The Essential Flytier a product of OutdoorSoft, the company formed by DoodleBytes founder Daniel Steward and his partner Jan Beaver, is a unique multimedia flytying instructional CD-ROM. Unlike other flytying instructional materials, which are essentially videos dumped onto CD or DVD, The Essential Flytier is a full-featured program built on sound instructional design principles.

The Essential Flytier helps you learn how to tie flies by providing video and step-by-step text instructions, materials information, and a virtual-reality view of the fly you are tying.

Key features of The Essential Flytier:

• Point-of-view camera angle for all tying videos
• Virtual-reality panel with full 360-degree rotation of the current pattern at each step and zoom-in/out capability
• Stop, start, replay, and shuttle controls for all videos
• Technique videos illustrate key skills, including whip-finishing, hair stacking, and hackle preparation
• A wealth of information about each material, tool, and pattern
• Single CD runs on both Windows and Mac computers
• System Requirements

The Essential Flytier Pattern tab contains the Virtual-reality (VR) Panel. The VR Panel shows you the selected pattern in various stages of completion. At each step, you can rotate the fly 360 degrees so you can see exactly how that step, and the fly to that point, is constructed. It's just like picking up a fly at the flyshop and giving it an all-around look — except that you can give it that look at every tying stage. The VR panel also allows you to zoom in for a detailed view of a specific part of the fly, drag the zoomed image to a different position inside the VR Panel, and select the next or previous tying step.

The Essential Flytier User Guide is available here in two formats:
HTML
PDF

The Flybox tab shows you the patterns for which The Essential Flytier provides tying instructions. Click the pattern you want to tie and the instruction tab automatically loads all the information for that pattern.

Click the thumbnail below to see a full-sized image of The Essential Flytier Flybox tab.

The Essential Flytier, Volume I

The patterns The Essential Flytier, Volume I shows you how to tie are:

The Video and Text panels provide detailed video and complete instructions for the step you have selected. The Materials/Tools Panel shows the materials and tools required to tie the current pattern.

Click the thumbnail below to see a full-sized image of The Essential Flytier Pattern tab.

The Essential Flytier, Volume I

The Essential Flytier, Volume I focuses on classic dry flies every trout flybox should contain. The Essential Flytier shows you every detail of each pattern, helping you learn how to tie these patterns certainly, but more than that you also learn the techniques that you can use to tie hundreds of other classic patterns as well.

The patterns The Essential Flytier, Volume I shows you how to tie are:

• Adams
• Blue-winged Olive
• Elk-hair Caddis
• Griffith's Gnat
• Hare's Ear Parachute
• Humpy
• Pale Morning Dun
• Red Quill
• Renegade
• Royal Wulff (natural calftail wing)

And as a special bonus, The Essential Flytier, Volume I also includes complete instructions for tying these additional patterns:

• Hare's Ear Nymph
• Royal Wulff (synthetic wing)

The Essential Flytier, Volume II

The Essential Flytier, Volume II focuses on classic nymphs every trout flybox should contain. The Essential Flytier shows you every detail of each pattern, helping you learn how to tie these patterns certainly, but more than that you also learn the techniques that you can use to tie hundreds of other classic patterns as well.

The patterns The Essential Flytier, Volume II shows you how to tie are:

• AP Nymph
• Bitch Creek
• Brassie
• Brooks' Stone
• Girdle Bug
• Hare's Ear Stonefly
• Muskrat Nymph
• Pheasant-tail Nymph
• Prince Nymph
• Tellico Nymph
• WD-40
• Zug Bug

And as a special bonus, The Essential Flytier, Volume II also includes bonus instructions:

• Add a bead head to any Nymph

DoodleCAD is a Universal Binary. To learn more about universal binaries visit Apples Universal Page.

You can also download DoodleCAD from CNET's Download.com site.

Buy DoodleCAD before version 2 ships for only $54.95 and get a free upgrade to version 2.