Alan B

How much more simple it would be if people read what is written. I have never tried to impose any standard on anyone else. Neither have I said that my flies are perfect. I don't have a full site but you can, if you wish, either take a look at my flies on Flytiers site or here http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alanbithell/my_photos My point is that to continue producing huge numbers of "scrap" flies is wasteful of time effort and materials. I have read of pro tiers having to tie up several flies to start a days work that they know will be thrown out scraped or burned off the hook. Why bother. Why not take a few seconds longer and not produce flies to throw away? I am not advocating the tying of perfect flies, nor saying mine are perfect. What I am saying is that a considered deliberate approach is better than one so rushed that it produces up to 50% flies that the tier (not me) decides later to scrap. Alan. PS jmmccutc If the fly in the avatar is so bad how come I am the only pro tier ever be asked to supply them to the flies originator for him to sell them on?

Not offended at all Steeldrifter, I used to limit myself to 10dzn a day or if they where complex flies 10 hours at the vice. I didn't tie so fast that I wasn't in full control all the time and I would not have described myself as a fast tier but when tying with a friend (very competent fly tier) I didn't get my vice out until he had started to put the thorax on his Klinkhammer I set up my vice, got out tools and materials and completed my Klinkhammer first. Out of the dozen flies he was tying to support his branch of the Fly Dressers Guild I did 9 to his three. To a similar standard as he did. Most of the speed coming from careful analysis of the pattern. There is often much faster ways to put a fly together without compromising the dressing. In the end I gave up tying full time as even at 10dzn a day here in Britain you can't make a good living at it. This probably has more to do with things like gas at over $6 a gallon. Not every fly is perfect but each of us should set a standard for ourselves (not dictated by anyone unless that’s what we want) If one part of a fly is not up to that standard there is no point going on to the next step. If you are going to razor blade or burn the fly why finish it? Best wishes Alan.

By no means do I mean to impose any standard on any other tier. I just seem to have come across people discarding lots of flies. I may end up taking say a hackle or wing off and discarding it but would never finish a fly if I thought one part wasn't right.

Back in the now dim and distant past when I was taught to tie flies one of the first "rules" I was taught was, "Get one stage right before you go on to the next". In fly tying if something isn't right you can not put it right by adding more turns of thread. If you ignore it it will only get worse. Undo what you have just done and get it right. This is something that struck me as common sense and I have followed it ever since. Even when tying for a living. The results are that I make very few flies that I can not use (or sell). What puzzles me is that I keep seeing posts where people are making many flies that don't come up to standard. Sometimes up to half the flies they tie. Is my deliberate approach to fly tying unusual? Does it make sense to tie 18 flies and discard six to get a dozen, or is it better to slow down a little and tie just a dozen right? Alan