Fly tying is a natural adjunct to fly fishing. Although countless fly rodders fish successfully all their lives without learning how to do it or even attempting to, many do, for a variety of reasons, make at least some of their flies. Here in the north, probably as good a reason as any for doing so, is that it's a way to extend fishing pleasure even into long February evenings.

All fly fishers should own at least a few dry flies and here are step by step instructions for tying the dry black gnat, a standard pattern and a good early season producer on Wisconsin streams and ponds.

It's a durable, buggy looking morsel that's relatively easy to construct and can also be made in other colors such as brown gnat, gray gnat, etc. for times when fish seem interested in insects of a different hue.

You will need some dry fly quality black hackle fibers for a tail, small black chenille for the body, two gray hackle feather tips for wings, two dry fly grade black rooster neck feathers for shoulder hackle, some 000 black nylon fly tying thread, fly head cement and a size 12, 2X fine wire dry fly hook.

Clamp the hook in a vise so that the jaws grasp the lower part of the bend and the shank extends to your right and parallel to the table top. A hook can be cracked or broken by squeezing it's point in the vise, so be sure point and barb are visible.

Using a toothpick, coat the hook shank with cement. Fasten the thread near the hook eye by wrapping it over itself for a few turns and then winding over and away from yourself, spiral it closely along the hook shank to a point just above the barb and half-hitch. Cement the half-hitch and coat the winding with cement. This makes a base so the rest of the material can be fastened securely. Without this the completed fly will slip and turnaround the hook.

Select about fifteen stiff glossy fibers from a wide black rooster neck feather and tie them directly on top of where the thread was half-hitched by making two wraps of thread around the fibers and hook, pull straight down to tighten and half-hitch. This is the tail. It should be sitting on top of the hook projecting out the rear, and be as long as the hook itself. Cement this half-hitch, being careful not to get any on the tail fibers.

All winding must be done over and away from you. In this way each operation serves to tighten the fly. Winding first one way and then another will result in a loose fly that can come apart in service.

Next cutoff about three inches of chenille. You won't use all this but it will give room to grasp while winding. Prepare this by scraping the fuzz off one end with your thumb nail so only the thread is left and tie it on the hook shank directly above the barb by wrapping thread over the scraped part and half hitching. Cement this half-hitch and wind the thread along the hook to a spot half way between the point and the eye, half-hitch and cement.

Select two gray hackle feathers with matching tips for wings and place them on edge on top of the hook with their convex sides together and the tips projecting out past the hook eye about two thirds the length of the shank. make two wraps of thread around them and the hook, pull straight down to tighten and half-hitch. Now lift the wings upright and check for size. They should be roughly the length of the hook shank and the tops even. You can adjust them at this time by pulling on the tips or butts.

If satisfactory, hold the tips upright and make several turns of thread ahead of and tight up against their base to hold them in position, half-hitch and cement. Now take a couple of thread wraps about a sixteenth of an inch in back of the wings and over the feather butts, pull down to tighten and half-hitch. Cut off the excess feather butts and cement this half-hitch.

Next, wind the chenille forward with each wrap tight against the last, over the cut off wing butts to where the thread is half-hitched, make two thread loops over the chenille, pull straight down to tighten and half-hitch. Cutoff the excess chenille and cement the half-hitch.

Select two black rooster neck feathers with stiff glossy fibers for shoulder hackle. The fibers should be from one and a half to two times as long as the hook gap and as web free as possible. Stroke the fibers downwards to make them stand out from the stem, then cut the soft webby fibers from the butts, leaving a row of stubble on each side of the stems.

Holding the feathers back to back (with the concave sides out) place them alongside the hook, parallel to the hook shank, with the trimmed stems beside the wing base and the tips to your left. Take two loops of thread around the stems and the hook back of the wings, then two loops around the stems and hook ahead of and close to the wings, pull down to tighten, half-hitch, cement and cut off excess stems.

Next grasp one feather tip with your fingers or a hackle pliers and wind it on edge around the hook two or three turns in back of the wings and a turn or two in front until the feather is used up, then fasten the tip to the hook ahead of the wings with two thread winds and a half-hitch. Cement the half-hitch and repeat the process with the second feather.

Dry fly hackle should be wound on a bias to give a sawbuck effect. It acts as the fly's legs and if wound in this fashion and dipped in fly floatant will along with the tail, support the fly high even in rough water. Then too, it doesn't obscure the fly’s body and wings from the fish's vision as much as hackle wound tight together at right angles to the hook shank.

Now make several wraps of thread between the hackle and the hook eye to cover the severed hackle tips and finish off the head with four or five half-hitches or a whip finish, cut the thread and saturate the head with cement. Be sure the hook eye is clear, then tie several more while the operations are fresh in your mind. Each one will get progressively better.

You have just learned to tie a classic dry fly. By changing hackle, tail and wing colors and body material, you can now tie any standard dry fly pattern following the same procedure.

Fly tying chenille, hackle feathers, hooks and fly tying thread are available at most fishing tackle stores. If your dealer doesn't stock them, he should be able to get them for you in a short time.