2007 FTOTY Contest - This needs to be said.

[Steeldrifter 0]

And I will not vote for a fly that doesnt fit in to my thoughts

 

There ya go right there.

 

We aren't the judges of the winners, it's voted on by the members. So when your voteing and if you see a fly that you don't think should be in that catagory....don't vote for it. Doesn't get an easier than that

[Fly Tyer Guy 0]

But the thing is most people will vote for the realistic flies for being realistic and looking so much better than all the others, They don't stop to look at the other flies, Of course you will not more than likely vote for a wooly bugger but you should stop and look at the other flies that deserve the glance you don't give them

[ILikeFish 0]

I think I kinda agree with Will. You almost have to stop thinking about catching fish with these flies for a second, and just look at how well the materials were selected and applied to the hook. its a tying contest, not a catching contest... though its far too fine of a line to be agreed upon by this number of people.

[Steeldrifter 0]

Okay let me put it this way then.

 

Will puts in a tremendous amount of time and work into putting the FTOTY contest on for everyone. There's no way he can be responsible or expected to not only set up and photograph hundreds of flies but to also be the one responsible for catagorizing where each fly fits into in the catagories. And even if he could then you know most certianlly there would be guys emailing/calling him all day long saying ""You put my fly in the wrong catagory!"

 

So all we can do is hope that the members that enter are upstanding enough to be honest about what catagory their fly fits into and submit it accordingly. And then hope that the members that vote on the contest will vote with the premise of the catagory they are voteing on in mind.

 

Besides saying/doing that there's really nothing else we can do. Nothing is perfect but we do the best we can.

 

Steve

[panfisherteen 0]

o will you guys stop debating,as smalliehunter said,this is a fly tying contest.this is supposed to be fun,but now we're arguing because someone decided to work on a semi-realistic and then sent it into a category that they thought was right because they weren't trying to make a realistic.im with steeldrifter on this one

[flykid 0]

d I will not vote for a fly that doesnt fit in to my thoughts

o will you guys stop debating,as smalliehunter said,this is a fly tying contest.this is supposed to be fun,but now we're arguing because someone decided to work on a semi-realistic and then sent it into a category that they thought was right because they weren't trying to make a realistic.im with steeldrifter on this one

 

Yes! and Yes!

 

I'm sorry I replied to this topic with an argument or even an opinion. This is supposed to be fun and now were bickering over something we're the judge of anyway. Thanks Will for putting all your time and effort into this FUN contest that I look forward to every year. It showcases the talent for realistic, fishing, artistic, classic and very creative flies that tyers that are part of this family tie!!! I say we end the fighting and move on.

[Steeldrifter 0]

No one should ever feel bad about voiceing a concern they have with the contest. carlp5351 had a concern about something with the contest and we welcome his or anyone else's opinion becuase it's feedback that help's us to make the contest better every year.

 

I just wanted everyone to remember that this contest is a for fun and that the ultimate winners are in fact chosen by you the members, not us.

 

 

[Guest]

Agreed. This contest has always been about the fun an excitement of seeing what flies the membes of this forum come up with. Sure there is voting and there are winners but I have always looked at it as a way to challenge yourself to master the techniques to tie whatever flies you enter.

 

As I said, this is a fly tying contest. Think about it. Are you going to "half ass" a fly and submit it to this contest? When I tie flies for fishing they don't look anything like a fly I would submit into a contest. I would take my time to make it look as nice as possible but we all know that the fish could really care less how good it looks in most circumstances.

 

Lets keep this contest fun. I wish people like flyDology and whoever else that does not want to enter the contest realize what it is all about. It is a way for a group of people that talk to each other all year long to showcase their talent and what they have learned while possibly learning some new techniques and patterns.

[philipmadamson 0]

I have always looked at it as a way to challenge yourself to master the techniques to tie whatever flies you enter.

