Do you tie your own patterns, published patterns or variants?

[DarrellP 0]

I find myself either tying published patterns or variants of them. How about you?

[mikechell 0]

I started tying for two reasons.

1) To develop a fly that would do what I wanted ... mostly to be weedless through pads and Hydrilla.

2) To save money. I know most people don't think that happens, but when you're only tying what you fish with, it does.

 

To item 1 above ... I didn't know about "patterns" and didn't have books or internet. All of my patterns are "original". It wasn't until I found this site that I was educated to the fact that others had developed "patterns" similar to mine. (Actually, most of them had been first, but I didn't know)

 

To item 2 ... when I first started tying, in earnest, I didn't have access to store bought flies. To buy flies would require long round trips and a large batch of money each trip. By tying my own, I didn't have to buy or travel.

 

I don't play around tying all kinds of different flies. As I've stated before, I am a fly angler who ties for my fishing ... not a fly tier who uses some of my flies for fishing.

[flytire 0]

Do you tie your own patterns, published patterns or variants?

 

yes, yes and yes

 

everybody ties variants

[RickZieger 0]

Tie some of my own patterns that I came up with. Tie some established patterns.

Also tie variations of patterns.

 

Rick

[rstaight 0]

Yes to all three. I do find myself tying more variants, established patterns tweaked for the place I am fishing.

[sandflyx 0]

yes to all, and have been published

[Philly 0]

Yes to all of the above. As far as published patterns, if I see something I like I'll try it. I've a couple of midge patterns that I came up with that I tie. There may be a couple of others. The rest are variants of patterns that I've tinkered with.

[Dave G. 0]

I thought my midges were original. Like Mike I tied them up to fish something that would work locally, then found out the Kaufman Chrironamid pattern is original and mine, while original to me, actually is but a variant to his in the end. Either way it is very effective.

[CasualAngler 0]

In my short time tying, I chose a couple of basic published tenkara Patterns. I've changed the Thread color & the hackle choice on a couple, so I guess they'd be Variants. Nothing of my own Design, though.

 

Like Mike, I now tie myself for a couple of reasons:

 

-- Tenkara flies aren't very common in the local fly ships here.

 

-- Through the Years, I've accumulated a good number of "traditional" Patterns.

 

-- It is cheaper in the long run, if you've got basic Materials. 10 flies from the Bargain Box are the same cost as a couple spools of Thread & maybe a package of hooks. For the fishing I do, that's enough to fill the Altoids box & then some.

 

Just my 2 cents...

 

[Poopdeck 0]

At this point everything is a variant of what's already been tied. I tie to save money. I don't develop flies, R&D flies and I have no desire to name a fly after myself. A few are tied to already published fly specs but most would be considered variants since I rarely tie an exact pattern. Not because I'm a creative or engineering genius trying to make my flies look and act exactly how I want. Nope, sure ain't. It's because I'm cheaper then Mike and I tie with whatever I happen to have laying around as long as it's close.

[Mark Knapp 0]

I made it my goal six years ago to catch all of Alaska's game fish with an original fly pattern of my own. I'm up to 26 species now. Of course I also tie the known patterns, but it doesn't count toward my personal challenge when I catch a fish on one of the classics.

[rstaight 0]

What?, cheaper than Mike?. Never thought anyone would admit to it.

 

I to will substitute materials. Not be cause I'm cheap, it's that my tying time is precious to me. I don't get to tie that often and when the time is there I don't want to run all over h*ll's half acre looking for some material. I will use what I have. I will make a note of what I needed and then purchase it when I have the opportunity to get to a fly shop.

[cphubert 0]

Yes, yes & yes. Some originals but would agree that most everything is a variant. Probably never saved money tieing but I have made money selling flies and material to help feed my addiction and vice, just not enough to make a living at the vise and still find time to fish. Never published a pattern or named one or had the interest to do so.

[utyer 0]

Yes, yes, and yes. My very first flies were made up from whatever materials I found in my dads box of stuff. Then I started trying to duplicate known patterns. Once I could do that, I changed them to suit me. Nothing wrong with a Green or Yellow Adams. Spent many years tying custom orders for what other people asked for. Don't do that any longer. I still tie some of the classics, but I prefer to make patterns up.

[tjm 0]

I'm not sure? Variants of variants? Since only the fish see my flies they tend to be types rather than patterns, suggestive rather than imitative. I did invent a pattern and fished it for several years before finding out some one else had done the same thing years before I did. We saw so few store bought flies that I was quite surprised to "my pattern" in a shop.

I started by tying published patterns, but soon learned that most materials could (or had to) be substituted, so variants. I also found that my interpretation of a color described in a book did not always match what the author meant, so inadvertent variants. Most fly books had no color plates or the print color did not match real colors. So much easier to follow a pattern with internet instruction and computer generated colors.When winged dries twisted my tippet or landed wrong side down, I clipped the wings off- then just left the wings off, are those variants or new patterns?

How much does a variant have to change before it is a new pattern?

If an old pattern calls for three hackle feathers because at the time all feathers were short and today's feathers make it possible to tie three flies with one hackle, does the change from 3 feathers to 1/3 feather make it a variant?

What color is primrose thread?