hi everyone. my first post. just wondering if others were like me in that there are a few patterns that i love to fish but hate to tie. My pet peve is the stock and standard muddler minnow in the smaller sizes. Its somthing with the turkey because I tie and fish other spun deer hair head flies, mariboo muddlers, zonkers, etc. but i go and buy the original just to save the frustration.
Absolutely. It all depends on what I need and when I need it by. I used to not tie Copper John’s but I do now. Tying for me is a hobby, not a job. If I need a few flies and don’t have time to tie, I buy.
Wy,
Like what Wayne said, it depends on what you fish and what you like to tie. The important thing is you get out on the water and wet a line. Best Regards…
I buy lots of flies.
That way I can spend more time tying what I want.
In other words If you buy all your Woolly Buggers, Prince Nymphs and Soft Hackle Wets,
then you can spend more time having fun–building time-consuming special purpose flies.
wyfish
There are allot of flies that I buy and allot that I tie. I don’t consider myself a very good tier when it comes to dry flies, so I tend to buy those on an as needed basis.
Dave
The only bought flies I have are the ones I managed not to lose to trees until I started tying. Now I guess I just feel that if I can’t tie it, I don’t really need to fish it.
That said…I have a dearth of spun hair flies. HATE doing that.
Tell you what, wyfish…I’ll tie us up a few muddlers, all but the hair. You spin on the hair and mail half back to me. What do you say? 
i tie AND i buy
I like to buy to have samples around
I tie pretty much all of my trout flies. BUT…I buy almost all of my bass poppers. I am in awe of what some can do with deer hair and foam. I can’t even come close to what many do…so I buy theirs:^)
It absolutely kills me to buy flies. I have had to four times in 40 plus years of fly fishing. One of those times the flies were ineffective and another time in saltwater the purcased flies had to hacked down to to suggest the small glass minnows the sea trout were gourging on.
Figuring out how to do new techniques (fly fishing or tying) is part of the fun for me. I usually carry a tying bag on trips (not on the water) just to bail me out .
but again thats just me
If I see a pattern in the shop I want to try, I buy a couple to try out. If they work I figure out how to tie them, if they don’t work I haven’t wasted any time. I have more fun catching fish on flies I tied myself, though, so I tie my own 99% of the time.
It also kills me to buy flies. I have done it twice in 20 years, thus making it about the same ratio as ok 
I do however feel a great sense of accomplishment when I finish a set of muddler minnows and they usually last me a couple of seasons. Unfortunately I’m down to my last one and need to make more. ug…
I tie and swap for flies. I’m also a subscriber to a fly of the month from a guide / friend. I consider the tying to be an aspect of fly fishing in it’s own right. I am sure there are a lot of people who tie flies and don’t get to fish very much, if at all. (I certainly don’t get to fish as much as I would like.) I remember reading a book that recorded the fact that a locally known tier was an only moderate fisher and his wife, who was also a locally known tier, did not fish at all. So, tying is one aspect that you may or may not enjoy. Buying or tying should not determine how much you enjoy fly fishing. I don’t think it is an all or nothing deal.
I’ve done both also… but I have decided to BUY all of my foam poppers. They are easy to do and fun to do, but take too many steps and time for me to mess with. I have a drying wheel and everything, but I just don’t get into tying something that I need to put on a wheel and let dry sometimes two or three times…
Otherwise… there are times I see flys at the flyshops that I like and I buy one to support the shop and to figure out how to tie it myself. Sometimes this isn’t as easy as it looks! I end up going back to the shop on the way to the fishing trip and picking up a few because my tying attempts failed.
Basically, I tie most of my Trout flys and saltwater flys, but I tend to buy a few of the LargeMouth Bass flys. (Except I do enjoy spinning hair from time to time!) Muddlers are great fun and so are other spun flys… I have yet to make a mouse… I must try that this year…
Be Blessed,
Michael
I tie almost all of my flies. Most of the patterns I use are not available commercially, one thing warmwaterfly fisher face.
Have bought a few because I wanted something to copy.
Rick
I buy a couple foam body Stimulators in size 6 every year. They make good bobbers. Everything else, I tie.
For the OP with the turkey wing problem… a trick I learned quite some time ago but forget regularly enough to annoy myself… Most folks tying smaller turkey wing muddlers use turkey tail to do it. The feathers are too big, and in particular the barbs are cut down too much. Find some turkey wing coverts or smaller tail coverts. They will be about the same mottled colors, but far smaller. The lighter weight and naturally shorter feather sections tie in far, far easier than the coarse tails.
I believe Poul Jorgensen says the wings should use at least two-thirds the length of the barb??? My memory may be rusty on that.
I guarantee the lighter, shorter coverts will make the wings far easier to tie.
As to the original question, I tie everything and cannot remember ever buying a fly. I even like tying the Goddard Caddis… and fishing them is even better.
art
I tie all of my warm water flies (streamers, poppers, buggers, etc) and most of the trout flies but when i go to a fly fishing destination, I always buy a few flies in the local fly shops, especially if something is hatching that I don’t have a good fly to represent.
Jeff
I’m not great at tying, sometimes I’m really bad at it, but I haven’t bought a fly except for three tiny poppers that I bought when I started flyfishing in the late '90’s. Every other fly I have had or now have has been tied by myself or one of my friends. If I don’t have what I need, I have to figure out what might work instead. For me, tying is nearly as much fun as fishing.
I like tying my own. That way I know what I’m getting and what it will produce for me. Like Bluegill says it more fun and enjoyment tying your own flies.
The number of flies I’ve bought in my life I could count on 2 hands (mostly poppers for 'gills). I tie flies and have recently added flies via exchanges - A LOT more fun than buying!! I’ve also “lost” more flies by giving them to scouts and other kids than I have ever lost to fish/trees/nature. With that record, I couldn’t afford to buy!