Is there value in obtaining your materials from the wild?

[DFoster 0]

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

+1 I would have to tie an awful lot of flies to off set the investment in a quality vice, tools and materials. Besides tying keeps me sane during the winter apocalypse we get every year.

[flytire 0]

 

while a few on here will lay claim they save money tying their own flies more power to you! i respect that but please respect other tyers who do it for enjoyment, increasing their skill level, want to try tying different genres/styles of flies.....

 

i was not brought up in a household of hunters and gathers that went out and shot something to have for dinner and to use all parts of the dead animal

 

i prefer to do my hunting and gathering of fly tying supplies from the numerous online fly shops that i frequent

 

ive been tempted to pick up road kill but i usually end up leaving it there for the turkey buzzards to feast on

 

on very rare occassions will i introduce free tying materials from a hunter fearing contamination of the materials i already have in house

 

and squatch does not want to get infected with your buggies

 

[petelangevin 0]

I have collected squirrel tails but not anything else, i never really hunted. Now i live in the city so collecting anything more than squirrels are out of the question.

[Mark Knapp 0]

 

while a few on here will lay claim they save money tying their own flies more power to you! i respect that but please respect other tyers who do it for enjoyment, increasing their skill level, want to try tying different genres/styles of flies.....

 

i was not brought up in a household of hunters and gathers that went out and shot something to have for dinner and to use all parts of the dead animal

 

i prefer to do my hunting and gathering of fly tying supplies from the numerous online fly shops that i frequent

 

ive been tempted to pick up road kill but i usually end up leaving it there for the turkey buzzards to feast on

 

on very rare occassions will i introduce free tying materials from a hunter fearing contamination of the materials i already have in house

 

and squatch does not want to get infected with your buggies

 

Of course we respect tiers (tyers, both are correct in case someone wants to jump in and correct us) that do it for whatever reason. This is still America and we are all free to tie for whatever reason we want, and we don't have to explain it if we don't want to.

 

Some people tie but never fly fish and that's fine too. I say, do what you enjoy doing. I enjoy doing a lot of that kind of stuff.

 

I should have probably added the bugs to the disadvantages of gathering stuff from the wild. Of course it's totally possible to get an infestation in a collection of all store bought stuff too. Adding wild stuff could be considered "just asking for it". We have a steady supply of moth balls around here because I'm also a horn and antler merchant. Can't get away from the bugs.

 

I enjoy all genres of fly tying even if I don't have any use for some of the flies I tie. I also enjoy seeing all genres of flies tied by everyone else on the forum.

 

Nice to see Squatch again, I've missed him.

[Poopdeck 0]

 

while a few on here will lay claim they save money tying their own flies more power to you! i respect that but please respect other tyers who do it for enjoyment, increasing their skill level, want to try tying different genres/styles of flies.....

Although I see no disrespect to anybody any where in this topic, barring one, this looks like a shot at my post. In no way do I care why others tie or how much money they spend on it. In no way am I disrespecting anybody. It's clear I was talking about why I tie not why others tie or why or what they should tie. I was simply pointing out my methods so it's easy to understand it is possible for ME to save money by tying your own.

[Mark Knapp 0]

Hi Poopdeck, I honestly don't think Norm was taking a shot at you or anybody. I have seen him use this meme when ever the subject of tying to save money comes up. I see the humor in it.

 

Of course you can save money tying flies, you can also make money tying them. But it's like trying to make money making knives. The vast majority of fly tiers and knife makers do it for reasons other than to save or make money.

 

In many cases, it's pretty hard to do but there are a few who do.

[mikechell 0]

Hi Poopdeck, I honestly don't think Norm was taking a shot at you or anybody. I have seen him use this meme when ever the subject of tying to save money comes up.

Yeah, Mark, he was taking a shot at those of us who claim to save money tying flies. He uses that meme, often, as you say. By his posts, it sure seems he believes it. He DOESN'T believe anyone saves money tying their own flies. flytire ... am I wrong?

 

Like Poopdeck, I only tie flies for fishing. I'll try a few new patterns while I am on the road like this, but if they don't catch anything before I lose them all to snags, I'll never tie that pattern again. I ordered from FTD once, actually, Wife got me a christmas gift box. That was ... a decade ago? Or so? To look at the material, you'd swear I haven't used any of it.

Unlike Poopdeck, I do get a certain pleasure out of catching fish on my own flies. Especially considering my favorite fly, and most productive fly, is one I designed and built completely on my own.

