I know some of you guys are into art flies. I was reading a post on another forum where the guys were disucssing judging of flies for a contest and what they look for etc.
I’m sure if one is into the artistic expression of tying this may be really fun. I’m not knocking it at all and I’m certainly not going to knock someone for participating in a tying contest.
My question is does the art part of fly tying get addictive?
Right now, in my tying experience (very limited at this point) my fly tying judgement is as follows:
If it catches fish, it’s a good fly
If it does not catch fish, it’s a bad fly.
If it catches a big fish, it’s a very good fly
If it catches a lot of big fish, it’s an excellent fly
If it catches a fish on every cast, I better wake up and get ready to go to work.
Not sure what I’m even asking. Just rambling I guess.
Jeff,
I think we are all free to choose our own goals in fly tying. If artistic expression is a priority, then I suppose the artistic aspect of tying could be addictive as you suggest. I’ve seen tying contests at shows and in magazines, and admired the work of participants, but that’s not my cup of tea. Going back alot of years, my main goal has been to be a proficient tyer. By this I mean being able to tie the standard patterns at a rate of 12 to 20 an hour, have all of them of high quality, and all of them alike. If I can tie an Adams tonight that looks identical to one I tied last year, I’ve met my goal.
It doesn’t matter if you play the paino to make a living or to entertain your friends. The music’s all good.
Good Fishing,
Arnie
I don’t do the contest thing but I would imagine that since the contests are judged by people, not fish; I would imagine that neatness counts.
And yes the artistic thing does count for something. Even though I don’t tie for contests I do want my flies to look as good as possible especially the files I give away or tie for future displays.
Even though the fish don’t care; I do. It’s that “pride in your work” thing that seems to have disappeared out there in the land of craft.
I think that the ‘Art Part’ does become addicting to the point where you as a tier are still somewhat critical of your own work and seek to improve it. As recently as a couple of hours ago I tied a fly that I didn’t like and I stripped all the material off the hook with my trusty razor blade.
Just remember, no fly will ever catch the eye (figuratively) of a fish if it does not catch the eye of the fisherman first.
Your list with some minor alterations:
“If it catches fish, it’s a good pattern and/or fly.
If it does not catch fish, it’s a bad pattern and/or fly.
If it catches a big fish, it’s a very good pattern and/or fly.
If it catches a lot of big fish, it’s an excellent pattern and/or fly.
If it catches a fish on every cast, I better wake up and get ready to go to work.”
Over time, there are ‘rules’ which have been established and accepted, such as the number of turns of tinsel (ribbing) on a shank (five). These and countless others have made the game fun for those who enter.
Folks,
Thanks for the discussion. After I hit submit, I was hoping it wouldn’t turn into some kind of flame fest because I sure wasn’t after that. Mainly, I really like to tie flies and I really like to fish the flies I catch.
Some time, in a land far, far away, I may get to the point where flies I tie actually look like the ones they are supposed to look like. Today, I’m not there, but like others have said, I do strive to keep my flies neat, proportioned correctly, and just “looking right”. So far, the fish have been favorable to my creations and that’s all that really matters to me.
I was just curious about the guys and gals who tie some of those incredible works of art. I reckon those flies never see the water but I may be wrong.
Hey, a question for which I have a ‘definite’ answer:
Since I don’t tie ‘High Art’ flies, I don’t fish them. I have just a couple of ‘High Art’ flies and I can tell you they will never see the water. Now, some tiers who have the talent for those types of flies may fish their own rejects, but I doubt they’d fish someone else’s ‘High Art’ flies. Besides, why would you fish with one of those ‘H.A.’ quality flies at their prices when you could fish with flies that are just as good, from the fishes point of view, that cost so much (maybe 100’s) less?
I guess I was thinking more along the lines of if one had the skill to tie such a beauty, would he/she actually fish it?
I’ve built a fair number of flintlock rifles and a couple were dangerously close to “art” rifles with a lot of carving and engraving. The guys who I built them for had to promise to use the rifles for shooting because that is what they are for. There are few things more humbling than going to a shooting tournament and getting beat with a rifle you built…
But I digress. I was wondering if any of them saw water and if so, do they catch fish?
Some of the classic salmon flies and streamers are just works of art, and some of the “realistic” flies look more like the real bug than a real bug does.
Just amazing talent to observe, as I plod along tying flies to hang in trees as ornaments and to feed to fish.
When I first started tying flies they were ugly, very ugly. In fact Bug ugly it seems because the fish liked them. They fell apart with regularity. Even during their transformation piece by piece feather by feather almost back to the bare hook they still caught fish.
Now a days my flies are still a bit ugly but not as much , they are tighter more durable and more closely conform to the “standard” set out in some of the books I have on the subject. They don’t fall apart anymore, I lose them to snags or fish before that happens now.
They catch about the same amount of fish as the ones that didn’t conform and fell apart. The fish just didn’t seem to care!
Fly tying is a sport all its own with many facets. Some tie to throw, some tie to show and some tie for the peace they get from tying. I believe that Art is in embodied in every fly anyone ties. Some of us are Rembrandt’s some of us are not. Its still art. I am in the not Rembrandt category.
The fish however are not in it for the art, they are in it for the food.
If it looks like food they eat it, if it doesn’t, they don’t.
You thoughts on whether a fly is good, bad or indifferent is flawed tho in my opinion.
On certain days fly X will catch hoards of fish. On other days they will shun your offering completely. Your presentation and retrieve also will either make the fly look like a ready meal or just some junk being yanked thru the water. There are some flies that just look buggier to the fish than others so some really are better than others. But a fly or pattern should not be discredited because it did not catch fish for you on a certain day, season or presentation method.
If it is a well known pattern, that is proof in itself that it will work. It is just not proof that it will work all the time. Again this is just my opinion.
But I am never wrong except for those days the moon orbits the earth.
Flat earth people don’t trust me at all. :sad:
“Do the high art flies get fished…” absolutely, like there are “boo” addicts that fish $4500 rods, there are people that fish flies tied with expensive materials.
What do you do when you’re bored with tying fishing flies? How many flies can you really fish? I have found myself using 10 patterns over and over and yet I have boxes and boxes of fishing flies.
Contests force you to focus on details and it’s a fun exercise. By the way, you still have a couple of weeks to get your FAOL contest flies in.
Even in the Art flies, there are several areas of interest. You can tie true “classics” based on 100 year old recipes and try to replicate what was done in the past. You’ll find your self researching and searching for vintage hooks, and material. Or, you express your self with new techniques and new materials like many other art mediums.
Most of all it’s a fun hobby, and it keeps me out of trouble.