I would take my time to make it look as nice as possible

 

I just spend 45 minutes tying a dry fly that I came up with for fishing and would like to enter in the contest, It catches fish, but when I tie them for fishing they usually take 5-10 minutes. I perfected my fly in the 45 minutes as well as learned a lot about where my skills have improved too.

 

Thanks for providing a contest that makes everyone better

 

[flyDology 0]

I like the concept of the contest, I enter lots of them, but I like to tie classic style dry flies and don't do the realistic style. I don't want to enter my classics if they are going to be judged against a realistic, or semi-realistic pattern. Its like entering a horse in a cat show. Perhaps the classic dry fly should be s category in itself.

 

 

Anyway, I'm just not on the ball with it this year, so entering is out of the question.

[mnorton 0]

Wow.....

sitting here reading this..my opinion there are a lot of good pionts here but as WILL SD and some of the others said THIS IS FOR FUN. SO LETS KEEP IT THAT WAY.....yes there are some flies that should be entered into different cats than what they are but IT SHULD BE THE RESPONSIBLITY OF THE TIER TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE PUTTING THEIR FLY IN THE CORRECT CATEGORY.

Fun Fun Fun til me wifey took my vise away.....

 

WILL SD and all the others Thanks for the hard work on this contest................HEY OATKA YA STILL CAN WHIP UP COUPLE CANT YA..REAL QUICK TIES NUTTIN SPECIAL

 

LET'S HAVE FUN FELLA"S

Mike

[Bud Guidry 0]

i'm reading all this and thinking to myself, what a gas

 

know what you need to do next year huh Will? sorta what you almost did this year?

 

who needs it !!!!!

 

to many complaints and disagreements constantly. we are all fortunate that Will goes so far out of his way to put this on for the members and yes it's a tying contest, not a fishing contest so that 95 percent of those who think fishing comes first has no bearing on this issue. if i were the person in charge of handling all this controversy for the members of this forum i would make an announcement that this is the last year it would run, no more hassle, no more disputes, no more controversy, no more contest. then in a few years we could all talk about how nice it was to have that contest Will would put on . then someone would end the post abuptly by stating that it ended because of all the trouble and issues and complaints it caused.

 

yea, remember that contest, man, that WAS great!

 

my two cents

 

Bud

 

edit: i was all for the contest continuing but i'm not so sure anymore.

[mnorton 0]

WELL SAID BUD

[Fly Tyer Guy 0]

I am not arguing that the flies that won last year should not have, They were the best flies in the categroies, I just don't like it when some people put a couple hours into a fly then they lose to a realistc out of its category.

 

 

 

You will not hear any complaints from me, I'll just keep tying and try and beat the realistics or not beat them, If I do my best no matter which fly wins, A realistic or a standard fishing fly, I need to comeback and try something else next year, Over all it is up to the tiers they can tie in the boundaries they think are acceptable, You can not change that.

 

 

And I was looking at the MSO results and a realistic nymph won the Nymphs, Emergers and Pupa category, So what can you do, You can't stop it bickering and fighting wont help, It is what it is. If people vote for them they win, Nothig is goin to change that.

 

 

And it is way too late to do any thing about it this year, 3 days before the deadline, Will more than likely has most of the flies, He can not tell the contestants that send realistic flies that they can not enter them.

 

I will never stop entering this contest because I can't beat a realistic, I'll give it my darndest try and see what hapens, We can not ask will to do any thing, He can not force any body to tie in certain boudaries, All we can do is ask the persons who tie realistics is to please refrain from entering in those categories. Nuf said

 

 

 

None of this by me was said to argue that thos files hould not have won, They wre amazing flies, They were the best tied, But they were not in the right gategory, IMO

[JSzymczyk 0]

All I can say is: it's a good thing I didn't have the time to enter what I had planned on entering, because my woolly buggers would have swept almost evey category! :hyst: :hyst:

 

now all the rest of you guys still have a chance! :hyst:

 

but seriously, big thanks to the folks who administer this contest, and it is up to the voters to pick the winners. I would like to think the majority of people would not automatically stop looking once they see a "realistic" in whatever category.