I really haven’t kept copies of some of my early tying patterns…I believe that it’s been a couple of years since I started. Rumaging through my fly box I came upon an early version of my prism stimulator…I know that it has been fished…but I quickly removed it and I’m not going to fish this version…take a look
Early Prism Stimulator
Current Version
I am now in my second year of fishing only my flies and swap flies (no store bought). People have commented on my progress as a tyer, however, taking a look at the 2 patterns and it’s night and day. The amount of time also has improved tremendously. I know that the early stimie took probably about 30 minutes to tie, now one takes 5-10 minutes. Thanks all for your encouraging words and tips throughout the past years…I’ll continue to look for your input. Thanks again. :toast:
The second fly looks good enough to be a store bought.
The “early” version looks buggy,…like real fish food
I wonder which one the fish would prefer?
Sometimes not the same one you or I would pick.
My experience is the same as yours , flies are getting better and taking less time to tie. The heads are certainly much neater and over all none of my flies will come apart like the first attempts did. Also I now use almost no glue at all compared to the gobs I slathered on when I first started. Some of my first attempts could really be called glue flies. Now when I do use some head cement to create a shiny head I have a hard time getting the lid off because It has not been used in so long.
I agree with dudley, sometimes the most beat up ugly fly works better than the pretty one does.
I would fish both your first stimulator and your last , the first one looks more buggy to me and might to the fish also.
I’m sure that both your flies would catch fish, but the second Stimulator is a measure of your progress as a fly tyer. For skill and artistic reasons it’s important that you tie nicely proportioned flies, but you will find that sometimes the fish will hit a worn out fly as good or better than a perfect one.
Also you might order a few Stimulators from Kaufmanns Fly Shop to see where the fly originated.
Your doing great!
Doug
Well done! It’s nice to see how much one has improved! I also suspect that both versions will catch fish, but not all of the satisfaction comes from catching a fish. There is something nice about turning out a well tyed fly; especially if it doesn’t take all day to do it!
Well, looking at your first and then your current I can feel like I might have some hope after all.
My attempts at stimulators resemble "stuff"smeared on a hook more than a stimulator.
Fine looking flies.
I know you may think I’m crazy but keep some of those first flies. To me, the most valuable fly I have in my collection is the first one I tied more than 50 years ago. I looks terrible but has a special [sentimental] value. My second most valuable fly is my first married-wing salmonfly tied in 1981. It is aweful but I’ve mounted it in a oak based, glass dome so I can see where I started. I chuckle every time I look at it OR chuckle even more every time I show it to a guest. The look on some of their faces is “priceless!” Take care & …
Last year I “tripped” over a fly I tied when I was about 10 years old, my first streamer. Like Al, some 50 years ago. I’d wanted to get it to sink and wrapped a bunch of lead wire over the head, which was about a quarter inch thick! I’ll challenge anyone to an uglier fly. It was a very early imitation of a Mickey Finn with red and yellow bucktail. I was pretty darned proud to catch bass on that thing, and my guess is that I thought I was pretty clever, too. This stuff is a journey. My flies are more sparse and hopefully more balanced. Still, I’m a warmwater tyer and it looks like it. For that I offer absolutely no apologies! JGW
