115 replies to this topic

[Fred H.]

I occasionally get a fly to come out like I want it to. Most times I can find faults in all of them. I have always had good close vision but now it seems I will need to tie with reading glasses or magnification. (I hate getting old). I 'm constantly trying to improve the simple techniques that I hope will come with experience . If I ever get to feeling big headed all I have to do is take a macro photo of my fly and that will stop that.
Fred

[rstout]

I feel I am a really good tyer but I hate spinning deer hair so I don't do it very often. Maybe I should just suck it up and tie a couple hundred bloody muddlers and move on.

[Arkansas Mike]

Though I agree with those who say a fish isn't that particular as far as proportions, etc, I do obsess over getting a fly just right. Though I think I've tied some decent and nice looking flies, I don't think I've ever been completely satisfied with one and could always see mistakes or areas that could stand improving. I also think I could tackle about any pattern and do a reasonably good job. I studied art in college and have also done a bit of woodworking (furniture), which may be one reason I obsess over detail. It may also account for why, like Mr. Derington, I'm a relatively slow tyer. I'll keep at it, and one day when my flies are display quality and perhaps win a competition or two, I'll be content. On the other hand...probably not.

[rich5665]

I'm just happy if it looks close to what I'm trying to tie. Of course that doesn't stop me from trying to tie something that might posted to this site or attempt a fly that I have received in a swap. I recently tied eight of the ugliest Adams flies I've ever seen, they looked nothing like the one futzer tied for me. Guess I need to practice a little more. I can tie a mean Woolly Bugger though

[Horseshoes]

rich5665 you are so full of it... I have a lot of your flies and they are excellent.

But then beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I tie what I tie. I use the swaps to try flies I have not tied before so it is a humbling but healthy experience. I guess it depends wholly why you are tying...looks....fish

[Horseshoes]

Sorry did a double take.

[Sonny Edmonds]

I said crappy.
99% the flys I've seen are meant to catch fishermen, not fish.
(That give validity to my 1%....)

[Steve P]

I picked #3 (A good tyer,,,where new techniques sometimes get you frustrated) but I feel as though I have a good blend of #2 (A great tyer ,,but 1 percent of the time you may have trouble) and #4 (A decent enough tyer to catch fish and finding yourself critiquing your work and half the time thinking there is room for improvement) as long as you change the half the time to 99.999999999999999% of the time and a good deal of #5 (A good tyer who obsesses with flies where you use new techniques and r not satisfied until u get it right) as I tend to be a bit OCD and will mess with something until I deam it to be acceptable.

Steve

[JRG]

This is kind of funny....

I always thought I was a good tier..... but then I will find flies I tied over the years and be like goddamn.... that fly really sux but at the time I tied it I thought it was perfectly done. I guess I'm still evolving but it's just funny how the mind works...... it's like I could tie an Adam's today and in my mind that's how I always tied it but if I had an old Adams around I would probably deny that I tied that ugly fly.

[brianh]

I'm just an OK tier. Simple patterns that work well for fish in local waters I do good at. More complex patterns I can usually muddle thru on. But there are some patterns that, if I tried them I would be branded a criminal. I figure I'll be a lowly apprentice at this fly tying thing for the next 40 years or so, then I'll be dead :-)

[iso18]

I picked #3 (A good tyer,,,where new techniques sometimes get you frustrated) but I feel as though I have a good blend of #2 (A great tyer ,,but 1 percent of the time you may have trouble) and #4 (A decent enough tyer to catch fish and finding yourself critiquing your work and half the time thinking there is room for improvement) as long as you change the half the time to 99.999999999999999% of the time and a good deal of #5 (A good tyer who obsesses with flies where you use new techniques and r not satisfied until u get it right) as I tend to be a bit OCD and will mess with something until I deam it to be acceptable.

Steve

thats me in a nut shell,Atleast i think,i dont know,maybe not.Maybe,i should.............????????????????
crap,lets try that again.................................................

[neoFLYte]

I started tying at the same time I started fly fishing, about a year ago. I am a galaxy away from being able to tie presentation flies, but my catch rate with self-tied flies is *much* higher than it ever was when I was using spinning/bait-casting gear.

Cheers!
NeoFLYte
Austin, TX

[Hellgrammite]

Edit...quoted wrong person somehow..bleh

I am right there with ya when it comes to working with deer hair...so i avoid it at all costs. This complicates some caddis and stonefly patterns, but i have workarounds. I picked no 3, good tyer frustrated with new techniques, simply because i only tie a dozen or so different styles of fly, and i just vary the colors and sizes (lets face it, if you can tie an Adams, a quill body, and wind peacock herl, you can tie any traditional dry) and for now I simply stick with what i know. My flies dont look as perfect as the ones in some books, but neither the fish nor I care all that much.

I dont think anyone is a "crappy tier", they may just be a newer tier. Im fairly sure my current flies look better than Art Flick's first few dozen ties, dosent mean im better than he was. If you are catching fish, having fun, and YOU like what comes off your vise, then youre doing it right.

[Drath]

I’ll go with decent enough to catch fish but not good by any means. There is always room for improvement. For instance, I was going through some boxes not very long ago and came across a half dozen EHC’s that I tied just last year. I thought to myself, “Really, I put this junk in my box.” I saved one just to look back on and the rest went under the knife so the hooks could be reused. They probably would have caught fish but I know I can do better now. I also find that some days I’m better than others. I was on fire last night. I often tie with the baseball game on in the background and last night I was hoping for extra innings.

[Arkansas Mike]

This is kind of funny....

I always thought I was a good tier..... but then I will find flies I tied over the years and be like goddamn.... that fly really sux but at the time I tied it I thought it was perfectly done. I guess I'm still evolving but it's just funny how the mind works...... it's like I could tie an Adam's today and in my mind that's how I always tied it but if I had an old Adams around I would probably deny that I tied that ugly fly.

I kept some flies that I tied when I first started out. Like JRG said, at the time I thought they were decent enough. But when I look at them now, I cringe. (though trout would probably get a good laugh out of them, I still catch big ole' slab bluegill on those pitiful flies). I only hope a year from now, when I look back on the flies I'm tying today, I'll notice the same improvement.