How much would be willing to pay for someone else's fly? Either for art or for use? Page 15 of this month's issue of Outdoor Life features a $300 Jock Scott tied with four or so types of rare bird feathers.
$300 Jock Scott
How much would be willing to pay for someone else's fly? Either for art or for use? Page 15 of this month's issue of Outdoor Life features a $300 Jock Scott tied with four or so types of rare bird feathers.
Jared DuBach
I used to get $100 for a salmon fly tied w/ the real feathers,not substitutes. That was in 1981. I was 16 at the time.
depends on the who the tier is, if its a modern day tie or an antique, how well its tied, and if all the materials are genuine. one tied with genuine materials has: Indian Crow ($10 PER FEATHER), Toucan ($1000-2000 easily for a skin), Kori bustard (used to hit $800 PER FEATHER from wings or tails. though you could get a few dozen flies out of one feather), Jungle cock($100-200 for a good cape), chatterer ($5-10 per feather or $1000-3000 for a skin).
That answer youre question about the price?
Fishing the Great Beyond
I know where there will be a bunch of very good ones soon. Check our main page,,, in the middle.
You just have to love this concept...
Someone put together some pleasing colors of feathers and/or fur onto a hook many years ago, using what were then readily available materials.
Keep in mind that many of these so called 'patterns' were just these guys playing around with what they already had, and also remember that these flies looked nothing like anything that lives in or around the water.
And, they were mostly tied to catch fish that DON'T EAT....they were just supposed to maybe, once in a long while, cause a reaction strike from a dying fish that once it begins it's spawning run no longer feeds....so there was no need for the fly to look like anything...they just stuck colors together in inovative fashions....gawdy was okay...bright colors from odd birds that they otherwise had no use for were fine...the fun was in the tying...see how wild you can get it.
None of these 'fly patterns' can be shown to be more effective than, say, a piece of shoelace tied on a hook and colored with magic markers.
They are just traditional and VERY pretty to look at.
The passage of time caused some of the materials used in these flies to become either unavailable due to regulation, or very expensive due to lack of supply....
We could just make up a new fly that used readily available feathers and let these old style flies become naught but a curiosity..I mean, the fish don't feed...A Jock Scott is just an archaic fly pattern tied with very expensive materials to no good purpose (as far as fishing goes). Lots of pretty and flashy fly tying materials are available today...they'll work just as well, maybe better....
But, do we take this sensible alternative. Nope. Of course not. Kill that rare bird...charge thousands for a skin, even $10 for a single FEATHER, just so we can have an accurate copy of a fly intended for a fish that DOESN'T EAT....
I bet if the guy that cobbled together this (or any of these) ridiculously ornate Salmon Flies was still alive, he'd laugh himself to death...or call us all fools...maybe both.
I do admire the skill and craftsmanship that goes into producing such a thing...but using such expensive materials when acceptable alternatives are readily available has nothing to do with skill.....but it's your money..have fun...
Did I mention that these fish don't feed?? I still have trouble with the concept of even trying to fish for them....
I don't get baseball trading cards, either, though....this is sort of like that, only you can make up your own...
Buddy
It Just Doesn't Matter....
buddy ,
thats as silly as me saying why buy a glass sculpture from you. it just sits on a shelf and collects dust. its an art form buddy.
"some go to church and think about fishing, others go fishing and think about God." Tony Blake
mnklagoon,
I get that. I'm amazed by those that purchase my art. I tell everyone who asks that what I sell has no purpose other than aesthetics. I try to make sure that all of my creations do not have a 'use'.
I really, really admire the skill in creating these flies. As a craft, they are amazing.
What I find absolutely hilarious, though, is the 'cost' of the feathers/fur involved.
It's not that they aren't pretty...or even that they wouldn't catch a fish..(I doubt many $300 flies will see the water).
It's the whole getting hung up on using a particular 'feather'. It's like using another as a substitute, even if you can't 'see' the difference, is somehow cheating. I didn't make the rules here, don't know them, but find it absolutely fascinating....
I'd get those kind of prices if they were 'antique' flies tied when those materials were readily available...like any collectible: stamps, coins, etc., they are available in limited numbers...
But you can't print a new 'copy' of a rare stamp and sell it for the price of an 'original'...if you strated striking copies of rare coins, I doubt they'd be valuable...
But, if you can tie a fly well, using the same 'original' materials...it can be worth more than an original...it certainly costs more to tie.
I want to be very clear here...
I have no stake in this...I'm not 'against' the practice. If it's your thing, have fun with it.
I just find it very interesting, and a bit amusing.
Last summer I made a glass Faerie holding a shotgun for a young lad...I don't get it, but I'll take the challenge, AND the money.
Last week, it was a Ninja Penguin...
Fellow's got to eat.
Buddy
It Just Doesn't Matter....
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