A question to those who don't tie...

[wee hooker]

I still tie ( and enjoy it) but limit my tying to Warm and Salt water flies in the #8 and above range these days as my eyes aren't as good as they were. Besides, many trout /smaller flies can be purchased for less than $7/doz these days. It makes justifying the buying the materials for and going through hassle of tying tiny stuff hard.

 

[smoke33]

As a bowhunter I know many guys like to fletch their own arrows. Me, tried it, wasn’t my thing. I thought about getting into tying and even gave it a small try recently but just don’t see me getting into it. Maybe at some point that will change.


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[fredaevans]

I still tie ( and enjoy it) but limit my tying to Warm and Salt water flies in the #8 and above range these days as my eyes aren't as good as they were. Besides, many trout /smaller flies can be purchased for less than $7/doz these days. It makes justifying the buying the materials for and going through hassle of tying tiny stuff hard.

Exactly for me too; tied my own for years ... now I haven't tied for years. Boxes of the things that have never seen water; probably never will.

fae

 

[wwpool]

if its a big streamer patter i usually buy

 

[trout stalker]

I just don't have the time.

 

[smoke33]

I responded to this back in June and nothing has changed. I have no desire to learn to tie. Maybe that will change someday.
I still enjoy and appreciate all the work that guys post here of the flies they tie.


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[wwpool]

time is also a factor.. sometimes just don't have time to tie

 

[mtboiler]

I use to tie a lot more variety of flies. I now tie two main flies, a stimmi and a wire nymph in two colors each, one light and one dark, in 3 sizes each. Frankly, because I use those two flies 90% of the time or more. I now tie about 200 flies in the winter and than do what I call subsistence tying during the summer time. If I notice a size getting low in my box I sit at the vise and knock out a few. Some times in the morning before I head out I might try a slight modification to the original pattern, but I always seem to tie on the original first. Last summer I made a small modification that I liked and ended up giving away a bunch of flies. By bunch, I mean may be 50 flies. I have two sets of boxes, one for hiking and one for wade/floating. The hiking box, yes box, has probably less than 100 flies in it. The two river boxes have probably 200 flies each.

 

[bigal36]

As a newb, I had no interest in tying flies until I learned how to use them.

Last month I made the decision to learn how to tie....WOW! What a rabbit hole.

Am focused on one pattern and a dozen attempts per. I am really fortunate to have two fly shops within 10 minutes of each other, with one offering high quality materials and insights. One shop offers group lessons, which I am signed up to attend.

I told my wife that after an initial investment of $500, I should be good to go, spending little more than $100 per year. (She thought it would be great if I could sell them on E-bay. Made it clear this is a hobby....no tangible return on investment, other than pleasure.)

The goal is to learn how to tie the patterns that work on my river. Articulated streamers may not be on the menu for me....time will tell.

 

[Redrock]

I buy flies for three reasons: 1) to support a shop in an area new to me; 2) to serve as a pattern; 3) I’m out and desperate.

Otherwise, I fish my own flies. As I was learning I found a strong correlation between catching and tying — think the late great Gary LaFontaine and his seminal work Caddisflies. As I read the book, I tied his patterns. The same would be true for Caucci and Nastasi’s Hatches.

I tie patterns which immitate specific stages of specific hatches. For the typical mayfly hatch I may have in my box weighted nymphs, unweighted nymphs, emergers, cripples, sparkleduns, comparaduns, thorax duns, hackled duns and rusty spinners, all in a couple of different colors. I’d go broke doing this buying flies. I don’t even want to talk about all the different patterns for attractors, streamers and terrestrials.

One could say I am fly obsessed. I typically only fish a couple of different patterns during a hatch — not six or seven. During a mayfly hatch I catch the vast majority of my fish on a sparkledun fished in the film. I tie all those flies because I enjoy tying. And, there are times on tough water when a greenish yellow, as opposed to grayish watery yellow, Quigley really “is” the only killing pmd pattern!

 

[Meadowlark]

Time...more valuable than money. I'd rather spend my free time fishing or preparing to go fishing than setting at a vise. I still occasionally tie up specialty flies I can't readily purchase but that is very rare these days.

 

[Cathyklien11]

it is expensive

 

[viggysmalls]

I rarely tie my own, and it is a combination of the first and third option probably. I find I needed a good chunk of free time to sit down and tie, which was hard to come by in the first place. I also find that, since my tying sessions are so far apart, I always seem to have to re-learn basic things and end up spending most of the time watching youtube videos, which makes it even less motivating to sit down at the vice. Every once and a while the urge strikes and I'll tie up a few simple patterns.

 

[yikes]

I would like to tie more, but spend a lot of time at my job staring at computer screens and plans. Frankly, my eyes are tired at the end of the day.

thus, it becomes a cost-benefit decision: I'll mostly tie a few flies that are quick and easy, and that I otherwise lose a lot - -mainly midges and PTNs.

 

[CWFlies]

I tie all my own but most of the people I talk to its either no time or eye site or a combo of those 2. Of course many of my buddies don't tie because they know I will tie for them even if their boxes are already full.

 

[kayo]

Why tie if you got Hairwing530. :thumbsup:

 

[strmanglr scott]

I tie my own.

I bought a couple flies about a decade ago, they're still in my box. I bought a couple this last June because I ran out of time, we had an incident at work and I had to go in early the day I was gonna finish up my tying. They were stimulators and they're kind of a pita to tie to me. They will probably sit in there like the other ones I purchased.

I have a hard time tying on a purchased fly when I have so many of my own.