Is there value in obtaining your materials from the wild?

[Mark Knapp 0]

This is a subject that has come up from time to time. Another question that comes up from time to time is "Is it worth it to tie your own flies?"

 

The answer for both of them is, it depends.

 

There are advantages to tying your own flies, and here are just a few of them;

 

• You can tie exactly what you want, sometimes you can't find the exact fly you want at the fly shop.
• You can save money, sometimes.
• You can put your creativity to work. Match the hatch even if it's not commercially available.
• You can get a little more enjoyment out of your fly fishing. It's more fun to catch a fish on a fly you tied yourself, especially if it's a pattern you came up with yourself.
• Most of all, it's enjoyable.

There are also some advantages to making/obtaining your own materials as apposed to buying them at the fly shop. Here are a few of them (at the risk of raising the ire of a particular large, hairy fellow we haven't seen in a while.)

 

• Many times, it's free
• Sometimes you can get better material than what is available at the fly shop. Here are just a couple of examples.

This is Moose Main that I cut yesterday, It's six inches long. You and I will never see moose main that long in the fly shop. The buddies of the suppliers will get it long before it gets to the shop.

 

The bucktail on the right is one that I processed myself. It's a "Whiter Shade of Pale" than the one on the left. All of the tails I did myself (6 of 20) are brighter than the ones that were commercially processed.

• You can learn a lot from doing it yourself. When I cut my own deer hides I learned what texture of hair came from each area of the hide and what kind of deer produced the best hair for a particular fly.
• If you do it yourself, you know what you are getting. When I cut my own hides, I can mark the leather so I know if it was back hair, side hair, butt hair or belly hair. I know if it's a buck or a doe, if it's an early hide or a late one. This can be particularly helpful on flies like Elk Hair Caddis or spinning deer hair. You can't know these things if you buy at the fly shop. If I pay attention, I will be able to tell the difference without marking the backs of each piece as I cut them.
• You generally have a lot of trading stock to trade with others who have an abundance of other stuff you need.

There are disadvantages to gathering your own stuff too. Few of us are going to raise our own chickens to get a special strain of Coq De Leon or Cul De Canard. Now, if you could get them from the same bird, that would be something.

• It can be messy.
• Some folks do not like to do it.
• Sometimes, free is not free.
• Wives, sometimes will not put up with so much stuff.
• You need some tools, some time, some space and a little bit of skill.

It's not for everyone but, it can be very rewarding. I have the tools, the space and a little bit of skill. I can make the time.

[RickZieger 0]

I do not have a place to take care of things from the wild, so no.

Most of the patterns I use are not commercially available so I save money tying flies.

This is probably true of most warmwater fly tyers.

 

Rick

[mikechell 0]

Almost all of my tying materials are obtained from hunting trips ... through Dollar Tree and hobby stores. I use a lot of synthetic materials.

 

One material that MUST come from "the wild" is raccoon tails. I am sure there are places that I can buy them, but I've got a free cyclic system in my front yard.

We're at an overload again, so I'll be killing a few in the next few weeks. The tails go into a tub of kitty litter in the freezer, and the bodies go out back for the vultures. 12 seed filled bird feeders in the front yard ... a vulture feeder back yard. Works for everyone involved ... except the raccoons.

[Sandan 0]

Mark, I answer yes and yes.

mikechell, nice system you have there

[Moshup 0]

Yes without a doubt though I pass on some because they’re too much work. I stick to bird skins and bucktails

primarily.

[niveker 0]

I'm not sure about value for me, but there is alot of satisfaction.

[fshng2 0]

Material I collect from the wild... works for me.

Whole skins or capes from: Deer, gray & red squirrel, rabbit, black mink, ground hog, muskrat, turkey, pheasant, grouse & mallard duck.

Parts: Bucktails, Canadian goose feathers, porcupine quills, skunk tail.

The advantage of a whole skins or capes as Mark said, gives you a larger variety of material to use.

