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thinkingredneck

where do YOU start?

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When you usually sit down to tie, do you start with a pattern you saw online or in a book,, do you try to imitate something in particular ( like a frog) do you fill in a type fly (like a popper), or do you tie a 3 Scotch wonder? I am at home recovering from surgery thinking obviously deep thoughts. Could be pain meds are working too well. Anyway, where do you usually start?

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I start with a fly that matches the color thread in my bobbin(I own only 1) and go from that, if I get bored with that pattern, then I change threads and go from there.

 

 

Hope you are feeling better!

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I never sit down not knowing what pattern I'm going to tie. So I start by laying out the materials, threads, floss etc that I will use in the patterns. Sometimes I have to order what I need first or go to a store first ( not usually but sometimes).

 

Yeah, when having surgery they usually tell you not to make any important decisions for a few days, like don't sign for a new mortgage to get all the tying equipment you need lol ! I've had a few surgeries and I gotta say that I can see why they tell you that !!

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I tie when I need something. When I sit down I know what I'm tying and how many and what sizes I'm going to tie. When I'm done I go away until I need something else.

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I usually have a pattern in mind. I've been looking at it for a day or two, have watched a video or have confirmed a recipe. I have already gone to the fly shop to get whatever I need. S,o its a process of clearing off the tying table, laying out the material for the next fly and starting in on the set.

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I usually sit down with a pattern in mind whether it's to replace ones that I've lost or something new. Right now I'm tying for Canada. Mostly top water, mainly to fill holes, medium poppers, Sneaky Petes, I thought I had 4 large ones, but can't find them, and some medium size ones, LA Ants and AB Spiders. Sometimes I'll see something on line or posted on the various boards I haunt that I like. I try to lay out materials for each pattern but they always seem to have moved when I reach for them.

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I like to tie a bigger right off the bat. That gets my mind in line with my fingers. After that I look at what my materials are and what I like to tie. Depending on my mood it might be super simple like a craft fur minnow or something bigger like a pig jig. I do it to relax.

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I do much like Philly, usually having something in mind, but may tie some variation. At some point, after tying for a long time, you'll know what will work & what type of flies you favor. I like variety, but still go back to the same styles for the majority of flies I'll fish with.

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I like to tie a bigger right off the bat. That gets my mind in line with my fingers. After that I look at what my materials are and what I like to tie. Depending on my mood it might be super simple like a craft fur minnow or something bigger like a pig jig. I do it to relax.

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Theme or target species for me.

 

One night will be flats, the next will be barramundi, this week it has been trout.

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Like most responses, I usually tie to replace flies lost while fishing.

Once in a while, I will have and idea of something I want to try. So, on those occasions, I am sitting down with a "pattern" in my head, although, it's not usually a known pattern or anything I've actually seen in a book or online.

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just depends sometimes I feel like trying to tie a pattern, a lot of the time though I just kind of have an idea in my head and go for it.

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Preseason like most I am filling in what I need to replace or try something new I saw (usually online of course). During the season it's much of the same but I also start tying for specific areas or a purpose to try and overcome something I ran into while fishing. Trying to fish more of the county park this year to get to know it better. Can be a tough place to fish or find fish willing to bite. Snagging bottom is a real problem due to the type of rock bottom through out most of the park, the rock is jagged. Flies that ride hook up are better than those that don't but hook eyes snag the rock surface too. Subsurface flies account for far more fish than top water flies. So far an unweighted muddler on a floating line with a fluoro leader & tippet has been working. I don't normally tie muddler's as I don't care for working with deer hair, so I had to tie a bunch up. Other times it's just tying something to represent local prey items and still other times it's just tying because I am bored.

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Through the winter, I'm sitting down to fill boxes, whether that's replacing lost flies in existing boxes or filling new ones (last winter, I focused on variations on classic EHC and small parachute BWOs (18-22), the winter before that, I started from scratch and filled a box with 200+ assorted nymphs of varying patterns, weights, and colors...).

 

In the spring and fall it's usually "destination boxes". Have a September beach trip lined up? I'll spend May-Aug scouting out, reading, and filling a box. Doing a few long weekends focused on smallie water? I'm supplementing my warmwater box with poppers, helgrammites, etc.

 

Summer is haphazard. Sometimes filling holes (last season I totally ran out of foxxee clousers, and the fish still wanted them, so I binged and did like 2 dozen on nice hooks, zap-a-gap at every step, nice eyes, tight heads, all sealed up with UV resin...totally bomb-proof. This year, I've been doing zoo cougars and some articulated stuff for bigger water nearby with smallies and large browns.

 

Late summer is also when I'll devote some time to addressing the situation in my boxes I take to Erie for GL steel. Eggs are boring, but it's a good feeling to be able to lose 10 of the same pattern in one day and not worry about running out of it over the next two. And when I'm feeling creative, I'll do a few intruders. Last few seasons, though, I've only fished up there maybe 2 days in 4-5 years, so I'm usually tying to soothe the irrational fear of not having enough flies more than filling actual holes. Tons and tons of egg patterns, some small nymphs, buggers, and whatever steelheady streamers might pique my interest. Lots of peach, pink, and chartreuse on the bench at that time.

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