or are there others who enjoy going to fly fishing shows to watch the tiers tie? Every year I look forward to going to the International Sportsman Expo and the Fly Fishing Show to watch tiers do their thing. My wife, other family members and friends think it’s boring and for the life of them cannot figure out the appeal. I like it! I learn so much watching and talking to the folks that tie. How about you? Do you enjoy it or do you just give it a glance while walking by?
Harry, will you be at one or the other show this year?
I’m with you TyroneFly. I enjoy learning - and you can almost always pick up a new idea or method by observing. Often it’s something they don’t even think to explain because they have done it so long…
Often a great way to find favorite local patterns, too.
Tyrone,
If I could sit next to a Show Tier, that would be helpful. The problem is when I am standing, I get distracted. It’s too much to hope for to have a one on one instruction when there are so many people there.
It might help if it was Paul, because then I would “Critique” his flies!
Doug
I have Visit a major fly fishing show on my “bucket list”
Sadly the shows are never anywhere near my Hometown. I’d guess the nearest would probably be in either Spokane , Seattle or Vancouver Approx 5-6 hours drive. I go to the fish In’s and a major part of the experience for me is watching the guys and gals tying the different flies. You learn so much from watching them explain the rational behind why they do things a certain way.
Although my little parsnip flower loves to fish, she only spin fishes or bobber and worms it. sorry!
She would be bored to tears at a fly-fishing show. She sits in the car if I even have to dash into a fly shop for a minute or two, So I have to go alone.
Yet woe is me if I don’t spend hours and hours and hours sitting in some stupid dress shop.
While I am on a rant anyway, Why is it that women’s dress shops have only Cosmo and Ladies home Journal and the like? Usually there is a large pile of dogeared 11 year old copies sitting on a bench besides the only chair in the place? That is if they even have a chair. Guys are the only ones sitting in those chairs. Do they think the guys want to read that stuff instead of Field and Stream or Hatches magazine?
I mean at least at the fly show if your spouse is bored they can wade in the little pool while watching folks wrapping long colored strings around their heads and ears while waving a long stick in the air and cursing up a storm. Quite funny really!
A major bonus derived from leaving my Little Prairie Sunset at home is that I am more able to conceal that new rod or reel from her. It gives me a chance to put a different price sticker on it before it darkens our doorstep. discretion is the better part of valor. ( cowards live longer ):shock:
I’d love to watch Donald from Scotland tie flies and give a talk about them. He seems to have a great passion for getting them just right.
Another interesting talk for anyone interested in fly tying is to watch Denny Conranch explain about his capes, saddles, full skins etc. I learned most of what I know about feathers just from standing watching him tell others about it. That usually costs me about $100.00 or so cause I just have to have some of his top of the line feathers before I go home.
Does anyone know if there is a major show in the Spokane area/
I can watch and I have watched good fly tiers demonstrate for hours. Some things like their dexterity, techniques, how they handle materials, how some materials are used, etc, fascinate me and I never leave such a session without learning how to improve my own tying. Sometimes however, even though I can appreciate the artistry of tying full feather winged Atlantic Salmon flies, I don’t have the patience, get a little(okay, a lot) bored, and lose interest. Of course some of the techniques for these flies are transferable to trout flies so all is not always lost. At a show a few years ago, I sat next to a renown A.S. fly tier. He spent 2-1/2 days on 1 fly and I don’t think he completed 1/2 of the fly. I know it’s a ‘me’ problem because for me the process just takes too long, I lack the patience, desire quicker gratification in the form of a completed fly, and I want to tie flies for fishing.
And, Gnu… remember now… “You’re supposed to emote your feminine and emotional side”, while in a dress shop, NOT sit there and do the “He-man-grunt at the bonfire and raw meat”, gig. Plus, you’ve obviously, forgotten the FOUR WORDS you were supposed to say to your “Little Prairie Flower” at the alter… “I DO” and “I WILL”. Enough said, quit the whining!
And, the next time you’re trying to sneak a rod into the house, use the well proven “Pat McManus New Shotgun Trick”, except sub a rod tube, for the shotgun…
Affix a 24" painted black, disc of cardboard to the bottom of the rod tube, with double stick tape. On the other end, use one of those “clamp on, over the bulb” lampshades.
Walk smiling, into the house and announce to your wife…“LOOK, at this NEAT-O floor lamp, I found at a garage sale, for OUR LIVING ROOM!”
To, which, she will immediately order you to: “Take that God-awful looking piece of TRASH, to YOUR room! You ARE NOT putting, THAT, into MY living room!” (Yes, ALL rooms, in your home are HER rooms, except with luck, maybe one. You are merely a handyman/tenant).
Now, “watching tiers”, sorry to screw up the thread…
I, also, like to watch tiers at trade shows. If, even for a short time, I usually can pick up some sort of thread trick, or, materials handling trick I never knew about before. Or, just because I’m familiar with a certain tier and respect them and their work.
