Few patterns vs. Allot of patterns.

[kimjensen 0]

Over the few years I've been tying flies I focus more on select few patterns I know works and not going overboard and tie 100 different flies that won't ever leave the flybox. What's your approach to fly tying? Do you tie everything you can get your hands on or do you focus on a few patterns?

[utyer 0]

I tie far too many different patterns, but I only FISH a very small number for trout. If you define a "pattern" as the same type of fly in different sizes and colors, then I usually only fish one or two mayfly surface patterns, and just one caddis and one stonefly pattern. I fish just one stonefly nymph, two mayfly and two caddis nymph patterns. I fish with just three midge patterns one each for the larva, pupa, and adult. Add to those, a hopper, and an ant, and one or two hair wing dry patterns, and that is about all I use.

 

I am still experimenting with warm water and saltwater patterns, so I have a lot more to try out and then narrow the field down to just a few.

 

I have boxes full of different things, but they aren't fished much, in fact they are usually given away.

[tidewaterfly 0]

I'm guilty of trying many different patterns, and my fly boxes are full of different patterns, but I don't usually try to add every pattern I see. For me, part of the enjoyment of the sport is tying & trying different things. However, there are many patterns today, that frankly don't excite me much & are IMO, not that much different than what I've tied & used for many years. That limits what I'll try. Sometimes I see patterns I really like & will tie them, but there have been some that I added to my boxes that never get used. No rhyme or reason to it for me sometimes other than trying something different.

[green 0]

Yeah I tie way to many different patterns. Over the years ive probably tied 70 different patterns and every time I fish I find myself using the same 5 patterns.

[eide 0]

I tie a lot of different patterns, from #32 to #4/0, just to learn how different styles are done and how different material work together. For me this is part of this hobby: to explore how things work together when you put them together on the hook, so for me I love discovering new styles and material

 

For fishing I tend to lean towards some specific patterns, but trying to expand more there as well, but I know what works in the waters I fish normally.

[tidewaterfly 0]

I tie a lot of different patterns, from #32 to #4/0, just to learn how different styles are done and how different material work together. For me this is part of this hobby: to explore how things work together when you put them together on the hook, so for me I love discovering new styles and material

 

For fishing I tend to lean towards some specific patterns, but trying to expand more there as well, but I know what works in the waters I fish normally.

Well put!

 

I also tend to go back to tried & true styles of flies I've used for a long time. I say styles because many of the flies I tie & use are not specific patterns, but simply variations of a style. You have to use what works best for you when the experiments don't work out.

 

Anyone who fishes for multiple species or different types of waters is probably more inclined to tie & try a wider variety of patterns than someone who limits their fishing to single species or types of water.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Not sure about coldwater trout but in warm and saltwater, I've found that fewer colors is a good way to keep fly population down in my box. Having a few sizes can be beneficial but you don't have to get crazy with it like in coldwater.

 

Kirk

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I tie a lot of different patterns, from #32 to #4/0, just to learn how different styles are done and how different material work together. For me this is part of this hobby: to explore how things work together when you put them together on the hook, so for me I love discovering new styles and material

 

For fishing I tend to lean towards some specific patterns, but trying to expand more there as well, but I know what works in the waters I fish normally.

I agree with Eide on this - I, too, tie far more patterns than I actually use in a given season, but I don't consider any of my efforts wasted. Tying a pattern that I may or may not use might give me an idea for variations on other patterns, ways to adapt new or different materials or tying techniques. The more patterns you tie, the more connections you begin to see between the different types of flies and how they're constructed. Even if I only end up using half of the patterns I tie, I don't see this as a bad thing. As Utyer mentioned, patterns that don't get fished can always be given away.

[notenuftoys 0]

I also agree with Eide (although I only go to size 22). Exploring techniques and materials, and learning how different species feed and on what is the attraction of the hobby. I have yet to go saltwater fishing, but I have patterns ready to go if and when that happens.

 

Sitting at the vice is a way to explore another world through hooks, feathers, hair and synthetics. It's relaxing, and although I have more patterns than I will probably ever fish, and more patterns stored away in Evernote than I have ever tied, it's the exploration that I find so attractive and engaging about this hobby.

[kimjensen 0]

Good points. Can always give flies away :-)

[JSzymczyk 0]

I try to fly fish for everything and anything.... over the years from little panfish to saltwater. I tend to tie flies for the type of fishing I am likely to be doing and that I do most often. So, through the decades I have become competent in tying most things. Like most things, if you can master the basics, you can adapt them to cover just about every situation.

[Stevester 0]

Like a lot of folks who tie, I like to try new patterns and materials. Unfortunately for my back and neck many of these end up in boxes in my vest but very rarely get fished. Once you have a few patterns that work it is hard to not use them when you are fishing. We all know how much a part of our success confidence is.

 

Steve

[Piker20 0]

If there isn't a hatch to match I like to tie on a fly that I haven't caught with or a style I haven't used. I try not to revert immediately to pattern that worked last time. That said I am trying to tighten the patterns I tie to use the materials I have and avoid buying too many extra stuff that sits in a drawer.

[JoeBillingsley 0]

I tie way too many different patterns, but it's fun. Many times I have stood on the bank of a stream and see a pattern in one of my boxes and asked myself "What is this? When did I tie it?"

 

Joe

[Jolly Red 0]

For me this is a hobby, playtime, relaxation, etc. If I tied the same thing time after time, it woud not be those things, it would be work. So I tie differant things, even if I have no intention of ever using them. After all, there is Project Healing Waters and other place to send the extras. Or I can strip the hooks and reuse them.