My Rant -- Fly Tying Videos

[ddb]

I refuse to watch anymore videos by tyers who :

-- blather about one pattern for over 10 minutes. The rest is ego tripping blather and hucksterism for products.

-- wear a dark shirt against which you can see no features of the materials

-- fondle the materials like they are some holy relic

-- have to go looking for materials

-- do critical material prep off camera

-- finally say and "And now I have to get this wet to see how it works".

I needed to do that!

ddb




--

 

[dennyk]

Give these videos a try.

Fly Tying Videos | Video Fly Tying Instructions & Fly Patterns - Orvis

Denny

 

[karstopo]

I almost always mute the audio as to avoid any commentary or distracting music and fast forward through much of it. I don’t care about watching the hook being put in the vise or how he or she whip finishes. There might be one or two steps in the whole shebang that I’m interested in and those portions I’ll watch repeatedly if needed.

 

[chief17]

Agreed. I'm also turned off when whatever alcoholic beverage the person is drinking is prominently displayed and show cased. I'm not a prude and don't have any issue with alcohol. I just don't care about what you're drinking. Just tie the friggin fly.

 

[osseous]

Wow- gotten a little spoiled, haven't we? I remember trying to learn a fly from a simple, single image of the finished fly and the ordered pattern of materials. Which I either a) couldn't afford, or b) simply didn't have a clue where to find. Learning to cast was about the biggest mystery on planet earth before some guy named Kreh spent some time with me at a casting pond one day-

These are the good old days. Enjoy them.

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[sparsegraystubble]

Wow- gotten a little spoiled, haven't we? I remember trying to learn a fly from a simple, single image of the finished fly and the ordered pattern of materials. Which I either a) couldn't afford, or b) simply didn't have a clue where to find. Learning to cast was about the biggest mystery on planet earth before some guy named Kreh spent some time with me at a casting pond one day-

These are the good old days. Enjoy them.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

I’m with you, including a lesson from Lefty Kreh as a teen that opened my eyes.

I remember Walt Dette talking about how secret everything was when he started tying. He talked about dissecting flies tied by others (I think Rube Cross was one of them) to learn how they were constructed.

I agree that some videos could be better, but they are available. I spent too much time going back and forth from blurry black & white photos in books to ever complain about the videos I can get now with just a keystroke.

Guess we are allo different.

Don

 

[old timer]

You can always learn from books. Books don't talk.

 

[spm]

Give these videos a try.

Fly Tying Videos | Video Fly Tying Instructions & Fly Patterns - Orvis

Denny

I agree with ddb; get it together before you start. I also agree with Denny; I think Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions, makes the most professional videos on the internet. Tim is very articulate; no "Uhm", "And" or "You know"s in the commentary. No wagging bearded chin in the background, clean and well trimmed fingernails. Maybe I'm too particular, but I was in business and was involved in photo shoots, so these things jump out at me as unprofessional.

Thanks,
steve

 

[old timer]

Trimmed fingernails?

I'm sorry but that's too picky.

 

[flytie09]

I agree with osseouss. I learned fly tying from a small 20 page book that came with my fly tying kit where all of the pics were in black and white. Years and years and years ago you only had hand drawn illustrations with instructions written in Old English. Or no reference illustration at all.........

So we're maybe a little spoiled by the access to the amazing things we have with just a few clicks. And maybe we're a little too quick to be hyper critical about things online because we can do so without fallout. If you were watching a demo in person.......would you be as quick to do so face to face with the tyer? I think not.

Are all fly tying videos the greatest? No.....but hey...people are doing it because the love the sport and they're free. Everyone can improve. I'm appreciative of anyone that is brave enough to do a video.

But I do agree....there are little pointers people can use to do a quality tying video. No music, have materials prepped and laid out, don't ramble on and on, be aware of lighting, angle and your background color. Pretty simple concepts......but hey...I've never done one either.

On Youtube, we can mute the sound, freeze frame, and even ask questions to the tyer all from the comfort of your basement while eating Cheetos in your underpants. Things that were unheard of 30+ years ago....... I think we still had Cheetos 30 years ago.

