Record of flies tied, logs, etc

[78644GaDawg 0]

Hi, I’m new to fly tying and want to keep a record of the flies I tie. I would think you would want to know the materials used. Would you want to document what steps you took to tie it?

Are there “logs” that anyone else uses that can be shared to get ideas for my log book?

Are there any templates out there?

How do you keep track of the flies you have tied so they can be repeated?

Thanks in advance

[Mark Knapp 0]

No, I just want to tie flies. There will be someone with something like what you want though.

[SilverCreek 0]

What you are talking about is a fly tying pattern.

There are books of fly pattern but these days you can just look up a pattern using a Google search.

For example, look up a parachute adams and you will find:

https://www.google.com/search?q=parachute+adams+fly+pattern&sca_esv=

[78644GaDawg 0]

1 minute ago, SilverCreek said:

What you are talking about is a fly tying pattern.

There are books of fly pattern but these days you can just look up a pattern using a Google search.

For example, look up a parachute adams and you will find:

https://www.google.com/search?q=parachute+adams+fly+pattern&sca_esv=

Not really. I want a record of the ones I tied, not someone else.

[SilverCreek 0]

Why not just look at your fly boxes of your tied flies?

If you don't know the flies, put labels on the fly boxes.

Print out the pattern and put them in a notebook sorted alphabetically with dividers sorted alphabetically.

It really isn't hard. You are not going to tie that many patterns to start and you are not going to fish that many different patterns. Just by looking at the fly, you will be able identify the materials in the fly.

You are making it way more complicated than it has to be.

 

[Poopdeck 0]

Fly tying pattern recipes list the material in the order that the materials are placed on the fly. So it starts with the hook and is generally followed by the thread or possibly a bead, followed by the tail, body, legs, hackle, etc… if you go into the what are you tying today thread you will see many such examples of a recipe in the proper format. As was previously said, there really is no need to keep your own pattern database since it’s already been done a thousand times over and you can pull up any fly you want to tie with a simple google search. I’m a little confused on your answer, are you going to develop nothing but new flies never tied before? If this is true then simply keeping track of materials and placement order in the normal pattern recipe format should suffice. I personally do not keep a database of the  flies I tie because their pattern recipes already exist. I’ve yet to create a fly that is uniquely different from the rest. 

[flytire 0]

you could use a database like fly 2000 shown below

you can also use microsoft excel spreadsheet to document your flytying or even a word document

[niveker 0]

Hey GaDawg, welcome to the site.  

I think its a good idea for a new tyer to keep a log like you're talking about.  I used to do it.  I was never able to find a decent program for it, Fly2000 is no longer available, as far as my searches went. Not sure if there is any other software now a days for it.

So I first started with a simple Word table.  Flies were categorized by type (nymphs, dry, emerger, etc.), then columns for a photo, list of materials or substitutions, and a general 'Notes' column for any special techniques, maybe a link to the source of the pattern, and so on. 

Then I switched to using OneNote, with basically the same set up as the Word table. 

I fell out of the habit, mostly for the reasons stated above.  Once I got halfway decent at tying and gained more experience, I was more or less able to just look a fly and have a pretty good idea of how it was tied.  If not, I'd go look up a recipe, occasionally I'll watch a video for technique.  I never had a problem sub-ing one material for another if the recipe called for something I didn't have, as long as it served the intended purpose, so I don't worry too much about a list of a patterns 'original' materials.    

Now, my record keeping mainly consists of a photo on my computer of any new pattern that I've tied.  

For me, as a beginner, keeping track of what I tied or wanted to tie in a visual format helped, so go for it but I think you'll have to some up with something homegrown, as I don't think there is any decent software available today just for that purpose.  

 

[gillage 0]

There is a FREE app that I use on my desktop that I use to keep track of flies I have tied and flies I want to tie.

I can access it on my desktop and carry it to my fly tying bench on my iPad.

It is all synched so that when I make an changes it all gets updated.

My memory is NOT what it used to be and this helps me a ton. YMMV

Here is a screen shot from my desktop, where I have created a section called Tied Flies, you can see some of the flies in the column on the left.

All my notes are searchable, so if I am looking for a pattern that uses a certain material, they come up in a search of my flies.

You can find more info about OneNote on the web, I keep fly patterns along with links to YouTube tying videos and any other additional notes.

It's super easy to use and easy to add/delete info as needed. Great question.

[niveker 0]

^^👍

[KnottaFly 0]

I don’t know if this will help you or not, but I tie a lot of flies that I see on Facebook that I like the way they look or using a different technique I haven’t used. I’m old school, I write out recipes on index cards with noted techniques such as dubbing loop, etc. I also have a photo record on my phone that automatically puts the date on it so I know the date I tied it. The photo quality isn’t as good as those posted on this forum, but it helps me to know what the name of the fly is and what it looks like. Hope this helps. Like I said, old school.

[78644GaDawg 0]

8 hours ago, Poopdeck said:

Fly tying pattern recipes list the material in the order that the materials are placed on the fly. So it starts with the hook and is generally followed by the thread or possibly a bead, followed by the tail, body, legs, hackle, etc… if you go into the what are you tying today thread you will see many such examples of a recipe in the proper format. As was previously said, there really is no need to keep your own pattern database since it’s already been done a thousand times over and you can pull up any fly you want to tie with a simple google search. I’m a little confused on your answer, are you going to develop nothing but new flies never tied before? If this is true then simply keeping track of materials and placement order in the normal pattern recipe format should suffice. I personally do not keep a database of the  flies I tie because their pattern recipes already exist. I’ve yet to create a fly that is uniquely different from the rest. 

Thank you for the information

[flytire 0]

1 hour ago, niveker said:

Fly2000 is no longer available,

it is if you pm me your email address

i'll have a copy waiting for you 👍👍

[flytire 0]

i tried a log/journal years ago and eventually forgot to make entries. wasted my time

[78644GaDawg 0]

1 hour ago, niveker said:

Hey GaDawg, welcome to the site.  

I think its a good idea for a new tyer to keep a log like you're talking about.  I used to do it.  I was never able to find a decent program for it, Fly2000 is no longer available, as far as my searches went. Not sure if there is any other software now a days for it.

So I first started with a simple Word table.  Flies were categorized by type (nymphs, dry, emerger, etc.), then columns for a photo, list of materials or substitutions, and a general 'Notes' column for any special techniques, maybe a link to the source of the pattern, and so on. 

Then I switched to using OneNote, with basically the same set up as the Word table. 

I fell out of the habit, mostly for the reasons stated above.  Once I got halfway decent at tying and gained more experience, I was more or less able to just look a fly and have a pretty good idea of how it was tied.  If not, I'd go look up a recipe, occasionally I'll watch a video for technique.  I never had a problem sub-ing one material for another if the recipe called for something I didn't have, as long as it served the intended purpose, so I don't worry too much about a list of a patterns 'original' materials.    

Now, my record keeping mainly consists of a photo on my computer of any new pattern that I've tied.  

For me, as a beginner, keeping track of what I tied or wanted to tie in a visual format helped, so go for it but I think you'll have to some up with something homegrown, as I don't think there is any decent software available today just for that purpose.  

 

Thank you! This is exactly the type of information I was looking for. I use Evernote, which is similar to OneNote. This will fit the need nicely.