Is It Wrong?

[WhiteBuffalo58 0]

Well, i've been tying for a couple of months now. I've picked up a couple of books, watched hours of videos on youtube and spent a great deal of time browsing through the forum. I've buckled down and tied 6-12 examples of a half dozen or so classic patterns that I felt would work good for the species of fish i'll be fishing for. The problem i'm having, is that I not only get really bored tying the same fly over and over, but I really enjoy creating my own flies. I have to admit, learning to tie the classics has taught me alot about use of materials and the different technics in getting those materials on to a hook. But, no matter how focused I try to stay, I always seem to revert back to putting a hook in the vise and just creating whatever comes to mind.

I think part of it probably comes from the 20 lbs. box of materials I bought for $15 at a fleamarket. There's such a huge variety of materials that i'm not bound by having purchased a small amount of materials aimed at tying just 1 or 2 patterns.

A small voice inside, tells me that, to be a good tyer, I really need to stay focused and learn to tie more of the classic patterns. (even if they are from time to time variants) But a loud, shouting voice says, "hey, you're not doing this commercially, so just have fun with it. You never know, someday you may actually create a killer new pattern"!

Is that wrong?

 

Rob

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

Rob once you get techniques down then the fun is in doing your own thing

[shoebop 0]

by all means have fun! Tie anything and everything your heart desires.

[Peterjay 0]

Like Paul said, get the mechanics down and go from there. It's not rocket science by any means, but you can avoid future frustration by giving yourself a good background in the fundamentals and not getting ahead of yourself. After that, just go with whatever suits you, and NEVER worry about trying something different. I'm also one of those people who can't stand repetition - a lot of us here are like that. There's something new to learn every time you put a hook in the vise.

[williamhj 0]

A nice thing about tying is that you can do whatever you want. If someone says something is 'wrong', unless you care about their opinion it doesn't matter. Now if you're tying to catch fish, their opinions do matter. Learning fundamentals is important and the skills you'll learn will help your experimentation. Also, when it comes to classic or common patterns, there is generally a reason they have been around so long or are fished so much. Generally they work so it's nice to know how to tie them.

 

If you want to learn to tie those patterns here are a couple ideas. One is to join a fly swap. This will force you to sit down and tie a dozen flies. You'll also be motivated to tie them well since you're tying for others, so you might end up tying 2 dozen before you get a set you feel proud of. Another approach would be to tie a dozen flies step by step. Break the pattern up into parts and complete each part on each of the 12 hooks one at a time. So step one might be tying in the tail and wing, step two dubbing the body, step three winding the hackle and tying off. This way you focus on each step and progressively get better at it. A third is to mess around with the colors of traditional patterns. The fundamentals would be the same so you'd learn the techniques, but you could still be creative. Who knows, maybe a parachute adams with bright purple dubbing, neon green and florescent orange hackle and a pink post might be a killer pattern? I even know a place you can get those hackles so let me know

 

If all that sounds too boring, just have fun tying (isn't that the point of all this anyways?) and buy your traditional flies.

[Piker20 0]

Agree with all the above, I think some folk, myself included enjoy tying a pattern that they find awkward or difficult and cracking it. But at the same time I don't tie some patterns 'cause they frustrate me too much and would rather spend my time tying fun flies that catch fish (or dream to).

[flytire 0]

Is that wrong?

 

well it sure in the hell isnt up to us to tell you its wrong!

 

youll never be creative tying just the old standard patterns even if you tweak a material here or there

 

nothing in fly tying is cast in stone.

 

tie what you want, how you want

[mikechell 0]

Rob,

I disagree with all the previous comments, what you are thinking is WRONG !!!

You must spend the first two years of your tying endeavors following established patterns. This ensures that you will become the tying machine you were meant to be. This ensures you will tie THE correct fly for the situation, since all possible situations have a correct fly. You must ...

 

Whoa ... what the he ... ????

 

Sorry ... I think I was channeling Ebenezer Scrooge there for a minute.

[Jagerboy 0]

IMO, you should listen to the loud voice. To me, half the fun is creating your own patterns. And yes, many of the flies I just made up catch lots of fish.

[SilverCreek 0]

A nice thing about tying is that you can do whatever you want. If someone says something is 'wrong', unless you care about their opinion it doesn't matter. Now if you're tying to catch fish, their opinions do matter. Learning fundamentals is important and the skills you'll learn will help your experimentation. Also, when it comes to classic or common patterns, there is generally a reason they have been around so long or are fished so much. Generally they work so it's nice to know how to tie them.

