intresting article about not liking fly tying

[mikechell 0]

I wrote my article because it's an item that can be debated either way regarding saving money. I think that frustration at the desk is more a personality thing than anything. I'm kind of like that when I try to do something new (golf, racing rc cars, etc etc.) If I'm not moderately good at it, it frustrates me to continue so I stop...

Cheech ... glad you joined in on your own article. Since you have a website ... I'm guessing you overcame your frustration on this point.

 

Anyway ... I did enjoy it, but I read it with humor in mind.

[cheech 0]

 

I wrote my article because it's an item that can be debated either way regarding saving money. I think that frustration at the desk is more a personality thing than anything. I'm kind of like that when I try to do something new (golf, racing rc cars, etc etc.) If I'm not moderately good at it, it frustrates me to continue so I stop...

Cheech ... glad you joined in on your own article. Since you have a website ... I'm guessing you overcame your frustration on this point.

 

Anyway ... I did enjoy it, but I read it with humor in mind.

 

 

 

My article wasn't the one talking about hating tying... I have loved it from day one.

[mikechell 0]

Oops, sorry.

 

I read your's on the costs ... I liked that one, too. I didn't realize they weren't both yours.

[Stevester 0]

Crackaig,

 

I don't think it is the community as much as the changing expectations of the You Tube population (yes, I use it too). People have come to expect expertise and entertainment to be freely available, as the music industry has been finding out to its consternation for the last decade. As to unrealistic expectations, any of us who have taught tying (I have done it off and on for 25 years) have had students whose actual skill level bore no relation to their perceived level. A few of us were teaching tying at our Trout Unlimited chapter a few years back. One of the students at my table would insist on using a jewelers loupe to examine his work when it was plainly obvious what the problems were. It took me weeks to get him to START to look at proportion and thread use and not to examine the fly microscopically. Now days he would likely just watch videos, which you correctly point out vary WIDELY in quality and expertise, and probably never really progress.

 

Steve

[JSzymczyk 0]

Crackaig,

 

I don't think it is the community as much as the changing expectations of the You Tube population (yes, I use it too). People have come to expect expertise and entertainment to be freely available, as the music industry has been finding out to its consternation for the last decade. As to unrealistic expectations, any of us who have taught tying (I have done it off and on for 25 years) have had students whose actual skill level bore no relation to their perceived level. A few of us were teaching tying at our Trout Unlimited chapter a few years back. One of the students at my table would insist on using a jewelers loupe to examine his work when it was plainly obvious what the problems were. It took me weeks to get him to START to look at proportion and thread use and not to examine the fly microscopically. Now days he would likely just watch videos, which you correctly point out vary WIDELY in quality and expertise, and probably never really progress.

 

Steve

Steve- your comments are spot-on. I was actually surprised the "article" was 5 paragraphs long. These days most so-called articles are shorter than that.

 

There are a LOT of people out there who are afraid of a learning curve. Yeah, I want to pick up my guitar and play like a virtuoso, but it isn't going to happen. Mastery of the basics takes time time time, and people don't want to give anything any time any more. I always recommend people tie woolly worms until they can do every single one perfectly. Simple, super-easy fly, very effective, and it has several basic functions. People want to go straight to dry flies or streamers and they have no idea of thread control or how materials behave. Yes, perhaps one in a thousand or so can do it.

 

I see the "YouTube population" everywhere- people with ideas that are a mile wide and an inch deep. A common thought process of people who grew up with the internet is they don't need to KNOW how to do anything if they can instantly look it up on their smart device, no matter when or where they are. I am ABSOLUTELY not anti-internet, that would be stupid- after all here we are and I use it every day.

 

Part of the issue is individual personality- but far from all of it is. For instance, when my wife NEEDS a room in the house painted, someone is getting paid to do it. I am not that good at it because I don't wish to do it often enough to learn all the correct techniques, I have absolutely no desire to do it, and if something gets screwed up, I don't have to fix it. Contrast that to the fact that I will not buy a fly in a shop because I can tie whatever I want.

 

It brings a whole new level of understanding to a person's fishing. Just like handloading ammo for a particular rifle. The level of understanding gained through knowledge and experience is reward enough. In most cases, you're not going to save money by "getting into" fly tying or hand loading.

[thursthouse 0]

You're not going to look like Arnold after working out for 2 months in the gym - you're not going to tye like Davie McPhail after two months at the vise.

