Age

[YoungGun 0]

I was just wondering at what age all of y'all started tying flies. I started when I was 13 or 14.

[stel 0]

A couple of summers ago which would equal about 16. I didn't really get into until last fall when I relized if I don't buy some fly tying material I would be loosing alot of flies fishing every day

[Guest]

I started tying when I was about 16 also my Father and Grandfather were both avid fly fisherman and fly tiers who tied just good enough to get bye

(I still have some of there crude) handiwork that they seamed to catch fish with.

The best tier in my family was my Uncle Norm and when we were blessed enough to get our hands on some of his flies we would treat them as if they were gold, even to the point of climbing trees on the side of the stream to retrieve one.

But that was 35 years ago and allot has changed since then with the tying material readily available to the tier, also the vises that now have became popular make tying good flies easier.

I guess I still feel comfortable tying with a standard vise even though I have a rotary vise I find myself seldom using it.

 

OSD.

 

 

[Steeldrifter 0]

I started when i was about 17yr old i am now 32,i remember walking into the local fly shop (geeks sporting goods on woodward now long gone ) and was looking for a pair of waders and was totally sucked in by the fly tying section they had.

 

It was unbelieveable to me at the time that a guy could take some feathers and make it look like something that a fish would eat so i had to try it myself and have been glad i did to this day.

 

SD

[Guest]

Started tying less than a year ago. I had so many questions and I wasn't happy with most of the fly tying communities out there so I had the idea to start my own.

[kschu 0]

QUOTE (SmallieHunter @ May 15 2004, 10:11 AM)

Started tying less than a year ago. I had so many questions and I wasn't happy with most of the fly tying communities out there so I had the idea to start my own.

And we are all so glad that you did, start your own that is.

 

I started just last year. Tied nothing but Woolly buggers and clousers for the first year. This year I took a class (4 Saturday mornings in a row) and I've also attended several of the informal Thursday night tying sessions at the local fly shop.

 

I love fly tying. This really is a great site.

 

More later,

Ken S.

 

P.S. Yeah, that's me. So far the oldest guy in this poll.

[mcfly 0]

I picked up a started kit almost 3years ago now. I didn't really get into tying till this past winter though. Now I tie about a dozen a week and I still can't keep my fly boxes full.

 

My only regret is that I didn't become a fly fisher/tyer sooner.

[Guest]

I only started about 10 years ago, before that I was one of those fools who bought flies. I always got angry when I lost one and my friends got tired of me bitching about the cost. A friend loaned me his father's old Thompson "A" and told me to shut up and tie. Until just recently, I've never had a formal tying lesson. I learned from watching other tiers, books and videos.

[Steeldrifter 0]

TB i see that the 61+ group is still at 0....did you forget to vote?

 

[Guest]

I started when I was 40, 42 now.

 

Fatman

[Guest]

Started tying while I was still at primary school (grade for yuz Yanks)

Got a vise a few years later and found out when I was about 15 that you could actually buy fly tying materials, by then I had a good stock of ducks bantams pheasants and a shotgun for the winter

Now Im 51 I still prefer to make my own materials where possible, especially dubbing mixes and dyed cree hackle.

Roy

[Infrared 0]

About two years ago, when i was twelve, my dad got me a beginners kit. I loved it a lot, but then forgot about it, and i recently started tying again.

 

[sandflyx 0]

I started By Skinning chichens for a fly shop, The owner taught me how to tie. I was 14 at the time. On weekends we went to catskills where I learned to fly fish...

[artimus 0]

A bit of a story.......

As a young lad my stepfather was an avid fisherman. We chased alot of bass and pike. I also at this time had my first experience with fly fishing and tying. Nothing pretty, but a taste. As I hit my teens and twenties fishing was the last thing I wanted to do.

 

Jump to 1997. My brother inlaw has just returned from a stint in the US army and he caught the fly bug down in the South, I thought he was nuts....boxes of this and that, different reels rods etc. Then I met this guy at a shop that I worked at who was a steel junkie. Davey bugged me and bugged me to fishing with him and finally I relented. We drive up Goderich one day after work and I experianced a whole new aspect of fishing (roe, noodle rods) quiet times and the pulse of the river. It didn't help also that I hooked into a 15 lb boot. That was it I was totally hooked again!!

 

Over the next 3 yrs I got into every thing. I had boxes if metal, jigs and fur for every fish going, rods and reels overflowing the closet and a starter kit from Walmart. I would get into these tying spurts just before steelhead season started but nothing more. I ended up selling off most of my tackle except for my centerpin setup and my fly stuff. I now have a nice little tying area that I can dissappear into and tie flies for all the spieces locally. This spring and on no more bait or metal, I'm going to try just flies for all me fishing. And I still talk to Davey...in the spring and fall only when the steel is starting to run.

 

As far as fly fishing goes I'm still a beginner, but I totally enjoy the feeling of the false cast and hooking into a fish on a fly that I've tied. I still get pissed though every time I lose a fly that I've tied.

 

Art

[SDHflyfisher 0]

started fly fishing at 11 tying at 12