I definitely agree that the odds of tying something that has not been already tied by someone, somewhere are pretty slim. However, not everything that has been tied is known to everyone. People do come up with flies that are original to them, and that speaks to their own creativity.

Jeff made an excellent point regarding the use of names. How many of us could understand a description of one of his own creations, which I will always remember fondly as his Vanessa, a beautiful fly named after his lovely wife ?? And without names, how can you dedicate flies to people like JC, LF, and Liz, if you are so inclined ??

Having posted threads on a number of flies that were original to me in that I never saw a technique or approach used before and contributed a number of flies to the Fly of the Week column and received very positive feedback on the effectiveness of those flies, I'm encouraged to come up with my own flies, test them, name them and make them available to others for their enjoyment.

The VERY BEST PART of creating a "new" pattern, for me, is to share it and hear that others have tied it, fished it, and enjoyed their time on the water with it.

John