Oh!
I have cringed!
I have laughed!
And I have learned some good points.
But so far nothing like this! I’m too new returning to fly tying I guess.
OK, I dropped a # 18 hook at my tying area in my home “office”. (My inside junk room)
Found it about 10 feet away by the front door.
How in the heck did it get that far? :roll:
Betty,
100 #28’s on the carpet???
I’d be homeless if I did that! :lol:
(I’m married to a Betty, but my Betty doesn’t fish.)
I’ve been tying less than a year, so I haven’t had the time to bugger things up too badly.
One of my less-than-stellar moments howver occurred earlier this month:
I just started fishing dry flies this summer, and I’d quickly discovered why the Para-adams is a classic: feisty little browns had decimated the pair I’d tied up to experiment with.
So with the excitement of tying a fly I KNOW will work, I did up a half-dozen #14 para-adams that, for a second attempt at the patter, looked damn good if I do say so myself.
As I tied each one, I’d get it from the vise and toss it on the desk. Once I had all 6 tied, some other matter called me away from the bench.
I got back to them a few hours later and saw a (closed) fly box beside the vise. Naturally, I figured that the wise man who’d tied those flies must have put them in the box, and that the pile of thread, loose hairs, tufts of dubbing, and pieces of hackle scraps on the desk were just the garbage that remained. With a satisfied puff of air, I blew the scrap into the gap at the rear of my desk surface that leads to a tiny trash can.
Almost in slow motion, I saw the reflection of light off 6 #14 2X-fine dry fly hooks as they tumbled into the trash.
…it took forever, but I managed to dig each and every one of them out from the trash.
Then, I realized that the box on the table was my streamer box, so I once again lined them up on the desk, this time right out in the open where I couldnt miss them.
…when I got back to the bench later that day, I was delighted to see that someone had opened the window, and mother nature had seen fit to blow my flies right into the trash all over again.
Only found 4 of 6 that time, and immediately after, I bought some adhesive-backed magnetic strips and made a pair of magnetic drying racks at the bench.
Cold,
they make a large magnet with a handle that you can buy at sewing shops, it is made for picking up pins that are dropped on the floor, I suggest that you buy one asap, before you end up digging through the trash again.
Eric
I tie many patterns with Gamakatusu hooks. Very Sharp. On several occasions I have noticed blood dripping into my waste catcher. I keep telling my self I should put some tubing over the points when I tie, but I never seem to remember.
Glued my fingers to a crease fly.
Was trying to squeeze out a drop of super glue and had a muscle spasm in my hand that cause me to involuntarily suddenly squeeze flat the tube, shooting a steam of glue into waste catcher. It now has a permanent fuzzy lining.
Another super glue accident glued the hem of the shorts I was wearing to my leg.
While trying to squeeze a small amount of two part epoxy onto a pad, I was running into difficulty with the plunger. A little more pressure did the trick, and squirted a mass of 5 minute Devcon onto my desk and the floor.
I had a big bag of loose partridge feathers that I dumped out into a shoe box to sort through. I got interrupted and set the box on the floor. I didn’t get back into my tying room for a couple of days. When I did, I noticed a big spider web in the corner of the room by the ceiling. I got a vacuum cleaner to remove the creature and its creation. Shortly after powering the vacuum on, it starting raining partridge feathers. The vacuum exhaust was right next to the box of feathers that was under my chair.
One day recently, I had finished tying up bunches of minnow patterns that were primarily made from angel hair. As part of the finishing process I trim the tails with thinning shears so there was lots of micro pieces of angel hair in the waste catcher. I went to empty the catcher and dropped it upside down when removing it from the vise stem. Got the vacuum to suck up the mess. The vacuum is running for about 3 seconds when everything before my eyes gets real sparkly. Oh bleep! Someone had forgot to replace the filter in the vacuum after removing it for cleaning. My room is completely covered in a find dusting of angel hair fragments. I am still working on cleaning that one up.