[Bruce Norikane 0]

"Or should it be that I suck at fly tying?" The first line plays off the troll bait title and gets things back on track.

 

The author acknowledges his complicity. Most of his angst comes from his meager skills. His biggest crime is whining expressing feelings that many of us have but keep to ourselves.

 

Let's face it, some people are not very good fly tiers and most are average. Although everyone gets better with repetition, some are much slower than others. I am somewhere in the average tier range (on my good days.)

 

An ironic problem is the incredible detail of fly photos online. I'm slobberknockered when I see the exquisite flies on this forum. I try to prop up my ego, telling myself that the SBS tiers are the Leonardo DaVinci's of the fly tying world. But it's a gut punch when a perfect fly glows on my monitor. I've heard that many young women get similar feelings of inadequacy comparing their bodies to all the lingerie models that fill popular media and ads. Feel.

 

I'm a dedicated tier though. I love it, and I'm determined to get better. I use the SBS's as inspiration. I won't be satisfied until my flies are that good. Maybe I'll never get there, but I'm enjoying the journey.

 

Thanks for all your help, lighting my path

[Pabrookie94 0]

I personally have given up fly tying twice since I made my first attempts at age 12... I just didn't have any patience at all for it and assumed I would be able to tie just like the man who was trying to teach me. My flies looked like crud and I basically just gave up and then I tried to pick it back up when I was about 15 and again, allowed no time to grow in any skills and expected to be able to tie each one of the flies that was already in my box because of course I could do anything...(not) I gave it up again.

 

I am now 20 years old and have been tying consistently since last spring. I have wasted plenty of money in material to fly's that will not catch a trout in a hatchery raceway. Lately however, my flies have been turning out very well, I would back up my flies 100% in that if a trout would take anyone else's fly then they should take mine too. Here's the catch, I'm tying pheasant tailed nymphs, hares ears, midges, scuds, Adams, stimulators, copper johns, and many other simple flies. Do I tie complicated flies? I sure do. I tie pike and musky flies that have three articulations and take me 3-4 hours. When I'm done I believe that they turn out quite well. When I try to tie a complicated trout fly say a humpy or a size 24 BWO it takes a lot longer than I'd like and sure it doesn't look like bob clouser or someone from Orvis tied it but I'm proud of my own work. What I get out of fly tying is a night at the vise learning thread skills and controlling materials by tying a dozen PTN's in different colors and hook sizes/styles which is benefitting me I believe more than trying to tie a fancy salmon fly and failing miserably. Will I get to tying those one day? Sure I will, but for tying less than a year I just don't have the skill to do that yet.

 

The one thing that has helped me a ton are Tim Camissa's videos on YouTube. I will watch a video 2-3 times and try a pattern which is all teaching me the technique. Am I mad when my flies don't turn out just like his on the video ? No. I just keep tying until they re as close as I can get them. I am truly thankful for resources like the Internet and books that help me along but unlike many kids I grew up with the mindset that hard work will get you what you want. I don't expect the Internet to program into my head how to change my transmission, I can't do that and won't be able to by watching a video, I need to do it myself to gain experience.

 

Fly tying has given me a get away, knowledge beyond belief about flies in general as well as what will make fish take them and fly fishing in general, and lastly something to talk about with my fly fishing friends who are mostly over the age of 60. I cannot wait to be 85 and have "all the answers" that I don't have now. I know this was a long response but fly tying is so much more, to me, than something to just be good at right away, it's a lifestyle and something I love. I hope to be as good at tying as Dave Whitlock or Dave mcphail some day. But for now my 12-18 hares ear nymphs are looking good to me and it's enough to keep the fire under me and stay with this until I am a "master tier" someday.

[Bruce Norikane 0]

...

I always recommend people tie woolly worms until they can do every single one perfectly. Simple, super-easy fly, very effective, and it has several basic functions. People want to go straight to dry flies or streamers and they have no idea of thread control or how materials behave. Yes, perhaps one in a thousand or so can do it.

 

 

Perfectly stated.

 

Fly tying is like math, you can't jump to calculus without a strong base in algebra.

While I often see suggestions for beginners to just google fly patterns or browse through YouTube fly tying channels because "all the info is out there", I don't think that's a good way to learn fly tying.

 

I totally agree with JSzymczyk and Stevester, beginners should work through a series of lessons that start with very fundamental skills and build from that foundation. There are many complete online lessons and books, but nothing replaces face to face instruction and direct feedback.

