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

[tidewaterfly 0]

Yes to all, and like others also have patterns that have been published. I'm sure I tie more variants than anything.

[Hogan 0]

My flies most assuredly become variants by the time they're done. I think that's a good thing. Fish must get tired of all those perfect flies drifting by

[Sandan 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. ...

What color is primrose thread?

Light pale yellow.

[flyty1 0]

I suppose most fly fishermen start to tie because they become tired (of either the price or availability of commercially tied flies). So with substitution to make the pattern more fishable, or just because you don't have the material on hand, almost everyone ties some sort of variant; at least from time to time. Some will come up with their own patterns (which may be more extreme variants of classic fly patterns).

[vicente 0]

I almost entirely tie my own pattern or variants, I think most of us tie at least mostly variants, except flytire and Eide with his crazy good classic salmon flys, and maybe Sbpatt, most of us end up substituting something or do one less or one more ribbing wrap or some small detail that makes it a variant if only in a small way.

[Guest]

The standards and classics will be timeless and true art. Lately it's more innovation of a "living craft" on all pattern types old and new. It's about tying what you want and can't buy and creating new patterns with new materials to that end. I always approached my tying as a science not as an art. Having them published and getting royalty payments is not on my horizon. Who gets the royalty for GoldRibbedHaresEars, McGinty, RoyalCoachman, etc anyway? Great that some here do that for sure! Professionals.

[Philly 0]

What is a variant? An example. Several years ago a friend introduced me to the Quigley Cripple. He was from the west coast and I'd never heard of the fly. He killed the trout on the local stream with it. I tried it as originally tied. Didn't float that well and I didn't have much luck with it. So I changed it up. Used pheasant tail for the tail and body instead of marabou. Substituted yellow CDC for the thorax instead of squirrel. Used snowshoe rabbit for the wing instead of deer hair. The only thing I kept from the original pattern was the the grizzly hackle and it wasn't dyed brown. It's worked much better for me than the original. Did I invent a new fly or did I tie a variant?

[mikechell 0]

If you come up with a fly without ever seeing a pattern like it, then you're inventing a fly.

If you are copying a pattern, no matter how different the materials, then you are tying a variant.

 

If you can form aluminum to look exactly like a fiberglass Corvette ... it's just a variant of a "Corvette". You can't name it and say you invented it.

[flytire 0]

 

 

[Kimo 0]

https://youtu.be/5rcOPCyE_ik

Thought this link bares repeating regarding
publishing of patterns and the process Umpqua
goes thru in selecting its patterns. Along with it

why some patterns are not necessarily commercially
viable, but it doesn't mean they are not great

patterns.
Just to give you a flavor of what it takes Rick Takahashi
submitted flies for over 30 years before UFM finally
accepted a pattern. Another tyer had been at it for
a couple of years but had a pattern accepted that
he didn't even submit. It had been passed from one tyer to another.
Brian Schmidt(former Fly Manager at UFM) will actually tell you that even though it isn't accepted
by one of the major companies it is still a great fly and still catches fish.

As for me I like coming up with new techniques which is really hard to do
especially with the Benchside Fly Tyers Reference Guide.

One of the most innovative tyers I have known is the late Shane Stalcup.
He came up with new techniques as well as new materials that he introduced
to the market.

Kimo

[Philly 0]

That's what I thought Mike and flytier. No glory for me today.

[flytire 0]

Philly

 

My response wasn't directed at you but the general fly tying community at large

 

[chugbug27 0]

That's what I like so much about the Benchside reference

[tjm 0]

 

....

What color is primrose thread?

Light pale yellow.

 

All primrose are not yellow and all that I had ever seen were pink, thread in any kind of primrose was not even available locally and if it was in a catalog it would have been a list with no pictures, so I tied many pink hued flies since several patterns (don't ask me to name them it was a while ago) called for primrose thread . https://www.crayola.com/explore-colors/primrose.aspx

It must not matter to the trout, the flies worked.

And the Evening Primrose is a darker brighter yellow.

 

As relates to this thread, I thought I was being faithful to the pattern, but poor color names caused a variation.

[tjm 0]

Is any tier's copy of anyone else's work so close as to not be a variant? A GRHE is simple and a common nymph but you can buy a dozen from as many sources and no two will be the same. Then do the same with the bead versions and variety increases.