Luckily i have only had almost accidents and reading all the posts has got me thinking to prevent myself from injury im going to buy a white leather apron. Then ill fold the bottom half up, sew the edges, add a wire frame to the inside fit it to the under side of my desk and hopefully any thing that falls off my desk will land on the apron and slide to the catcher at the end. Although the apron might not look pretty, falling scissors wont be a problem because the leather will protect you, this is just an idea at the moment i think it could work. Anyone else think so?
Watch makers have attached there aprons to the bench for years, keeps small parts from hitting the floor. it would also accumulate trash which would then be easy to then throw into the can. I think I would use snaps or velcro to attach a cloth apron to the bench, leather would be a little heavy and hot.
Just my thoughts
Eric
I’m so sorry!! I suppose it isn’t terribly nice to admit, but, I have laughed so hard at some of these posts, it’s sad! What you all have done makes my stuff look pretty mild!! Thank you! I needed that!! 
Oooh, Betty, you hit over 3,000 posts. 
Congrats.
Shameless plug of a previous post
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?t=27425
Home-made hook retriever.
With the barb still riding high in all it’s glory that hook just dug itself deeper and deeper every time the docs would nudge it. X-rays and everything! I now have a favorite joke about “How many doctors does it take to…” You get my drift. They did shoot me full of stuff to kill the pain and stop infection - more from their fumbling, yet kind, hands than from the hook I would imagine.
Last night I still tied in my stocking feet - and I ask my two sons regularly why they don’t get it… Guess they’re just following my lead!
Tight Lines,
Kelly.
I first learned to tie saltwater patterns on BIG hooks. While I understood how to sharpen that big hook to a needle-like point, I didn’t understand how to whip finish the fly. I thought it was done like wrapping the guide on a fishing rod. I grabbed a loop of mono tippet, overwrapped it with the thread, and pulled the tag end through. I did pretty well for the first few flies. Until the loop of mono got stuck. I gave it a good hard tug and impaled myself on that BIG needle-like point.
Tom
I stored all my hooks in a Bonnard plastic box with 18 compartments. The lid fit very well and the hooks didn’t mix. One day the lid overhung the table and my elbow flipped the whole thing upside down on the floor—Want to help sort 1800+ hooks? Fortunately, the floor was hardwood and not carpeting.
I tried a #2 crease fly in my aquarium and one of my giant danios hit it and got the hook out one of his gills. the fish panicked and died before i could get a net and rescue him.
Thats all i’ll admit to.
I admitted to the exact same thing in a post a while back, had about 1000 hooks in a compartmented box. My lab came charging thru the house and knocked that box helter skelter onto the carpet. I had about 80 #20s in there some where but found very few of them. We had to replace the carpet. Luckily her loveliness had already mentioned getting a new carpet or I would still be in traction. I found many of those hooks with my feet and toes.
I caught a pair of pointed sissors with my big toe once .
A friendfrom our fly fishers club pushed back fairly hard in the office type wheeled chair he uses for tying. The hard metal of the chair struck his 33 gallon fish tank and broke it, about 1/2 the water gushed out. He saved all the fish but two. He said it was quite a scramble to unplug everything so he wouldn’t get electrocuted standing there in his bare feet.
Somehow I once ordered 11 boxes of #12 hooks online instead of 1 box. Took a while but finally went through them all anyway.
come on guys tells the real stories…
they want to hear the GOOD STUFF!!!
Like I have spilled coffee all over my desk…
Marabou is really hard to tye with when it is soaked in coffee…
*** this had happened about 6 times now… and I still drink coffee while I tye!!****
I tied about about 3 dozen zoo’s… got all but about 5 -7 done…
the wife comes of the bedroom and turns on the fan… DEER HAIR EVERY WHERE!!!
tying soft hackles… I had about 250 partridge feathers ready (was doing 25 dz for the local shop)… and out of no where… achooooooooo… the feathers went flying… (Hell Thought that bird was dead… Man did it take off!!)
One night I couldnt sleep… got out of bed (everyone still asleep)…
go in in just my boxer… and sat down… That has to be the fastest I ever jumped out of my chair… the wife laugh for a hour and a half… while I had a hook stuck in my !!!
