwing small crawfish flies and clousers for smallmouth. The longer I watched the more I realized he was catching double the fish I was with my spinning gear and looked to be having twice the fun because of using fly gear. This sent me down a spiral of gathering information on streamer fishing and streamer tying.
Can you share your journey in learning how to tie streamers and any challenges you faced along the way?
I moved to the central Pennsylvania area shortly into my streamer obsession. I met a coworker who was showing me pictures of 20” brown trout he was catching on our local waters and asked him for advice. He pointed me in the direction of Kelly Galloup and that’s where the tying obsession began. I bought a mini dungeon tying kit off of Kelly’s website and tied my first 6 articulated streamers. I gave a few of those mini dungeons to the coworker for feedback and he asked me to tie him up another 6 in various other colors. I fell in love with the art of tying big, articulated streamers. The amount you can tweak a pattern, blend colors, and put your own artistic spin on larger flies is why I love tying streamers.
The hardest part from moving from tying nymphs and dry flies to streamers tying ability and fly design. You realize that your basics of thread control, proportions, and other basic aspects of tying weren’t as good as you thought when you were packing deer hair heads and tying a fly that is 7” long compared to a size 16 frechie. I had to go back and really focus on the basics of fly tying at the beginning of tying streamers. Tying streamers is far different than nymphs in the fly design aspect as well. You need a streamer to swim, sink, glide, and breathe in the water compared to a nymph that sinks fast and looks like a bug.
What led you to create your business selling flies, and what has been the most rewarding part of that journey?
I never could have imagined I would be where I am today selling flies to guides, and fishermen all over the country. I was recently a single dad to my daughter who was two years old. I no longer could fish anytime I wanted, but I had a lot of free time at home with her at night to tie flies. I had a stockpile of streamers that I wasn’t using and began to give them out to coworkers and fishing buddies. Before long I had more and more people approaching me to buy flies locally. I decided to make an Etsy page for the sheer fact I could direct people to the site instead of spending half an hour sending pictures of what I could tie.
It’s been three years, thousands of orders, and a lot of memories later and I still love tying flies for other fishermen. My favorite part of selling flies is getting pictures and stories from customers using my flies. Having a full time job, being a dad, and tying flies leaves little time to get out on the water as much as I would want. That itch is filled when I get a message about the catch of a lifetime using one of my dungeons, or get tagged in a post from one of the guides I supply showing a kid holding a monster rainbow.
What do you find most rewarding about creating your own streamers versus buying them from a shop?
I think anyone that ties their own flies can agree that a fish eating a fly that came off your vice is far more rewarding than a fly bought from a shop. Tying streamers that feeling is amplified. My favorite pattern to tie and fish is the sex dungeon. I realized very early on that making small changes to a fly can make it swim, and look completely different in the water. I don’t pack hair behind the eyes of my dungeon I use a dubbing collar to cut down on weight and add a bit of color contrast when stripping back a dungeon. I also do a complex twist of paler chenille and rooster saddle for the body of my dungeons. These changes have been refined over years of tying one pattern and fishing it day after day.
How do you choose the right streamer pattern for different fishing conditions and species, especially when designing flies for your customers?
I have a lot of customers who will approach me just starting their journey into streamer fishing. I would say the majority of my work is making the streamer I’m tying fit the current gear they have. Most guys getting into streamer fishing don’t have the money for a dedicated streamer set up right away. So if they have a 5 weight I’ll tie the head a little sparser on a mini dungeon, recommend weighted flies that they can use with their floating line, and make the streamers work best for their current gear. If someone is going on a trip to an area they know nothing about I will reach out to a guide in the area and see what is fishing well and what they recommend for my customer. That is always a great choice because I can pass along the guide's information to my customer knowing they will be in the same area.
What are your future plans for The Fly Dungeon, and how do you see your business evolving in the next few years?
I think the biggest change in the future of The Fly Dungeon will be outward exposure. I have a wonderful girlfriend in my life who fully supports my goals and a great family around me. I wasn’t able to go to tying events, have booths at shows, and travel because of having a young daughter and the responsibilities of being a dad. With her growing up and being able to be more independent and the support of the people around me helping me with raising her I have time to go to shows in the near future. It’s hard to set up a booth and do a two day event when you have a three year old behind the booth all day. She’s at the age now where a weekend at the grandparents or sitting behind the booth handing out her flies to kids at shows means the world to her. I hope to meet many more people in the industry and fellow fly fisherman in the years to come with being able to attend more shows and events.
to check out his streamers hit the link below 👇
https://theflydungeon.etsy.com
And go give him a floow on instagram 👇
Instagram @theflydungeon