[Poopdeck 0]

I find great value in tying my own. Without question I save gobs of money by doing so. I only tie what I need and I don't tie because I fancy it as some kind of art or form of expression. If I don't fish it I don't tie it. I'm weird in that I find no extra enjoyment in catching fish on something I tied. It's all about saving me money and giving me something to do when I have nothing else to do.

 

For me there is no value in processing materials myself. I don't hunt, I use to but gave it up when I could comfortably afford black angus. Now I generally avoid killing things but have not a single issue with those who do. I have processed my own bucktail in years gone by but not anymore. Materials are so cheap and last so long that the process to get to usable material is not worth my time. I can work a couple hours and afford years worth of materials that would take me days or weeks to process myself. Since I don't feel that twang by catching something on a fly I tied myself I likewise don't think I would feel anything different by catching a fish on a fly I killed, processed and tied.

[Flat Rock native 0]

Answer to question in title of post: Yes

 

Off topic... I am looking for a White- tailed Ptarmigan skin, hen or rooster, winter colors or not, they are hard to find where my friends hunt. Anyone, quote me a price....

 

Hoping to acquire to work on a set of soft hackle flies that represent the roadkill Game birds of WY, CO, NE and Iowa and needing some feathers to complete the birds open to hunter in those states.

 

ps. Must be a legal take!

[Flat Rock native 0]

Mark, I answer yes and yes.

mikechell, nice system you have there

 

Mark, I answer yes and yes.

mikechell, nice system you have there

+1...Sandan, good to know you are still hanging here, hope you are still throwing down some top notch wraps... Carry On

[DarrellP 0]

I have lost the desire to kill things since my heart bypass. However, people give me feathers and fur. I also buy anything that looks cool to me. I don't save money by tying, but I enjoy it a lot. I really prefer to catch on my own flies. My tying and fishing are eclectic.

[McFlyLures 0]

Almost all of my tying materials are obtained from hunting trips ... through Dollar Tree and hobby stores. I use a lot of synthetic materials.

 

One material that MUST come from "the wild" is raccoon tails. I am sure there are places that I can buy them, but I've got a free cyclic system in my front yard.

We're at an overload again, so I'll be killing a few in the next few weeks. The tails go into a tub of kitty litter in the freezer, and the bodies go out back for the vultures. 12 seed filled bird feeders in the front yard ... a vulture feeder back yard. Works for everyone involved ... except the raccoons.

Do you keep the bone in? And do you do anything but kitty litter? No borax or anything?

[Mark Knapp 0]

Almost all of my tying materials are obtained from hunting trips ... through Dollar Tree and hobby stores. I use a lot of synthetic materials.

 

One material that MUST come from "the wild" is raccoon tails. I am sure there are places that I can buy them, but I've got a free cyclic system in my front yard.

We're at an overload again, so I'll be killing a few in the next few weeks. The tails go into a tub of kitty litter in the freezer, and the bodies go out back for the vultures. 12 seed filled bird feeders in the front yard ... a vulture feeder back yard. Works for everyone involved ... except the raccoons.

How do the cats feel about raccoon tails in their litter box? Don't the cats get cold in the freezer?

[Meeshka 0]

I'm a big time bird hunter so:

ducks

geese

pheasants

grouse

odd magpie

I just cut off the wings, put them in ziplocks and freeze. The other feathers I just pluck and ziplock

 

Although I don't big game hunt anymore, I have from the past

WT deer

mule deer

black bear (3 color phases)

elk

moose

wolf

coyote

antelope

My buddy is now a retired taxidermist so all my animal skins are tanned

My uncle also runs a trapline so I have a lot of materials from the wild

[Mark Knapp 0]

I'm a big time bird hunter so:

ducks

geese

pheasants

grouse

odd magpie

I just cut off the wings, put them in ziplocks and freeze. The other feathers I just pluck and ziplock

 

Although I don't big game hunt anymore, I have from the past

WT deer

mule deer

black bear (3 color phases)

elk

moose

wolf

coyote

antelope

My buddy is now a retired taxidermist so all my animal skins are tanned

My uncle also runs a trapline so I have a lot of materials from the wild

Wow, lucky you.