But, I’m also “spoiled” to a degree, because once a month my local fly club has, what we call; “A Tying With A Master”, program where we’ll feature a certain tier to come and tie 3-4 of their favorite flies, while members…bringing their own equipment, (the invited tier, supplies the materials for the night’s tying), and tie along with who ever’s giving the presentation.
Since the evening’s tier is also usually a club member, that includes tiers like; Henry Hoffman, Dave Hughes, Alec Jackson, Bob May, Chuck Cameron, etc. So, we not only get to “watch and learn”, but we also get to tie along with these tiers, which is twice as great!
“You can observe a lot by watching.”
watching other tiers tie :tieone:is the biggest reason we’re off to Somerset in a couple of weeks. i’m going to be in heaven–have NO idea how Best Fishing Buddy will survive. maybe i will stick my FAOL patch to the back of his shirt and he will suddenly have a whole bunch of new friends!
I am one of those people who can sit and watch for hours! I just love fly tying and fly fishing! I really do not watch to see how a certain pattern is tied as much as how the tier holds his bobbin, uses his vise, whip finishing, how they hold the material as they tie it in, how they tie in and start a hackle to palmer a fly, how they form the hackle collar, how they do their “pinch dub” and how they do their loop dubbing, etc. There are just so many tying tricks that can be picked up by watching. Some are so simple that you wonder why you never thought of it. I will do the same thing when I am watching a tying DVD. I am watching the tier’s hands and how he is creating the fly and applying the materials. One of my favorite DVDs to watch, and I have watched it several times, is Poul Jorgensen’s Favorite Flies and how to tie them. I love the way he demostrates fly tying. I think I pick up something new every time I watch the DVD. There are just too many little things in tying that are real time savers if you will just use them or at least try them. I remember watching or reading, not sure which, a person tying and when he finished his whip finish, he cut the tying thread with the end of the handle on his whip finisher. Come to find out that he flattened the end and sharpened it so he could whip finish the fly flip the whip finisher around and cut the tying thread all with one tool!
I could go on and on…I really love to watch a good tyer and pick up as much from them as I possibly can.
Always pick up something about materials or a fly tying technique when I watch others tie.
We are actually pretty spoiled here in Idaho Falls.
First, every Saturday morning from early November through February at Jimmy’s All Seasons Anglers, there is a three hour tying demo featuring some of the best tiers from or close to Southeast Idaho.
Second, we have a local Bug Club that meets for a couple hours every second Saturday during the winter months for breakfast, fly tying and swapping lies. There are a number of exceptionally talented local fellows who demo patterns more likely used on local waters.
Third, in April we have the annual East Idaho Fly Tying and Fishing Expo ( www.srcexpo.com ), a two day event featuring many local and not so local tiers, lots of programs, vendors, etc. One of the tiers a lot of you are familiar with is Fly Goddess, and I’m sure most of you know Al and Gretchen Beatty.
I can watch others tie for hours - and I ALWAYS come away humbled by what these folks can do at the vise. You’d think the accumulative effect would help, but not at all sure that it has. Except I do catch some fish now and then, but on really basic and simple patterns crudely tied.
Tyrone…
I will be at the Sac ISE show and The Fly Fishing Shows here and in LA. I could not do the San Mateo one for a few reasons. The FFF has a nice show, as do many others that I hope to make this year if I can print some money that will pass for real
One suggestion I can make for the folks when you do sit and watch a tier, is watch their hands while they talk… the tendency is to want to engage the tier eye to eye and chat, but by so doing you miss what the hands have done .
Bring a fly along that you built and ask the tier to give his/her opinion. Look at techniques that you are weak at like, dubbing or hackling etc… watch several tiers and see how they do it. Having mastery of the basics is your goal… all the rest is fluff
I once tied at a show with very, very poor turnout from the public.
You know what? Everyone who tied at the show had a blast siting around and watching each other tie! A little learning, a little joking, some relaxing, swaping lies and flies.
I’m sorry, Doug, me a poopie head!
Yes, before “you know what”, I did do a lot of shows with Henry. At both invited tying events and trade shows.
Don’t anymore. Sure wish I still did, though! ('07 was my last year)
GnuBee,
You are indded in luck. This year the FFF Conclave will be near Whitefish, MT. If my limited knowledge of geography is correct, this is fairly close to you. I’ve been to 17 Conclaves. I really think you should try to attend.
SweetStreamS
Paul did you ever tie at the Eugene expo?..if so I may have sat in front of you and watched.
Doug as far as going one on one the Eugene Expo pretty much allowed that…sitting face to face with the tyer…and I’m sure since they moved to Albany it is the same.
Ducksterman;
I tied w/Henry in Eugene in '03,'04,'05 and '06. I usually sat to Henry’s right, (always came out, that way, have NO idea why though? ha!) and in '04, I sat directly across the aisle from Henry. These were all shows in the “old” pavilion. I couldn’t make the '07 show. Sure wish I could have. The move to Albany, Henry said was a “2,000% improvement over Eugene!”
And, yes…according to Henry, the same thing applies… you can still go face to to face with all the tiers, now that the show has moved, plus he said “There’s more aisle space to allow more people to watch, without crowding the aisles”.
