What happens when....

[Oliver47 0]

You have filled up your boxes to the brim with every fly you could ever dream of needing in all posible senerios. I am assuming like me, most of you started tying simply so you could have flies to fish with. Maybe you thought you would save a little money (probobly ends up being the other way around) along the way and it would quell your curiosity about have flies are made. However the underlying purpose of tying flies is so you can fish them. So i am wondering what happens once you have all the flies you will ever need to fish with. I personally am still in the process of filling my boxes for the first time ever. I love fly tying but i love it for the finished product of ready to fish flies filling my boxes. I don't love this art for the process of tying the flies. Some part of me thinks i will never stop tying because i will never run out of flies that i think i "need". Im I'm curious what you guys think of this topic. And whether or not you have ever felt that you dont need anymore flies.

 

-Oliver

[Bimini15 0]

I still need to tie many more flies for my fishing, but only a limited number of patterns and sizes. Yet, I am flycurious and I know I will get bored of the same old same old and will try new flies, like I am starting with dubbing now, even though I don't need them.

If I ever lose the curiosity, I will stop tying altogether, like I have done a number of times over the last ten years, until I run out of flies and then start tying again.

[Brodrash 0]

I would bet that one day sooner or later you might come upon a fish that wont take a thing you throw at it, or water conditions that make your flies not as effective (ie. clarity, depth, flow, potential snags). If it were me in this case, it would be back to the drawing board or internet, and I would try to find or modify a fly so that its more effective for these situations. Anyhow, that's my 2 cents.

 

As to enjoying tying on its own. I see where you are coming from, fishing will always be my number one hobby, and tying wont replace it. That being said tying is still pretty damn fun lol. Especially when you can do it at work to pass time, and with the plethora of flies to tie, and all the techniques to incorporate into those flies I don't think I'll ever stop. Plus I'm not that good at it and it's always fun getting better at things!

 

That's my thoughts anyway,

 

Brody

[Striperknight 0]

When I reach that much I end up giving a lot to newbies to the sport. I also donated a lot to project healing waters.

[RickZieger 0]

I probably have more flies tied than I will ever use. I donate flies every year to Reel recovery and Casting for recovery. I also have four friends that fly fish but don't have time to tie so some extras go to them.

Since I tie my own I am not afraid to cast them to places where I might not get them back.

 

Rick

[xpman 0]

Boxes are never really full I cull mine every year of the ones I think I can tie better or don't like, or I have made improvements. Sometimes I even buy another box. I do have an R&D box. I give, sell, or just throw away more than most people own, but I was a commercial tier so materials are not a problem along with hooks and beads.

cheers

ron

[Kentuckysteve 0]

When my fly boxes are full i get the plano boxes and use them to store flies in for future use.

I am always finding a new pattern to tie and i usually tie a dozen or so of that fly.If it turns out to be a pretty productive fly when i fish it...i tie more of them.I just enjoy tying as much as fishing them.

[Poopdeck 0]

I don't tie to fill boxes. I tie what I need when I need it and nothing more. I have one fly box and that's never filled to capacity since I never needed a hundred flies for any one trip. I also give flies to my buddies. I also tie saltwater flies, I pour my own lead and paint and tie all my bucktails and teasers, I turn saltwater plugs, solder and paint flutter spoons and furl my own leaders. I really don't have the time to tie flies just to fill up boxes.

[mikechell 0]

I know everyone's tired of reading about it, but I rarely have more than 6 of any of the patterns I fish with. And I only fish with less than ten different patterns. I will never have the problem of a "full" fly box.

 

I am not a fly tier that uses his flies to fish ... I am a fly fisherman who ties flies for fishing. When I am down to 1 or 2, I tie 4 or 5 more to replace the lost ones.

[DrVette 0]

uhm, buy a couple of more boxes and hope the rearrange looks good???

[zip 0]

uhm, buy a couple of more boxes and hope the rearrange looks good???

Hahahaha ya beat me to it!I just buy more boxes!I have whole Ben full of full fly boxes.I think I have 10ish lol.But I keep one for dries,one for buggers,one for SW etc...

[rstaight 0]

I have cut back on my tying becasue I haven't had much opportunity to fish the last few years. But for my annual trout I will tie to replace what was lost. We also have this little thing with a secret fly that one of the guys started doing and we all joined in. If anyone shows you their fly before the end of the trip it wasn't worth a hoot. If it's a good one, it comes back the next year, as a secret fly.

 

I'm still throwing some strange looking mayflies and soft hackles. That is what I believe I have the most fun with. Doing something different with existing patterns.

[JSzymczyk 0]

You have filled up your boxes to the brim with every fly you could ever dream of needing in all posible senerios.

 

 

buy more boxes

[josephcsylvia 0]

Clearly the answer to this question is to open a fly shop. It allows you to keep all of your stuff in one place and buy and tie as much as you want, your wife is proud you started a business and you start referring to your stuff as stock so she doesnt get angry! Now you get to price stuff high so you can keep it and if it sells great, you can now buy 2 more to replace it. You get to hang out with other fly fisherman and tie all day and your wife thinks your "working" lol

[flytire 0]

And whether or not you have ever felt that you dont need anymore flies.

 

 

i know i dont need any more flies but i like to tie a few every now and then just to stay relevant and to use up a 35+ year hoard of materials

 

being retired what else is there to do?