A K Best in his Book “Production Fly Tying”, in the afterword says:
“Do your flies catch fish and are they durable? The latter consideration is entirely relative, sincce I for one would be thrilled if I hooked and landed a two-foot trout on a fly I had tied. I could care less if the fly came apart on that one fish.”
How do you feel about this?
Rick
I wouldn’t care if my fly came apart on a two foot fish either…
…unless there was another two foot fish feeding on same natural that fly imitated.
That wouldn’t bother me at all
…as long as I had another one just like it :lol:
One fly for one two-foot fish is pretty good trade in my opinion. That’s a much better deal than trading one fly for a brief tug-of-war with a tree.
I suppose A.K.'s statement is one up from a UK pro tier, the late David Collier, who went on record stating that any fly he tied and sold which lasted long enough to hook&land one fish offered the angler adequate, or even excellent, value for money.
I did not agree with David then, and while I have no issue with the actual A.K. verbatim statement as referenced, I do have reservations regarding the underlying sentiment on fly durability.
I prefer, and expect(!), my flies to last well beyond one or two fish (though I might make a rare exception to this in the case of a two foot trout 8) )
Cheers,
Hans W
First, if I tied the fly I would expect it NOT to fall apart on one fish. The term ‘Fall Apart’ would have to do with my careless handling of removing the fly from the fish’s mouth. If I hooked or landed a 24 inch trout, it would be my ‘favorite fly’ and might even get ‘retired’.
Doug
I don’t really care. . . . LOL . . . The flies I tie are good enough to at least get one fish on, most several fish. I do get a few that are ruined after a single fish, but I’ll usually have another. I seldom go with 1 of anything, but I don’t carry a dozen of each either.
wayne
I don’t think I’d be too happy with this result . Where I live we sometimes catch more than one Atlantic salmon on the same fly and these fish can be 10 pounds or more . I prefer to take a bit more tying time to have as durable a fly as I can tie …Frank
I would hope my flies are durable. What a pain in the arse to have to cut and tie-on a new one after every catch.
Just an opinion, first I believe few would quibble with one fly one fish it they were all huge fish.
The term durable intrigues me. Just what is durable to a person, who ties practical flies, artistic flies, realistic flies, presentation flies, etc., etc., and how do you gauge it?
I have a simple test for fly construction durability! After the fly is tied hold the fly, with thumb and index finger, by the bend with one hand and grasp the body with thumb and index finger of the other hand and twist gently with consistent pressure.
If the fly does not spin on the shank of the hook you have a fly that is tied properly.
I believe one of the most important techniques in fly tying is Thread Control. I use this simply test when teaching new tiers how to determine if they have their Thread Control under control.
I expect to catch about 10 or 15 fish on just one fly but what I expect and what I get are often two different things :). Especially when dealing with toothy critters like Mayan Cichlids and Oscars or maybe Pickerel and Gar. I am always amazed at how much damage even a Bluegill can do to a fly. So I try to make my flies as durable as possible and by durable I mean adding a drop of cement or other glue at the material tie in points, a whip finish, and a cemented head, all where possible.
Generally my flies last more than one fish, but every so often a fish trashes my new fly. If it is a 24" trout, the better.
Dr Bob :mrgreen:
i get 10-15 fish on the flies that i tie and i usually use 17/0 or 8/0.
but i always have more than one of a pattern in my box. so really i wouldnt care if he thrashed it. and if i didnt have another of that same fly…oh well thats my fault.
If my fly catches a fish, it has done its job, and done it well. I am happy.
I would not be satisfied. I do not set a quota for my flies but barring extenuating circumstances if my fly “fell apart” I would consider it a failure of my tying technique. That is not a goal when I tie.
I have to agree with TyroneFly.
If a fish, and I don’t care how big it was, tear’s up my fly after I spent at least 2- 7min. tying it. Not to mention selecting only the best materials and maybe having to make a special trip to the fly shop & kill another 40 min. (Round trip) then only to find out they don’t have (exactly what you need) SOOOO now you have to mail order it & wait 2 -3 freaking! weeks for that special material that you (just have got to have), cuz it wouldn’t be rite not to tie it correctly “PER ALL THE PRO TYIER’S OUT THERE”. And OH YAH! It’s not the rite color so now you have to piss around & dye the Hair , Feathers or whatever. And now forget about going out to have fun, forget about doing stuff around the house, forget about that TV show that you been wanting to see CUZ! now you got to tie that fly so you can use it on that fishing trip you have been planning.
And a fish is going to TRASH IT! I don’t think so! THAT FISH IS DEAD. I’m going to kick it ass and then EAT 'EM!
BUD!
time for another rum & coke!
Heck I’ve had flies that got trashed even before I caught a fish by the dreaded Weed or Tree Gods. Usually I get anywhere from 4 to 8 fish per fly. My problem is catching anywhere from 4 to 8 fish…
This is an easy question for me to answer … I’d stand in the river all day long giving up a fly for every 24 inch trout. It’s a no-brainer for me. I’d go through every fly I had. One fly for one 24 inch trout – I’d do it all day long with a smile on my face. I can count on four fingers how many 24 inch trout I’ve caught :lol: . That being said, the flies I tie are very durable. I’ll usually break my line/tippet before one of my flies come apart. In fact, I can’t remember a fly coming apart, with the lone exception of a woolly bugger. It fell apart because I failed to add cement to the thread wraps after I tied off.
Hi,
I’m not happy if the fly falls apart after one fish, no matter how large, if it’s because of something like the head comming apart. This is usually do to my failure to tie off properly. However, I’ve had flies come apart because the trout’s teeth cut through the floss body, or the pheasant tail fibres, etc. When that happens, I figure the fly has done it’s job and these are the risks one takes. Since I end up tying far more than I probably need, this doesn’t bother me.
Bud,
I want to congratulate you on the ‘RANT’ of the DAY!!! 
Hope to read more of them in the future.
Doug