New fly tiers

[harleybob87]

A lot of the posts on the BB got me to thinking about when I first started to tie flies. Now I am by no means a good tier, in fact I am not even what you would call fair but I tie so therefore I am. I really enjoy it. People at work ask me about tying as do my boys. All this combined got me to thinking and if I am wrong here all of you good tiers correct me please. When I first started to tie my flies looked really bad. I went up fishing with a friend of mine to one of the local lakes and there was a guy by looks ( he had all the right gear) fly fishing. Got to talking about what they were hitting on and tyieng. He looked at my flies and made it a point in a very very polite way to tell me all my errors. He was nice about it not trying to be mean or anything like I sad they looked very bad. He did say you will not catch anything on them here are a couple they are hitting on that you have there but this is how they are supposed to look. Use one for fishing and the other for a patern so you can tie them right. Went out in the tubes with this guy aqnd started catching fish right away. When I had caught about 10 to his one he said hey give me back my fly. I did. It was not on my leader it was in my box. I gave him back both flies he had given me. my ugly fly was catching fish and what a rush that was.
When I asked my boys why they didn't tie they said " I am a perfectionist and mine don't come out perfect" Now my tip and what this story is about. THE PERFECT FLY IS THE ONE THE FISH ARE HITTING ON!
Take your time tying and do your best. Try them out on the fish if they like them hey it is a perfect fly. Talk to other tiers refer to this site for info and instructions next thing you know you will be tyieng like a old pro. Most important if you like it don't give up. Join some swaps they are fun and test your abilities. Just my 2 cents and hope I did not offend anyone.

[JeffHamm]

Hi Harleybob87,

I think that was a very spot on post actually. There are flies that catch fish, and there are flies that catch fishermen; only by coincidence are the two one in the same!

Some patterns, I'm thinking a Hare and Copper especially (a popular NZ nymph), seem to work better the messier they are! I've noticed that some flies work better the more fish they catch; as the trout tear it up and their teeth fray the material, sometimes the fly improves! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

- Jeff

[Marco]

Harleybob,
Funny you should bring up this subject. I am now vacationing/fishing in Northwest Wyoming. For this trip, I decided to tie ( for the first time) some of my own. The drys didn't come out too well but, like you experienced, I caught fish. The nymphs were my own concoction of hook,beadhead, sewing thread ( yes SEWING),copper coil wire and head cement. Well guess what, a 19" Brown appreciated my efforts. I can only say, you probably won't find my flies at your local shop but for sure they'll be in my fly box.Eventually I may even get good enough to let someone see them. Someone here has a signature "I tie flies so that fish have something to laugh about", well mine are maybe closer to "cry about".

Mark

[DShock]

When I started tying flies, it was out of self defense. Because I am a perfectionist, I created the illusion that my flies should be perfect creations. At the time, I was clueless what the fish required.
My mentors, idols, did nothing to change my idea, because their flies were much nicer than mine.
My world came crashing down eight years ago when I tied soft hackle flies and caught many fish with them. They were simple and plain when they came out of the vise and the fish didn't care when they got torn up.
Becoming a better flyfisher was much more important than making sure my flies were perfect.
Doug

[Bamboozle]

I think fly tying is what makes this sport so special. I also think that getting kids, young adults, or even older folks into ANY activity that requires craftsmanship, creativity, and some degree of dexterity is a wonderful thing. Arts and crafts and making things from nothing was one of the joys of my childhood, how many kids today make ANYTHING?

That being said, I think anybody who openly criticizes anybody else creations is an idiot. Whether it's a fly, a painting or a meal; if you want a job as a critic, go work for the New York Times. I feel the same way about the well outfitted angler negatively commenting on lesser tackle to the poor soul who can't afford better. It lacks class, decency, and is just down right ignorant. Unfortunately stuff like this happens. Sorry for the rant, but that's the way I feel.

When a beginning tyer shows me their work, I always act as if it's the best fly I ever saw. I want to encourage them, not discourage them. If they want to see my work, I'll show them and if they comment that my flies look better, (maybe), I'll show them one of MY early disasters and offer to help them past some of the humps. I just want the newbie to keep at it because I know it only gets better and more fun the longer you do it. Like we all know, ugly flies catch fish just like ugly actors catch fans. Beauty is in the eye...

The tyer that gets discouraged today, is the artist we may lose in the future. Keep at it, the fish will hate you for it!

[Eric-WD]

Great Thread, my observations as a beginning fly fisher, tyer and long time watcher of things fishing.

For a commercial fly to work it must first catch the eye of the fly fisher before it can catch the eye of the trout, unfortunatly sometimes we have different ideas of what looks good. (this goes for all commercial gear)

Terrestrial's don't look good in water, they flail and get mangeld and generaly dont look like what we think bugs should look like. flys that are prfect may not look right to a trout. Trout hunt for the easy meal if a fly looks injured it is an easy meal.

Al Beaty noted at the Idaho Fish in that Commercial tiers fish their rejects. They are so buisy tying for others that they don't have time to tie for themselves.

I guess my point is that we need to keep track of the bad ones that catch fish and keep tying them that way

Eric

[Betty Hiner]

Unfortunately there are insensitive clods everywhere.

Tie your own flies, and have fun with the process, those flies will catch fish. Obviously, the trouts must think your flies look buggy to them ... they're eating them!

[pspaint]

When I started tying, I remember tying hares ear nymphs that looked like something I pulled out of the dryer vent. They worked awesome. As I progressed, I started tying them much more proportioned and pretty. They didn't work nearly as well. So I went back to tying those nappy little fuzz balls like when I started, and once again, they worked great.
I never trash someone else's creations, especially if they're starting out. I usually say things like..."Wow, mine didn't look nearly that good when I started"...and i'll offer suggestions if they ask.

When I started my instructor would always say, "Yep That will catch a fish", when he reviewed one of my "Things!". He was right you know!

[gqualls]

Good thread Harleybob ..... there are some beautiful fly tiers amongst us and I'm not one of them. It's not that I don't want to be --- it's just that I have not mastered beautiful looking flies. I think I make progress each month. When I tie, I do my best because I think it will make a difference on the stream. I believe their are certain times when you have to have flies that truly emulate what the trout are actively feeding on. But my experience has taught me that sometimes you don't have to even be in the neighborhood. Case in point .... few days ago I got into some fish for about an hour. After a while I noticed my olive nymph was destroyed. I mean, it didn't look like anything but it was still catching fish. I've read all my flytying life that when fishing a hares ear nymph make it buggy, the buggier the better. Well, when you tie them extra "buggy" they don't look like a whole lot but they do perform.

With my first flies I caught fish immediately on the nymphs and streamers. Dry flies were another story. For whatever reason my proportions were terrible. Took me a while to tie a dry that actually caught fish.

Greg