*** I had to push it through and all she did was cut off the point**
a 5 minute job took 2 hooks to do…
*** these are just a few****
Ive got more!!
i split the end of me thumb once while trimming a spun hair bass bug with a double edged razor blade…
Some of the flies I have tied look like an accident, a train wreck to be exact. 
I also have a propensity to jab myself on a hook. The first time I did it I called it an accident, now I call it stupidity.
I have knocked over head cement, spilled beads and I’ve dropped about 4,595 flies in the “fly eating” waste bag that hangs below my desk.
It can get hot or cold in the cramped corner of the garage where I tie flies. For that reason, I use an electric heater in the winter and a fan in the summer. Occasionally in winter, the smell of burning hair will permeate the air. Electric fans and fly tying don’t mix well either. I don’t think I have to explain that in great detail.
A regular ritual is spilling coffee, beer, wine, whiskey and just about every other drink I consume while tying. Funny thing though, I spill a lot more liquids when I’m drinking something other than coffee. :rolleyes:
And of course at least once in my life and I’m sure at least a few times more, I have completed the Duodecuple Whammy which consists of knocking over a 12 compartment box filled with hooks.
I’ve done all the usual stuff myself but I have a buddy that’s got you all beat. He is a commercial tier & was up late one night (2:00am) trying to get an order of Seahabits done for some guys going on a blue water trip. He always has eye drops on his desk because his eyes get dry while staring at the vise for long hours. He wasn’t paying attention one night & had a large bottle of CA glue opened on his desk right next to his eye drops. The bottles are pretty much the same except for the labels. Well I’m sure you figured out by now that he reached over to grab his eye drops but ended up with the CA glue & put it right in his eye. The paramedics arrived within minutes, they pried opened his eye & got him to the hospital to get all cleaned out. Well he doesn’t keep the eye drops & the CA glue near each other any more.
Tony P
P.S. for those that don’t now CA glue is super glue.
Tony,
I think that your friend is the hands-down winner with that mistake. The thought of that mix-up gives me the shakes and the cold sweats all at the same time. I can’t even imagine your friend’s absolute terror when he first realized what he had done. It sounds like he came out of it Ok. 8T
Here is a picture of my tying desk. Note the black streak just beyond the fly in the vise.
Here is the cause. What is not shown is the overhead skylight and the beam of sunlight that came through it one afternoon. When I discovered this later in the day, I noticed that the streak stopped about 1/2" short of a nice grizzly rooster neck that was lying on the desk. I shudder at the possibilities. Now I keep the cloth cover on the magnifier anytime it is not in use. :oops:
Dropped a fly hook, then got it stuck in my toe. Had to have the Emergency Room cut it out.
Two weeks later, dropped a hook. Wife got it stuck in her hand helping me find it. Went to the Emergency Room…same doctor and nurse. They remembered us…
1 month later, dropped a hook. Son-In-Law got it stuck in his hand helping me to look for it. Same Emergency Room, doctor and nurse. They took a family portrait of the three of us at the hospital…
Some time later, dropped a hook. The dog got it stuck in his paw. Went to the vet. Cost $160.00. Wife bought me a multi-drawered organizer to keep hooks in. Now they fall back in the drawer.
Had Zap-A-Gap run down the thread into the bobbin. Huge mess.
Pulled a small length of fine Golds Wire from spool, and the rest came off in big loops, everywhere. Took over 2 hours to untangle it and re-wind it on the spool.
Tried to place # 20 hook in vise. There was a slight click, and the hook disappeared. Don’t know where it went to this day, but 5 other hooks should be with it by now. Possible Burmuda Triangle on my desk…
Stabbed myself on several occasions with bobbin, and the one in the head cement as well.
Spilled bottle of Black Lacquer. Now oak desk has ‘highlights’.
Got fingers stuck to hook with Super Glue. Went to the Emergency Room…
Got a call from my Insurance Company telling me that due to my fly tying, my rates just went up…