[djtrout 0]

I love the art and craft. There is continuous growth, and there's always a new pattern or material I have yet to try. The beauty of it, though, is that in very short order one can produce fish-catching flies. The fish do not care whether they are ingesting a DaVinci classic marvel.

We can catch fish with only the most rudimentary of skills. I would say for my part, the thrill of catching my first trout on "my" fly cemented a lifetime passion.

After mastering the basic techniques, and upgrading my tools to something that made sense, I found that following patterns was getting boring. In order to be a bit more creative, though, I needed to learn about materials so I could make good decisions about selecting materials appropriate for my designs. Then the insects, rather than follow common wisdom about what hook size to use for various patterns, how about tying a fly that matches the size of the imitated insect? So - although NOT my passion, I actually enjoyed doing a little entomology research.

To wrap it up, learning to fish my patterns was and is always challenging. I personally believe it is more important how we fish the fly than to design the perfect fly aesthetically. Leaders - length, type, knots, use of lead weights or not, to twitch or not to twitch. Everything I developed as "my" style for fishing affected(s) how I tie, and what I choose to tie.

I don't throw out my flies (I should ...). I've kept everything I didn't undo on the vise. I spent a morning a few years ago on the Cranberry river throwing the most god-awful rendition of an Adams one can imagine (one of the first tied 15 years ago). I felt sorry for it sitting in my box trip after trip ... so I used it. It caught fish all morning. I don't know whether a better fly, or different fly closer to the hatch, would have yielded better results. I guess it didn't matter.

I still fish a fly because I like it and just want to, even when it is a ridiculous choice for today's conditions/season. I still use a 7 weight to fish for bluegills because I like the way it feels to cast. I still fish just to ease my mood. I don't always need to make sense with it.

It's a beautiful sport. You don't have to be good to be in the game.

[jor fly 0]

You're not going to look like Arnold after working out for 2 months in the gym - you're not going to tye like Davie McPhail after two months at the vise.

 

as a lifter and fly tyer:: AMEN!

[jor fly 0]

I will freely admit I started learning to tie with Youtube (Fly Tying the Angler's Art). HOWEVER: I also tracked down other fly fisherman that knew how to tie. I read books by men like Charlie Craven, and I visited fly shops to get pointers from them. Further, I took to forums like this to get collective knowledge from the many good men and women here. Finally, I KEPT AT IT. My flies now are head and shoulders better than 7 years ago. I almost quit after my first Hendrickson nymph looked like a coffee grinder had chewed it up, however I soon picked about 2 or three basic patterns and Kept going. It takes time to learn any art well, and our craft is no different.

[Meeshka 0]

Read the articles, but not all the posts. Sorry, but here is my 2 cents.

My mom and dad loved trout fishing, and I started the hobby since I was 3. By the time I was 6 my dad figured I was just loosing too many flies, in trees, under rocks in the stream - you know. For Christmas that year he bought me a modest fly tying kit, but with an updated vice - a Thompson A, and enrolled me into a fly tying course. I was probably the youngest by 30 years at least from what I remember, but I was keen and the instructor took a liking to me, and became my mentor for many years after that.

50 years later I now tie most of my flies on a Waldron, but love the Thompson A. My tying, rod building, bullet/shot shell reloading room is 12x12 and loaded with benches, storage, equiptment, and supplies. 50 years of collecting fly tying supplies - yup I got lots , a small store so to speak, with some of it under lock and key, cause you just can't get it anymore. And I'm still adding to the collection spending $400.00 to $500.00 / year.

I got into the hobby of fly tying for the love of it, II find it really relaxing to tie flies with my dog by my side, hockey game in the background, and fire in the fireplace when it's 40 below outside.

There are many talented tiers on this site, they have posted their work, and lots of beginners. But seems to me their is always constructed critizm.

My advice, if you got in this hobby to save a buck or two on the cost of flies - I think you will be disappointed. But if you want to try new patterns not available in stores, or create your own with perfection and beauty keep with it. It won't happen over nite. I'm still learning and love it.

Just my 2 cents.

Doug

[oldtrout58 0]

That leads to the preponderance of videos, mostly bad ones, that people follow to try to learn. (I've even seen examples on here of videos that differ between the words and actions. "Take 3 or 4 turns" then the person in the video takes 12. None were necessary.)

 

Yes!