Now that you’re squared away with the right fly tying tools and materials (and if you’re not, be sure to check out our primer on tools and materials for beginning tyers), it’s time to get to work and start tying. As you begin to experiment with your first patterns and develop your skills, small tips and tricks can make big differences in your precision and efficiency and, ultimately, the quality of the flies you tie.

When Hurricane Maria tore through the Caribbean in September 2017 as a category 5 storm, it destroyed livelihoods, infrastructure, and entire ecosystems. On the small island of Vieques, east of Puerto Rico, coastal mangrove forests were buffered from the initial onslaught of wind and seemed to survive. But after several months, huge numbers of trees died, leaving the coast more vulnerable to flooding and erosion from future storms.