A 1st World problem I would say.

It's good to get things off our chest sometimes though.......

 

[pheldozer]

between flagler/flyfishfood/davy wotton, i haven't found the need to look elsewhere yet.

 

[spm]

A 1st World problem I would say.

Definitely a first world problem. Thank you for bringing it into perspective, flytie09.

And, yes, maybe I am too particular. I may have heard that a time or two, over the years. That's just me.

steve

 

[boisker]

I remember my mother saying when I was a kid...
“if you’re going to moan, do it somewhere else”....
:yawn:

 

[Acheron]

ddb you make some good points. I do appreciate when they fondle the materials like they are some holy relic though.

And...nothing wrong with expecting clean fingernails! This isn't how to rebuild a transmission

Mute is ok, but quality videos have quality audio that is very useful and provides tips on the material selection, usage, and technique(s)

I look for the videos based on length of the video. Unless it's a difficult tie with a lot of materials, it shouldn't be more than 3-5 minutes.

If the video is long, or droning on, do as karstopo says and fast forward to what you need to see.

 

[ia_trouter]

I'm weird I guess. I enjoy the free fly tying lessons, and I'll put up with a few imperfections in their attempt at entertaining me, or passing the time while they spin thread. I've learned a few dozen killer patterns off youtube and it cost me exactly nothing. I find some of them very personable, and gravitate toward their channel if they have good tying skills.

 

[old timer]

ddb......I assume the bearded face in the background is Charlie Craven you're talking about. I consider him one of the top fly tyers and I can overlook the beard, It only shows sometimes but his knowledge and skills are unmatched. He gives lot's of little tips most guys never figure out on their own.

For those who haven't watched him. Here he is showing a proper way to tie the Parachute Adams.

YouTube

 

[karstopo]

Videos, at least for me, even bad ones, are far better than books for really getting just how a material is being handled on the fly. That might be just how I learn, though, because I can fix anything if there's a YouTube on it, but give me a manual and I'm lost nine times of out ten. I find repair and construction manuals particularly frustrating and maddening. I'd be totally happy if fly tying videos never had any audio at all as all the commentary just distracts from what is actually being done. A material list is nice, but I can often figure out what's being used by looking at it.

It was the same to learn how to fly cast, though. I read books on casting by Lefty Kreh and others and they made no sense, but watching a video of him or Chico Fernandez or Bill Gammel casting makes perfect sense. It's probably some learning disability on my part, but then a lot of folks can't watch a video and then repeat what was done in that.

Videos demonstrating a skill or procedure, even less than optimal ones, are great and I appreciate that someone took the time to put it together, even if it isn't "professional" and they like to show off their beer, dirty finger nails, or whatever.

 

[runningfish]

Although I only tie 1 or 2 patterns, I love to watch them videos but my rant is when the camera is coming in and out of focus every time they are moving their hands. They look amateurish.
Just set it on manual focus and lock it folks.

 

[osseous]

I recall Sunday afternoons in the 70's- anxiously waiting for American Sportsman to come on the tube. That song..."Follow meeeeee..." And PRAYING they were going flyfishing! Then sitting on the floor, just a few feet from the screen- afraid to blink and miss a single moment. There was no replay- no second chance to catch some little thing that might help my cast, or inform me of just what the "pros" were doing on the "real" trout streams of the world. It was the most important hour of my week- and I was, more often than not, disappointed to learn that Curt Gowdy was hunting someplace!? Dammit! Stupid musk ox! Who the hell hunts musk ox?!

When I did get to see them cast- immediately after the show was over, I would grab my Eagle Claw and rush out to the back yard and practice what I thought I had seen them do- right up til dark. Sometimes standing knee deep in the NH snow- my neighbor watching with his pipe and his plaid mackinaw. He was a fly fisherman and a hunter- and he'd been watching Curt Gowdy. He knew I had the disease- and that I'd be out there freezing my ass off~




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[bumble54]

You can always learn from books. Books don't talk.

How I learned, simple line drawings too, no photographs. Oh dear I'm getting a touch of nostalgia for more simple times.