Is Fly Tying Worth It?

[skeet3t 0]

I find tying a part of fly fishing. I don't tie bunches at a time but use that bit of time to relax from other things. I don't worry about tying and the cost. Some of the things have been in the stash for centuries. Never seen the need to buy things for flies that I have never used or intend to use.

[Woodenlegs 0]

I am going to answer this with two answers 

1 Can you save money?

yes if your practical in your purchases

2 This is much like a hobby, I enjoy tying files for my self and others. It’s very relaxing to me and it’s awesome to catch a fish on a fly I tied 

 

 

[Technical Sloom 0]

It's possible to save money. Maybe not if you're only tying trout stuff, but if you're into big flies for pike and bass, those things are $5 and up. Some pike flies are $35! I always feel great after I tie a big buford. 

[DarrellP 0]

The simple answer for me, is yes.

[Woodenlegs 0]

Yes, more for you than the fish, and no you will not save money

[Poopdeck 0]

Today I’m doing my best to stay away from wheezy as she prepares Easter dinner for her side of the family. So I went down to poopdecks tackle world HQ but didn’t feel like tying a fly. So I counted them instead. In my stream boxes I counted well over 600 flies to include nymphs, drys, buggers, mops, and other creatures. I didn’t count my river and salt water boxes but I’m estimating at least couple hundred clousers, deceivers, poppers, brush fish, deer bugs and such. I won’t count my bucktail Box but I’m guessing there’s 3 or 4 dozen there. Since I have been tying my own flies and bucktails it’s safe to say I lost, gifted and shared three or four times as many and that’s on the very conservative side. I don’t really buy a lot of materials anymore and don’t see that changing over the rest of my life. So if one were to add up expenses and compare that to inventory both past present and in the future I’d have to say I saved thousands upon thousands and that figure will always climb. It’s hard for me to imagine not saving money. 

[Mark Knapp 0]

If it was not worth it, in one way or another, none of us would be doing it.

[FliesbyNight 0]

As with everything else in this ridiculous hobby, it all depends on your goals and practices and what you want out of it. 

I agree with @mikechell.  If you tie what you need, stay away from the exotics and do it over a long time, you will save money.  If you are into classic salmon flies that call for select plumage from a red-necked fuzzwort harvested under the light of a full moon, probably not. 

Even adding in the expense of all the tools and kit, I have saved money over the course of my tying and fishing.  I tie about 24 different patterns, unless I'm going on a trip.  I tie to imitate the bait fish local to my home waters.  I tie each pattern in two sizes and maybe three color variations at most.  That cuts down on the materials I need on hand.

I'm strictly saltwater because of where I live and what I like to do so that simplifies my problem. When you consider that the flies I fish with cost between $4.00 and $15.00 each if bought commercially, but costs me around $2.00 each to tie at most, it doesn't take too long to start realizing some savings.

I'm also a DIY type.  I bought a good roll-top desk for a song and modified it to suit my needs.  I made my own dubbing brush machine and twist my own brushes.

When you add in the hours of enjoyment I get out of tying, it's a clear win-win.

[chugbug27 0]

Time is more valuable than money, or we wouldn't be paid to spend time working and we wouldn't pay others to do things for us that we prefer not to do or cannot spend time doing. So, if your only reason for tying flies is to save money, then it's only worth it if you don't have enough money to buy the flies you want to use and can tie them cheaper than you can buy them. That's why Mike ties with flip flops and doesn't tie more flies than he uses. He'd rather be fishing.

There's are some great quotes from Jim Leisenring that apply here, at least for me...

"We fish for pleasure. I for mine, you for yours."

"The art of fly tying is the art of creating an effect, and those of us who tie flies find great pleasure in making and using our own flies."

And one from William Wordsworth, quoted in Hidy's and Leisenring's book:

"Pleasure is spread through the earth / In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find."

I like tying flies a lot, so I do it. If you don't like tying flies, it's not worth spending much time on it. They're really not very expensive. And if you just want to catch fish, you don't need to do it with a fly. Garlic cheese balls work really well in fresh water, and squid meat works well enough in the salt.

All this said... 

Like fly fishing, fly tying can get expensive really fast if you are not careful, but it doesn't have to be expensive to tie with excellent tools and materials. If you are already enjoying it, you can spend $500 on vise, tools, hooks and materials and have enough to do plenty and enjoy yourself doing it for a good long time, adding to it as you see fit. If you are just starting out and don't want to spend that much just yet, you can spend $25 on a vise, another $25 on tools, and another $25 on materials, and then maybe spend another $25 or so on more materials, until you know if it's something you're going to stay with. You can also buy a decent starter kit for $100 if you don't have someone to help you. You can also spend more on a better starter kit if you've got the money to do it and want to start with better tools and materials. You can also spend far more than $500 on fly tying vises, tools, materials, books, etc. and have at it.