 

Been tying steadily since 2002 or so. I've tallied my spending vs. flies lost to snags, etc. ... a few times. At the moment, I am about $400.00 ahead of where I'd be if I'd bought all the flies I've lost. I figure that's saving money by tying my own.

[Mark Knapp 0]

 

Hi Poopdeck, I honestly don't think Norm was taking a shot at you or anybody. I have seen him use this meme when ever the subject of tying to save money comes up.

Yeah, Mark, he was taking a shot at those of us who claim to save money tying flies. He uses that meme, often, as you say. By his posts, it sure seems he believes it. He DOESN'T believe anyone saves money tying their own flies. flytire ... am I wrong?

 

Like Poopdeck, I only tie flies for fishing. I'll try a few new patterns while I am on the road like this, but if they don't catch anything before I lose them all to snags, I'll never tie that pattern again. I ordered from FTD once, actually, Wife got me a christmas gift box. That was ... a decade ago? Or so? To look at the material, you'd swear I haven't used any of it.

Unlike Poopdeck, I do get a certain pleasure out of catching fish on my own flies. Especially considering my favorite fly, and most productive fly, is one I designed and built completely on my own.

 

Been tying steadily since 2002 or so. I've tallied my spending vs. flies lost to snags, etc. ... a few times. At the moment, I am about $400.00 ahead of where I'd be if I'd bought all the flies I've lost. I figure that's saving money by tying my own.

 

Saying "no one can save money by tying their own flies" is as silly as saying "Everyone can". I am sure, as frugal as you are, you can save money by doing it. A guy would need to be frugal, and he would need to fish a lot. He wouldn't be using a high end vise and he wouldn't be buying premium materials, but he can do it.

 

The way I do it, I couldn't save money by tying my own flies, I like cool things too much. When I see a material I want, I buy it.

 

I haven't bought very many materials brand new from the fly shop.

 

If I sold all the materials I have, and kept just what I needed to tie my own, I would be way ahead of the game because I came into two different estates of guys that were serious, and they bought out two or three different fly shops when those shops went out of business. I got a lot of stuff.

[Moshup 0]

A decent post reduced to crankiness once again. Maybe the coronavirus will reduce the nbrs.

[Flat Rock native 0]

Well at least we know Norm’s Shift-Key still doesn’t work... and it is an equally trivial matter how much other people spend or save on tying flies. If you aren’t doing it for yourself, for whatever reason, get another hobby or, in my case a new OCD focus.

 

No need to wish Coronavirus on anyone here if that is what Mogup is saying. No one is forced to post anything or read it. Don’t like it, there is a power button on your device... presumably you know how to use it.

[Moshup 0]

Yes Flat Rock Native I do know where the off button is and apparently a lot of older posters know as well. Keep up the good work !

[Flat Rock native 0]

Yes Flat Rock Native I do know where the off button is and apparently a lot of older posters know as well. Keep up the good work !

Not work for me, it’s pure joy. I signed up to learn more and help others learn- in limited instances where I might actually have something relevant and coherent to add to a discussion.

 

Debating ideas is a good thing but no one’s soul is going to be saved or lost by anything that happens here. Right now I must go back to doing what I came here to do. Tying a Scud. Later

[Flat Rock native 0]

And now to show what my non-flytying friends are like, I offer the following:

 

As they say in show biz, “... with friends like these who needs enemas...”

 

 

 

 

[Mark Knapp 0]

I started this thread because I knew there were some things that we wouldn't all agree on and that it might be interesting to talk about. Who wants to talk about stuff we all agree on?

 

Surprise surprise, we don't all agree on some stuff, so what. It's no big deal.

 

I like Norm. He's a little crotchety at times, but we're all a little something.

 

The only thing we can do here is tell each other our opinions. He's entitled to his own and he has the right to tell them here.

 

He has made continuous positive contributions here and I am glad for it. With all people, take the good with the bad.

 

Where I turn the computer off is when I see people that point out every little mistake they see and when the dog piling starts.

 

I like to point out mistakes people make, or how ugly someone is but I try to do it with humor, right Mike? and these things or, you could go with "Don't sweat the small stuff"

 

No harm in having a spirited discussion about something we all love to do, that is until Mike shows up at my door with his fists all balled up. It's too cold up here for him to do that. He's kind of an ice wimp (OH Yeah, ) and there's no blue up here (only the bright, clear sky).

[Flat Rock native 0]

+1 Mark, let’s go back to discussion about “value” in a bigger sense and not just $$$$