An
artificial fly or
fly lure is a type of
fishing lure, usually used in the sport of
fly fishing (although they may also be used in other forms of angling). In general, artificial flies are an imitation of natural food sources which fly fishers present to their of fish while fly fishing. Artificial flies are constructed by
fly tying, in which
furs,
feathers,
thread or any of very many other materials are tied onto a
fish hook. Artificial flies may be constructed to represent all manner of potential
freshwater and
saltwater fish
prey to include
aquatic and
terrestrial insects,
crustaceans,
worms,
baitfish,
vegetation,
flesh,
spawn, small
reptiles,
amphibians,
mammals and
birds, etc. Effective artificial fly patterns are said to be
killing flies because of their ability to put fish in the
creel for the fly fisher. There are thousands of artificial fly patterns, many of them with descriptive and often idiosyncratic names.