Here's one way to do it cheaply and finely:  Download The Art of Tying the Wet Fly by Leisenring and Hidy, and download Hidy's articles in Sports Illustrated for how to fly fish the wet fly. You can tie all the flies you will ever need to catch trout anywhere from that one book, and enjoy yourself immensely. The tools needed are very basic. $100 could get you a good start there, and $500 would get you plenty. If you've already got tools and basic materials, you might not need to buy anything else, or at most a nice piece of tying wax, a few spools of silk, a few fur patches, and a few pheasant and waterfowl skins or even just wings if you aren't happy with the soft feathers and fur you probably already have.

[DarrellP 0]

One other thought:  Many commercial flies are overdressed.  They are tied to catch the fisherman.  Some are tied on crappy hooks, twist on the hook, etc.  If you tie them yourself, you can tie them like you want them.  It takes time to get the proportions correct and to gain the skills needed, though.  Few flies are perfect.

[Mark Knapp 0]

5 hours ago, chugbug27 said:

Time is more valuable than money, or we wouldn't be paid to spend time working and we wouldn't pay others to do things for us that we prefer not to do or cannot spend time doing. So, if your only reason for tying flies is to save money, then it's only worth it if you don't have enough money to buy the flies you want to use and can tie them cheaper than you can buy them. That's why Mike ties with flip flops and doesn't tie more flies than he uses. He'd rather be fishing.

There's are some great quotes from Jim Leisenring that apply here, at least for me...

"We fish for pleasure. I for mine, you for yours."

"The art of fly tying is the art of creating an effect, and those of us who tie flies find great pleasure in making and using our own flies."

And one from William Wordsworth, quoted in Hidy's and Leisenring's book:

"Pleasure is spread through the earth / In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find."

I like tying flies a lot, so I do it. If you don't like tying flies, it's not worth spending much time on it. They're really not very expensive. And if you just want to catch fish, you don't need to do it with a fly. Garlic cheese balls work really well in fresh water, and squid meat works well enough in the salt.

All this said... 

Like fly fishing, fly tying can get expensive really fast if you are not careful, but it doesn't have to be expensive to tie with excellent tools and materials. If you are already enjoying it, you can spend $500 on vise, tools, hooks and materials and have enough to do plenty and enjoy yourself doing it for a good long time, adding to it as you see fit. If you are just starting out and don't want to spend that much just yet, you can spend $25 on a vise, another $25 on tools, and another $25 on materials, and then maybe spend another $25 or so on more materials, until you know if it's something you're going to stay with. You can also buy a decent starter kit for $100 if you don't have someone to help you. You can also spend more on a better starter kit if you've got the money to do it and want to start with better tools and materials. You can also spend far more than $500 on fly tying vises, tools, materials, books, etc. and have at it.

Here's one way to do it cheaply and finely:  Download The Art of Tying the Wet Fly by Leisenring and Hidy, and download Hidy's articles in Sports Illustrated for how to fly fish the wet fly. You can tie all the flies you will ever need to catch trout anywhere from that one book, and enjoy yourself immensely. The tools needed are very basic. $100 could get you a good start there, and $500 would get you plenty. If you've already got tools and basic materials, you might not need to buy anything else, or at most a nice piece of tying wax, a few spools of silk, a few fur patches, and a few pheasant and waterfowl skins or even just wings if you aren't happy with the soft feathers and fur you probably already have.

Very well said, but I'll add, If you have the sincere desire but not the money to spend, like I was when I was a kid, and you come to a site like this, there are lots of good folks here that will help you get started.

I will send a kit to anyone that really wants to do it but for one reason or another doesn't have funds for it. It'll be one of the kit vises, (I have several) and all the stuff you need for whatever kind flies you want to tie. PM me with your address and give me an idea of the kind of fish you want to catch or the patterns you want to tie.

[Sandan 0]

3 hours ago, Mark Knapp said:

Very well said, but I'll add, If you have the sincere desire but not the money to spend, like I was when I was a kid, and you come to a site like this, there are lots of good folks here that will help you get started.

I will send a kit to anyone that really wants to do it but for one reason or another doesn't have funds for it. It'll be one of the kit vises, (I have several) and all the stuff you need for whatever kind flies you want to tie. PM me with your address and give me an idea of the kind of fish you want to catch or the patterns you want to tie.

mensch

/men(t)SH/

noun

INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN

1. a person of integrity and honor.

[SilverCreek 0]

^^^^ Yiddish

[Moshup 0]

Well said Steve !

Is fly tying worth it ?

Well it certainly proved it’s worth during the pandemic.  It kept the lid on crazy. 🤪

[richmce 0]

  here in the midwest where ice keeps us from fly fishing dec thru mid march. tying is our fix to stay involved in fishing.  .  that makes it worth alot.    would mike tie more flies if he couldnt fish for 3 months? well maybe before he got his workshop !