What percentage do you tie?

[tigfly]

I am about like 8T but I am not above begging flies from friends/or guides that I have known for a while. We all bum flies from each other which makes tying a lot more fun knowing that someone might catch a fish on something I've tied.

[darrell]

What I use : about 90% self tied, 7% waterside exchanged, 3% replica's of what I've seen elsewhere (but still tied myself).

Now ... if I can only find my tying materials .......

[MTSkibum]

I will break the trend here, i fish with about 20% of the time with the flies i tie. If i can buy a fly in a store i would just as soon do that. The only flies i tie are streamers so large and heavy that stores don't sell them.

[fishbum]

Tieing flies for the commercial market I had better be fishing my own flies 100% of the time. It wouldn't look very good if I didn't fish my own product. Oh, by the way, the guys at the local fly shop fish my flies a good share of the time too.

Since most of my fishing is lake fishing I don't trade flies very often. Even then, I just collect them and don't fish them.

Good fishing,

fishbum

[HCR]

Have bought more this trout season in CO. than usual. Part of that comes from not wanting to spring for a pricey cape when I will not be tying that many from it and looking at the boxes and boxes of various hair, feather, dubbing, etc. I have collected over the last decade with much of it being used to tie a specific pattern I rarely used.

I have found that the flies I paid $1.50 at the rio grande Angler in Creede were very well tied and lasted longer than those I paid just a buck for at the rainbow grocery in South Fork. The Rainbow, believe it or not, has one of the most varied collections of trout flies I've ever seen! Just about anything you can name.

After 10 season of fishing the same small streams, the rio grande, and high mt. lakes, I'm down to a handful of patterns and sizes that I believe in.


Live and Learn!

[Sonny Edmonds]

I bought a dozen Adams, and a dozen Elk hair Caddis when I ordered my beginners fly tying stuff in late spring.
I wanted to make sure I'd have something fishable on the creek.
Since then, I've been asked if I tye professionally (for sale).
No, not at all, Just for fun, I told the individual.
I tye because I love to. I don't know what percentage to put on something I love. I don't keep score.

[Marco]

AND, leaping to the other end of the spectrum, I use 100% store bought. Mostly onaccounta I don't have the skill to tie my own. I did once tie/wind a few "my version" Copper Johns and even caught a few trout on them.
I've got all the tools but, unfortunately, lack the talent.

Mark

[Darryl]

I tie 100% of the flies I fish. After so many years of only fishing my flies, it somehow feels wrong to fish with any from anywhere else.

-Darryl

[Rex S]

I tie all my flies except for one. One of my favorite flies is John's Skwala Stone. I don't care to go to the trouble to tie it. It has a furry foam body I haven't been able to match. So I buy a dozen every couple years.

Even though I prefer to tie my own, when I travel I always buy a few local favorites at a fly shop. Seems only fair to buy something before I pump them for tips and places and advice.
Rex

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I fish only my own flies. I've not bought a fly in years, and the ones people have given me are used as models. I tie far too many flies for my own use, so I also supply my wife, dad, and brother in law these days.

- Jeff