 

If you want to learn to tie those patterns here are a couple ideas. One is to join a fly swap. This will force you to sit down and tie a dozen flies. You'll also be motivated to tie them well since you're tying for others, so you might end up tying 2 dozen before you get a set you feel proud of. Another approach would be to tie a dozen flies step by step. Break the pattern up into parts and complete each part on each of the 12 hooks one at a time. So step one might be tying in the tail and wing, step two dubbing the body, step three winding the hackle and tying off. This way you focus on each step and progressively get better at it. A third is to mess around with the colors of traditional patterns. The fundamentals would be the same so you'd learn the techniques, but you could still be creative. Who knows, maybe a parachute adams with bright purple dubbing, neon green and florescent orange hackle and a pink post might be a killer pattern? I even know a place you can get those hackles so let me know

 

If all that sounds too boring, just have fun tying (isn't that the point of all this anyways?) and buy your traditional flies.

 

 

I agree with all of the above. It is excellent advise.

 

I think you need to decide what you want out of fly tying. If it is fun tying and experimenting, then that is OK. But if it is really learning to tie a specific pattern, there is no way other than to tie a lot of those patterns.

 

Fly tying in not just learning how to dub and wind hackle. The most difficult concept for beginning tiers is PROPORTION. Proportion takes practice.

 

I think you need to realize that what you don't know about fly tying is way more than what you do know.

 

Here's the critical factor. Suppose someone tells you that a parachute adams in size 16 is the killer fly and you tie some up but you have less success. Why? Could it be that you didn't tie the fly well enough to fool the fish?

 

Now suppose that you tie up a pattern with alternative colors and it does not work. Could it be that it was not the colors but the fact that the fly was not proper in other ways? The point I am trying to make is that you cannot know that it is the colors that are putting off the fish UNLESS every other thing about the fly is correctly tied.

 

There is a reason that the new flies like the Copper John and the Quigley Cripple have become standards in the last few years. They were invented not by those tiers when they were beginners but experts.

[JSzymczyk 0]

It's natural to want to tie all kinds of stuff that you dream up and there's nothing wrong with it. Once you've been doing it for 30 years or so you will settle down and find that most of the stuff coming out of your vise will be a producer and not a "waste" of time. No such thing as a waste of time when tying, because even if what you are tying never catches a fish, at least you are getting better at tying.

 

It is most important to learn correct TECHNIQUES rather than patterns, although tried and true patterns must also be tied using correct techniques in order to be most effective. If you ARE going to tie an established pattern, learn to tie it true-to-form. You can always change colors and substitute materials (within reason) but at least try to tie it as it should be. Even the simple ones, such as the Woolly Bugger and Clouser Deep Minnow are tied poorly more often than not.

[GLoy 0]

never wrong to tie what your heart desires, tie em up and get em wet...good fishing

[H Dot Verseman 0]

with that said, you can't know all of the techniques, materials, etc so the flies you create won't be as good as if you had put more time into the classics or the established patterns and techniques.

[Hellgrammite 0]

For me, the hardest part of fly tying was what many people have already mentioned; proportions. Even now, I will occasionally finish a fly and go *ugh* because I stopped paying careful attention at some time or another. Tying up a bunch of the same "pattern style" (To use Dave Hughes' term) helps a lot. Tying a light cahill, dark hendrickson, or march brown teaches you the same things, even though they are different colors and used for different things. You can get some variety by simply tying a bunch of the same pattern style, even though they are different patterns. This "sameness" of steps and processes is common to a lot of different fly types; most nymphs, for example, are tied with more or less the same sequence of steps and sorts of materials. Hairwing caddisflies are another that can vary in color, but still teach the same things; oh yeah, those 3 flies, being mayfly dries, caddis dries, and nymphs, will cover an awful lot of fishing!

 

Tie what you want, of course, but do be sure to try and master some of the basics. It will be more fun!

[WhiteBuffalo58 0]

Great responses, guys and gals!! Thank you!

Most of what i'm reading is what I had pretty much thought. Keep it fun, but don't ignore the benefits of learning to tie the long established patterns. AND, tie them in quantities in an effort to perfect the techniques that each has to offer.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of patterns i've not even tried yet. And as such, there are obviously many techniques that I havn't mastered. My target fish are warm water pan fish species. Even though many of the flies are not suited to these, learning to tie them will surely add to my skills in tying flies that ARE suitable.

With all this in mind, I think i'm pretty much on track. My approach over the past couple of months, has been to tie several of an established pattern,(6-12 each) then change it up a bit by tying a few of my own creations. Along the way i've, (generally speaking) taken on increasingly more difficult patterns.

I started tying from the very lowest level of knowledge. Fly fishing and tying have never been a tradition in my family. Hopefully the tradition will start with me and be handed down to my kids and grandkids. (all traditions start somewhere, right?) I have a long way to go and much to learn. But judging from your responses, I think i'm on the right track.

I've learned alot here on the forum and appreciate all your help! On behalf of beginners and future masters of fly fishing and tying, I thank you all!

 

Rob

 

P.S. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!