Having moved twice in the last couple of years, I’ve become aware of just how much stuff I’ve acquired over the years. My stuff generally falls into three categories: 1. books (fishing and nonfishing) 2. fishing tackle and 3. fly tying material. I’ve thinned out the books by donating to our local library. Incidentally, I’ve almost bought a couple of those back by accident at the library book sales. I should also add that I did NOT part with any angling or fly tying books. The fishing tackle was wisely purchased and I need and use most of what I have. This brings us to the four, eighteen-wheeler loads of fly tying equipment. If I apply my book rule (not used or browsed in two years), much of my material is in trouble. Anyway, it got me to thinking about five things that could be taken away, lost or stolen that I wouldn’t notice because they have been unused for the last couple of years. Those things are 1. most of my Indian and Chinese rooster capes (center quills like a truck spring) 2. my 3X fine dry fly hooks (too fragile) 3. most of my dubbing fur (I use synthetic or prepackaged) 4. my old metallic tinsel (turns blue/green too rapidly) 5. most of my duck and goose quills (I tie mostly parachutes and use hair on wet flies)
How about you? What 4-5 materials could you get rid of and never know it they are gone?
8T
While eating breakfast about an hour ago, I was thinking I could get rid of ALL my fly tying materials EXCEPT for most of the hooks, several colors of thread in each of two sizes, a few colors of wire in a couple different sizes, pheasant tails, biots, the deer and moose hair, CDC, snowshoe, and peacock herl, the zonked pine squirrel skins, the dry fly hackle, a few different colors of dubbing and antron, a couple colors of chenile, and some rubber legs. Oh yeah, the lead free wire and beads for weight.
IF I GOT RID OF EVERYTHING ELSE and started over again with just the stuff listed above, it is unlikely that I would buy any new materials over the next year, at most an isolated item for a special purpose. I had thought this through to the point of thinking about putting up a thread on the For Sale Forum.
Still kind of mulling it over. But don’t be surprised if there is an opportunity to pick up some good tying materials at bargain basement prices in the near future.
You guys are sick! Been out in the sun too long! Slipped on a rock and fell on your head! With collecting being half the fun of tying, how could you get rid of the first feather. You just got to get some help.
How boring life would be if we were not surounded by our treasures. Fishing tackle, fine shotguns, fly tying material, pictures of dead rabbits and old beagle dogs, are what an outdoorsmans life is all about.
Let me know when you get rid of your stuff, I’ll be there with the truck just like a buzzard picking over some road kill.
I agree completely. Outdoor sports adds a tremendous amount of color and texture to life, no question about it. I’m not trying to get rid of my fly tying stuff just noticing that I cart around a lot of stuff I no longer use very much. You don’t have anything like that? Now that you mention it, I was out in the sun for quite a while yesterday. 8T
I ain’t dumpin’ nuthin. I have acquired all my crappola with much care and discernment, and it would look like I spent frivolously if I started dumping it. Nobody knows what I got or how much I spent, and I’m gonna keep it that way. I’ll let my heirs sort/dump/auction it off when I croak, and they can say what they will about my choosings at that time, cuz I won’t care any longer.
Fishbum was right, y’all must’ve fallen and bumped yer nogginz.
2 moves in 2 years is nothing. I moved 5 times from november '05-september '06. Two where 1000 mile moves. I got good at moving, it was a 2 day ordeal from breakdown to being settled. It sucked, but I learned a lot of what I couldn’t do without. ALL my fishing and tying supplies made the trips. Most everything else got sorted and disposed of.
If you think you can do without something, get rid of it. But I can guarantee as soon as you do, you’ll find a pattern you want to tie that needs exactly what you got rid of and you’ll have to buy it again anyway.
If you are tired of lugging around rubbermaids, Get a file cabintet. A small 2 drawer model is easy to carry and fits in a closet. With pocket folders, you can file all the materials you don’t use often, but still know exactly where they are when you need them.
I know that some of us were told we could save money by tying our own flies - what a joke. If I took all of the stuff that I have bought, I could buy flies from a very expensive shop for the rest of my life and still come out ahead. You better do this stuff because you enjoy it and not because you want to save money.
