Craig Matthews of Blue Ribbon Flies will put the fly he was using in his fishing journal to reflect the exact fly he caught fish on. Something to think about.
Kelly.
Craig Matthews of Blue Ribbon Flies will put the fly he was using in his fishing journal to reflect the exact fly he caught fish on. Something to think about.
Kelly.
Tight Lines,
Kelly.
"There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home."
Roderick Haig-Brown, "Fisherman's Spring"
8T,
Do you part to help move the economy along and chuck the flies. Then go out a buy a bunch of materials and tie new ones. I tried that logic on my wife only to be given the evil eye. Perhaps you'll do better.
Trout don't speak Latin.
That logic might have worked better if irretrievably linked to "new shoes logic".Originally Posted by TyroneFly
8T,
Do you part to help move the economy along and chuck the flies. Then go out a buy a bunch of materials and tie new ones. I tried that logic on my wife only to be given the evil eye. Perhaps you'll do better.
As for myself, I fish a until a tree wants it. I have only 3-4 flies that I have "fished to death". I keep those as curios. Unless something happens to my ability to concentrate on my casting at critical junctures, I anticipate that part of one fly box will last me a lifetime as a curio cabinet. Honest truth.
Ed
The thing that gets me about it is the flies in question have caught multiple trout before a tree/rock/bush manages to grab it and it's juuuuuust out of reachjimswanson lol I do too, I loose more than my fair share of flies, guess I was thinking about ideal conditions....
Jim
Jim, Murphy dictates that it will [B][I][U]always[U][I][B] be just out of reach. I thought they taught that in every casting class, but then those of us who didn't bother to attend and spent years developing killer casting handicaps had to learn that by experience. Kinda like the only way to get to that far fish is to wade out one more step - which ends up being one step too far and very cold and wet. Or saying to your wife, who has endured your fishless afternoon for several hours longer than she wanted to, "Only one more cast, dear..." and then wondering why she's mad the rest of the evening...
So, the question begs an answer - keep it or chuck it. I chuck it and dig for a new one.
Tight Lines,
Kelly.
Tight Lines,
Kelly.
"There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home."
Roderick Haig-Brown, "Fisherman's Spring"
Maybe it's just me, but I've had my best fishing on flies that are pretty ratty looking. If it isn't bent or a bare hook, I'll hang on to it.
I have one "fly" on my bench that went through a bluefish frenzy, and even though it has only a few strands of white poly left hanging on the hook, it kept on catching and catching until the school was gone. I retired that one, but I keep it on the tying bench just because.
The most valuable thing I've learned about fly fishing is just how little I really know.
"With integrity, nothing else matters. Without integrity, nothing else matters." ~ Winston Churchill
If the fly is used... It usually goes into a catch all sort of box. You don't actually want to see it. It sort of looks like something the cat threw up...only a lot bigger. I actually get quite a collection over the season...but I also visit that box first when going out and yes I reuse my flies. If they caught fish before, they will catch fish again. They get tossed when I can't get a sharp point on them any more or the fly doesn't preform in the manner intended...ie floats when I want it to. I don't mind beaking them off if they get snagged up so it lets me fish them harder and get into more difficult situations, because I no longer think of them as my cute little buddy. Not that I did before. Thus they often end their lives honorably, on the battlefield.
I just spent the last hour reviving my whole Hex and Drake collection (all used) I dug them out today and it looked like they were stored under a stack of books all year.It's amazing what getting them wet, then hitting them with a hair dryer will do. I wish I took a before and after photo. I just saved myself about $75!
remember...the first flies were nothing more than a small hunk of wool thread stuck on a hook.
Last edited by Mato Kuwapi; 06-18-2009 at 08:59 PM.
"There's more B.S. in fly fishing than there is in a Kansas feedlot." Lefty Kreh
"Catch and Release,...like Corrections Canada" ~ Rick Mercer
The economy should be booming!
Hi Tyronefly,8T,
Do you part to help move the economy along and chuck the flies. Then go out a buy a bunch of materials and tie new ones. I tried that logic on my wife only to be given the evil eye. Perhaps you'll do better.
The flies that I have left in my fly patch are small in number compared to the huge number that I have hung in trees, bushes and snags. Add to that some freebies to other fisherman and kids and the economy should be booming. 8T
Since I tie flies, I never use a fly more than one day or trip. Aside from providing a reason to tie, I rationalize this practice because of potential rust beneath the dressing which could weaken the hook.
Hi,
I'll generally keep fishing a fly, return it to the box for another day, etc, as long as it still looks good to me. I've caught fish on a fly where the floss body was torn off and it was just a black soft hackle collar on a bare hook with just a tiny whisp of royal blue floss that was the body. Still, I retied it when I got home. I do this because I like to fish flies that I like to look at myself. I also tend to run out of room in my fly boxes, so any excuse to replace a fly with a new one I've just tied up is welcomed. I do try and salvage the hooks though.
- Jeff
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