Commercial Fly Tying

[DShock]

This Post is a spin off from Tying Flies For $.
I have tied flies for yrs and sold some flies, but I didn't have the GENE in myself to attempt to commercially tie flies. Frankly the thought of tying thousands of flies for strangers, doesn't appeal to me. What does interest me is WHAT does it take, from the first step to the last, to actually complete a big order of flies, on time?????
I have always been a organized person, but commercially tying flies must take a amazingly organized person. I already know that making a profit must be difficult. I am very curious about every aspect of what a commercial tyer thinks about?
Thanks,
Doug

[rockymountain_brown]

I buy hooks in bulk 1000 packs for decent prices. Hackle prices despite wholesale prices are still up there, and for that reason, I try to stick mainly to nymphs.I have numerous fly tying drawers with all sorts of stuff in them. For hooks, I have five drawers separated into Stimmy hooks, scud hooks, nymph hooks, dries, and streamers. I have timed each fly pattern I tie to see which are the most profitable.
Honestly, by the time I am halfway through a 400 or 500 fly order, I get sick of tying, particularly if they are really easy or really hard patterns.
RMB

[Eight Thumbs]

Rocky,

I've got a really dumb question to ask you. In your response to DShock, you were talking about how you had your hooks divided and you used the term "Stimmy Hook." What's that?

Never mind!!!!!!!! I just figured it out. Sorry, it's early and I'm stupid. Stimulator Hook---right? 8T

[butternut-tyer]

I use to have a shop called "Butternut Valley Flies & Supplies", the key word became "supplies" after 15 years.
Being in the right frame of mind and having everything organized helped, but I think everyone gets burned out in time.
Some tricks to pull this off? Never put down your scissors, have all your materials laid out, all hackles sized & off the necks prior to tying, tie in steps, never head cement untill you are all done, and the list goes on.
Then you find tricks to help. One of mind was to soaked peacock herl in hair conditioner before using (helps keep it from breaking).
But above all, keep it fun and when it's not, STOP! Or you will ruin the sport that you love.

[josko]

I set out to tie 100 dozen Catskill flies last winter to try to get the proportions just right and see just how efficient I could get at it. I made it to 80 dozen. My dries got a LOT better in the process, was able to tie decent 28's, and learned a lot of time-saving moves. It was a worthwhile thing to do, even if I still have 79 of those dozen sitting in a box, waiting to be donated.

[Jamie Caddick]

Tying the flies for my shop isn't near as bad as tying bulk orders for other shops. For my own shop i can keep a pretty good eye on what is selling at the current time and keep them topped up without needing to tie 10 dozen of one size at a time.

When i used to wholesale some of my salmon flies to Hunter's Angling it used to get a bit tedious tying hundreds and hundreds of the same pattern but i found i used to get into "the zone" where things would just kinda flow along smoothly and i wouldn't even notice anything going on around me.

If you are tying commercially you get used to having some sleepless nights trying to get orders done on time. You have to keep a lot of materials and supplies on hand all of the time and keep them well organized as well.

Before opening my shop my biggest concern when tying bulk orders for wholesalers or shops was do i have enough materials on hand for my next orders. The answer was usually no regardless of how much stuff i had.

Another thing you have to watch is your waste, when you are tying 15,000 flies a year your waste can add up to quite a bit of money. You soon learn exactly how much ribbing, floss, chenille, etc to use so that your waste is kept to a minimum without slowing down your production.

Having large bottle of Tylenol or Ibuprofen in the house is also an absolute must.

[Hendrickson]

Just a few things not touched upon by the previous posters, who by the way, gave excellent information and tips. Here are a few more:

Have a large enough space for your tying area.
Have good lighting above the vise and background behind it so that you have minimal eyestrain.
Have your vise set at a comfortable level.
Make sure you have a comfortable seat.

All of these will reduce the strain on your eyes, brain, limbs and back. The fly tying will still get boring tiresome but it'll go faster and smoother.

H.

[fishbum]

I do all the above plus a couple of other things. I get out to all my customers in mid October and get orders for the following spring. I also use Peachtree Accounting which allows me to get a report on the number of flies sold since January of that year by cuastomer and a combined summary report of the total sold. Knowing what I have sold and what I have orders for, I check supplies and get ordered anything I might need for the next year. I know the wet flies will be used at ice-out and later the dry flies. I tie the wets first then the dries then assemble and ship/deliver the orders. If I do it right, I go into spring ahead only to be behind by late summer or fall.

Working for minimum wage and having to beg for that,
your fishbum

[Kelley]

I'm new to this forum, although I am active in several others, and just had to express my admiration for those of you who can actually tie 100 flies at a time.

I've been tying for over 30 years, but I'm a very slow tier. I enjoy sitting at my desk and fantasizing about the actual fishing of my flies as I tie them, and it sure slows me down.

I rarely tie more than a dozen of any pattern at once, and while I give my flies to friends, I've never sold a single fly that I tied.

Looking forward to learning a lot from the experienced tiers that populate this board. Thanks for sharing.

[hazmat]

I've just recently gotten started in tying and I can't imagine tying the number of flies we're talking about here. I'm sure a large part of that is my current skill level.. but beyond that, it's as tedious as it is fun. I really enjoy setting up my vise and tying a few flies as I watch a ball game or the news, but to tie dozens upon dozens for several hours straight.. eeek... I'd go looney! God bless those folks who CAN do that!Me? I'm sticking to my couple-of-dozen for me and my friends.