I was at a friends house. He had a ROOM dedicated to fly tying materials. Drawer after drawer of old stuff that hasn’t seen the light of day for years. We all purchase things that we don’t use and then don’t want to get rid of because one day you might…
Saving money tying your own flies is a matter of scale.
Fishing 130-140 times a year, on average, the past four years since I started tying my own flies, I’ve saved a LOT compared to what I would have spent to buy the flies I’ve used up or lost.
Last time I did a rough calculation on my savings ( without figuring “labor” in the mix ) I think it was in excess of $2,000.
And it would be more if I hadn’t bought a bunch of stuff that I am thinking about parting with because I haven’t and almost certainly won’t use it ( despite Flyrodde’s caution to the contrary ).
John, you fish once every 2.6 days? That’s a ton of time on the water. I’m not worthy. I just counted my log and today was my 40th entry into my log this season. I’m glad that someone is saving some money - cool.
I really feel for you guys but after tying for over 50 years (although I never got good) I have the problem solved by honing the art of gathering and collecting to a fine edge.
Yes, I still buy more “stuff”, but if it something similar to what I have the stuff of lesser quality gets dumped. My dumping grounds are tying classes or T.U. groups holding tying demonstrations. These symptoms are not a disease but an addiction. Is there a “Fly Tyers Anonymous”?
Interesting timing on your question. I just loaded my ‘essentials’ to bring to Florida and it was pretty much the entire collection of material. The only things left behind were some whole feathers (peacock and golden pheasant) and some skeins of yarn that I have smaller amounts cut on cards. So I guess my answer is that I wouldn’t give up any of it unless absolutely forced to. I tie coldwater, freshwater, warmwater, saltwater - whatever strikes my fancy at any given time, so I have a lot of materials (about 14 plastic storage bins plus hook containers and yarn/thread containers) that I seem to carry wherever I go.
I have to admit that I didn’t expect the powerful reaction that my question caused in some people. Having people remove some part of their fly tying material seems to be akin to taking away their guns or their children. Let me just say that I LOVE my four and a half tones of material. Even my Chinese and Indian capes, the first thing on my unused list, have strong sentimental value. They were purchased directly from Eric Leiser at Fireside Angler back in 1970 when I was still an impoverished graduate student and had to carefully weight and evaluate every penny I spent. They were the best that you could buy at that time and you could even find some usable size #16 hackle on them.
I wasn’t asking “What don’t you love?” so much as I was asking, “what haven’t you used in a long time?” I realize that few will have things that date back to 1970 but we have all made very wise purchases that remain unused because our enthusiasm for the material just died or the material was replaced by something much better and/or easier to use. Do you have materials that fall into those categories? 8T
To the question “what haven’t you used in a long time?” This stuff ( click on the photo ) -
( surplus inventory has been appropriately disposed of )
One of the reader’s of this thread sent me a PM asking me to let him know if I was seriously thinking about thinning my inventory, which I am. Put this slideshow together for him. If he doesn’t take it, will likely post this material on the For Sale Forum.
Obviously not much compared to what ( it sounds like) most of you have in your inventory. Not nearly as much as I thought before I started the thinning process. I think I thought it was more than it turned out to be because it is always in the way when I am in the process of setting up to tie the patterns I actually use and tying flies to get out and get fishing.
As little as it may seem, it has become an annoyance beyond its size, and it represents a form of waste, which I don’t tolerate well. Rather have some one use it than have it stored interminably with stuff I actually use on a regular basis, even if that means taking a noticeable loss on what I paid for it.
I’m glad that you live in Idaho and not next door to me in South Carolina. If you had a yard sale on my block, I’d be taking most of that stuff and adding it to my four and a half ton collection. Some nice looking and very unused material there. 8T
lol fly tying is cheaper if you stop buying more stuff, and go back and remember what you bought the other stuff for, and just tye from what you have now… cause what ever worked then, most likely will work now… just my .02 lol
