Machine Tied Flies

[LineJudge 0]

Hey guys,

 

I was thinking the other day (always scary). I started to wonder about machine tied flies. Has anyone ever seen a fly tying machine? Do they make such a beast?

 

The reason I ask is because when I look at the fly bins and see 1000 flies, I think to myself..."how are all of these made..."

 

Just a thought.

[Guest]

I am sure that you could make a cnc type machine to do it, but to my knowledge there is not one right now. Which is why I laugh when I see "hand tied flies " as an advertising feature, duh how else would they be tied.

 

john

[Lance Kekel 0]

Many of the flies you see by the thousands in bins are currently being tied in China. They locate certain communities that the people are known for their dexterity and then can pay some $2 per day for 12-14 dozen flies that they can tie in their homes. They then turnaround and sell them to the shops here for $3-4 a dozen. Very few shops maintain their entire inventory of flies from local tiers these days. Many will keep several people as sources that tie for them but that's about it.

[Guest]

I have heard somewhere(can't remember where) that big deer hair flies like Dahlberg Divers are trimmed using some type of machine. The tyer will spin the hair and then insert the head into a machine that gives it a perfect trim. It makes sense but I don't know if it is true or not

[SDHflyfisher 0]

will that is deffinitly possible like a big pencil sharpener

[Guest]

wow that would be cool smallie! I would like to see that!

[Walker 0]

I recall, a number of years ago, a tying machine which had an electric rotary mechanism operated with a reostat floor switch (like a sewing machine). I've never seen any flies produced from it, nor heard of it's performance. It just kind of faded away, which I guess speaks volumes about it's effectiveness.

[Guest]

a lot of the flies that you buy commercially from the likes of umpqua, etc. are made in kenya, sri lanka, etc. Thats some people's full time jobs of which they make very little by our standards but it is better than the alternative. Many times you can buy from sri lanka or what not, and because of their development status, you can stay away from an excise tax. That being said, manytimes the hook is of really poor quality. On streamers and nymphs many times it doesn't matter, but as in dry flies sometimes you can run into problems of hooks breaking, even on relatively light tippet.

 

steve